💎 noctium — ic contact

[pararomantic]

ROMAN REED UN: ROMANHOLIDAY I'm busy, leave a message. text / audio / video / action

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un: kaeyaalberich

[refroze]

Help me come up with a username.

[pararomantic]

[ this is rly fuckin cute... just stares at his device a second and replies quickly ]

ooh i have one!

captaincold.

sounds like a super hero though hm

[refroze]

I like it, but you're right in that it sounds like a hero, and that's not quite my style.

A username should describe me, right? At least, that's what I'm assuming.

[pararomantic]

i see where this is going. you want me to lavish you in compliments, don't you?

[refroze]

Well, I wouldn't say no to a few compliments from you. We can start with devilishly handsome.

un: toralis (2/16)

[hopeslegacy]

Hey Roman, it's Toralis. We met in the onsen, had a nice conversation, and you gave me your number. I just thought it might be nice if we got dinner?

[pararomantic]

[ oh. this is a surprise. roman warms a little and gets to it. ]

Toralis 🐰! It's good to hear from you.

Did you have a place in mind that you've seen or should I figure out where we could have dinner?

[hopeslegacy]

I did not have a particular place in mind - I thought I may take advantage of your knowledge of this place, if that is alright.

[pararomantic]

Sure, I can think of a few places right off cuff. Any dietary things I should be aware of? You vegan or anything like that?

[hopeslegacy]

I'm part rabbit. I only eat carrots. 🥕

[ a pause long enough to make roman either giggle or sweat a bit, then another response pops up. ]

I've lived on everything from game to full course banquets - I'm not picky.

action;

[refroze]

[there was a crystal rose left at the doorstep of their home, packaged in a little box with no indication of who it is from at all. his first thought is confusion, because roman definitely has access to roman's house that roman bought. but maybe he was just trying to be romantic????????

he enters his home, still looking at the beautiful blossom. it seems... strangely personal. he calls out loudly:]

Babe? You know you don't have to sneak around your own home just to leave me a gift, right?

[pararomantic]

[ roman is coming out of the shower as he hears kaeya's voice, toweling his hair dry as he approaches. his sweatpants are slung low on his hips and beyond that, he's got nothing else. he hums and leans to kiss him on the cheek. ]

While I'd love to take credit, it wasn't me. Got a secret admirer?

[ he grins cheekily. ]

[refroze]

[his eye follows roman when he enters the room, gaze completely glued to the low waistband of those sweatpants and the dip of his hips. oh, how roman knows how to command a room's attention whenever he's in it.

eee, a kissu.

kaeya twirls the rose, the lights playing against the crystalline petals quite beautifully.]

Hm, there wasn't a name attached, so the one with a secret admirer could very well be yourself.

[pararomantic]

[ roman thinks a long moment, his arms already sliding around kaeya's slim waist, head laying against his shoulder as he hums. ]

No one that I know of, I think.

[ he glances at the rose curiously, tilting his head just a bit. ]

It doesn't do anything weird, does it? Should be careful.

[refroze]

Hm.

[just because roman can't think of anyone doesn't mean there isn't someone, right? because there's a possibility filtering through kaeya's thoughts, and he doesn't know how to feel about it. he'd left the scantest of birthday presents at his workplace, surely diluc wouldn't have-?

but then again, that's probably better than an unknown secret admirer. because if that's the case, who knows what this rose will do to them both. he pricks his finger against a thorn curiously. better him than roman.]

Well, I guess we'll see if it does end up doing something weird.

[another twirl of it.]

Sure is beautiful, though.

action;

[refroze]

[after the disaster that was the bonfire incident, kaeya is in a bad mood. it seems he truly just can't have a normal conversation with diluc without it turning into hurt feelings and trying to rub salt into each others' wounds. he doesn't show that he's upset, sort of. his normally placid and friendly expression is replaced with a carefully neutral expression instead, which is more of a tip-off to something being wrong than he thinks it is.

he pulls up his messages with roman, typing out a quick: heading home early, have fun at the festival ♥

with that, ensuring that roman won't get worried when he can't find him and doesn't cut his own fun on kaeya's account, kaeya stomps toward their shared home (he'd insist that he's walking very normally, thank you very much!) he mulls over what was said, how such an evening full of happy memories new and old could have turned out so poorly. why can't they just talk? kaeya knows he sometimes has a tendency to bring up bad memories, to pick at diluc until he snaps, but this time, he'd just wanted to reminisce on something happy.

why didn't diluc want to as well? did he want to erase their memories together that badly? forget that kaeya was ever part of their family?

well, kaeya can't blame him either way if he did.

he rubs a hand over his face. yeah, kaeya assumes this is just one of the ways his own actions like to remind him of the consequences of said actions. he kicks a rock along the path, trying to empty his mind by focusing on just moving it along. like a little friend accompanying him on his sad journey home.]

[pararomantic]

[ the text tips him off. truth is, roman has been sitting in a tree avoiding most of the festivities, preferring to observe from above. there's something wrong and he feels it—maybe it's just because they spent so much time together, maybe because they've seen mirror images in one another (but not in the unsexy, hateful way, more in the "you see me for who i am" way).

he hears the sound of the stone being kicked along from beneath the bough he's lounging on. as he glances downward, he sees kaeya and his pet rock and hums softly. ]

Kae—wait up.

[ he gathers himself up and then quickly scales down the tree. ]

Got your message... had enough of the festivities?

[refroze]

[if there is anyone in the multi-universe that can startle kaeya, it's roman. stupid sneaky little sniper bastard! it's like he was trained for this exact shit or something. he whips around a little suddenly, showing his surprise more than he'd like, but relaxes when he sees roman. he smiles, tired inside but still pleased to see him.]

Something like that. I thought you'd be in the thick of things rather than sitting up in a tree by yourself. I didn't take you for the loner type, Roman.

[he teases as he watches roman clamber down, eye on his ass oops. hey, it's a good distraction from his current misery! no, there's no room for such miserable thoughts like destiny and sinners and ex-brothers when roman is here, warm and inviting and always loving.

he'd said he'd still love him even if he were a snail, after all.]

[pararomantic]

This festival's a little bittersweet, I think...

[ the honesty is compulsory. kaeya deserves it. as he swans up to him, he slides a hand into his, fingers sliding between the captain's knuckles and their shoulders bumping. he marries their steps, left right, left right, as they walk. ]

Kinda just wanted to hang out and watch everyone else from up high. Best seat in the house, basically.

[ he squeezes softly ]

What's got you really ditching early, Cap?

[refroze]

Ah... I know what you mean.

[kaeya thought about dodging the question all together. it's nearly second nature at this point, after all, to deny his feelings and redirect. but like roman, he feels the need to be honest. and well, roman surely makes being honest easier, having shown that even in his ugliest truth, roman will still be by his side.]

Perhaps we can celebrate on our own when we get back then, hm?

[dancing in their living room sounds fun. just enjoying each other's warmth and synchrony. far away from everyone and everything.

he gives a discreet look around, making sure no one else was nearby before responding.]

I ran into Diluc. Or rather- he ran into me. It went about as well as you'd expect.

text; un: notanetrunner (backdated to like 4/3)

[bodyoftheseus]

sorry to bother you but could you please come over?
i don't trust myself to be alone right now and i don't really have anyone else

[pararomantic]

Never a bother.
I'm on my way, I'll be there soon.

[ no lie, he's definitely out the door and into whatever time of day or night this text has arrived. frankly, he's not one to wait, especially because he knows v. it isn't long before roman is at the door of the familiar home, knocking on it quickly. ]

Hey, V. Open up.

[bodyoftheseus]

[ the waiting sucked but v knew that all he needed to do was just make it until roman was there. when roman knocked v opened the door quickly as if he had been sitting on the couch waiting (which is what he had been doing) for roman to arrive. he looked miserable. he hadn't been sleeping right, he probably could use some food, he needed another hit that he wasn't taking for whatever reason. it was probably the soberest he'd been since they'd met.

v said nothing as he abandoned the door so that roman could enter and retreated back to the couch, sitting and leaning forward to rest his head in his hands with his elbows on his knees. the way v gripped his hair betrayed just how upset he was no matter how steady his voice may be, no matter how controlled his tone was. ]

He's gone, Roman. Kerry's gone.

[ those knuckles tangled in his hair tightened for a moment before he let go and leaned back a little - just so that his head wasn't resting in his hands and he could look at roman. his eyes had the shine of tears building and wanting to spill. ]

Am I just... Not enough? For anyone?

[pararomantic]

V? Hey... hey I've got you...

[ he's heard of kerry in passing, probably saw him when he was coming or going, but didn't know him very much if at all. as v grips his hair, he moves over to sit down with him, knowing that this is... a far cry from how he could have acted up—ignoring, hiding, trying to cope on his own.

slowly, he takes his hands, thumbs pressing into his palms as he frowns. ]

This has nothing to do with "being enough." You're enough, okay, V? Did he... this place took him back?

[ he's not sure what definition of "left" v is talking about, so he leans towards the one that tends to befall the greater population of gembonded. ]

[bodyoftheseus]

[ when roman took his hands his immediate reaction was to start to pull away from him but he forced himself to stop, to let roman hold his hands and press his thumbs into his palms. his hands relaxed in roman's grip, fingers curling until the tips of his ring fingers gently rested on roman's thumbs.

there was always some level of melancholy when it came to v even under all of his other feelings - some unchecked depression that was poorly managed - but now it was as if all of that had surfaced. the lifetime of disappointment and loneliness and pain and rage and loss finally breaking past the floodgates. it was no wonder he'd always self-medicated.

he couldn't bring himself to look up at roman yet so his gaze focused on their hands. he could feel tears building in his eyes but he tried so hard not to let them fall. ]

I-I don't know. He's not here, he's not on the network, I can't... I... I can't reach him...

[ his hands were starting to shake as he tried to keep himself together. in addition, like some horrible positive feedback loop, he could feel this horrible guilt starting to claw its way up the back of his throat. is this what the kerry he left behind had to go through when he left? was he okay? ]

How can I be enough? Nobody ever stays. Nobody. Not even the man I lo-

[ his voice broke with a choked sob that he was trying hard to keep back. v knew that he wasn't vince but some stupid, foolish, idiotic part of of himself thought that maybe, maybe, he'd be enough anyway. he wasn't, of course. he should have known this would happen eventually. ]