#screeching !!

every listen i lose it a little more

@maquiscursed: ❝ when your eyes are on me, i feel like something worth seeing. ❞

-- what should he say to something like that? He knows she walks in shadows and slips around corners, keeping an ever-watchful eye on the city of Mondstadt. He knows that by the mere fact of her existence and her self that she is at odds with most of the other sisters at the Cathedral. ( And although he has his own grievances with the Knights of Favonius, at least it's run by Jean, and at least Jean embraces who he's always been. At least he wasn't given to the church proper. ) But that very separateness is what drew him to her in the first place: she's always been worth seeing, has she not? Regardless of whether Kaeya's been the one sharing her bed and claiming her free time, she's always been worth seeing. People like him, people like her -- they're different. That's what makes her interesting. Engaging. Fascinating. He'd rather spend all afternoon doing nothing with her than doing most things with most others.

But that's the thing, isn't it. Bless the citizens of Mondstadt, most of them have never had to endure the unendurable, to suffer the unbearable, to carry the darkest secrets that would ruin their beautiful lives if they ever spoke the words aloud. Kaeya doesn't begrudge them that: if only his problems were that trivial. It's because of that peace of mind and belief in safety and reliability and the love of the Anemo Archon that maybe the rest of Mondstadt doesn't see her the way he does. One look at her thorns and sharp edges is enough to make most keep their distance.

She's not soft and fragile, she won't snap and break under pressure and pain, but she's human. What she's just said proves that more than anything. She protects herself with those thorns the same way he chose to use his silver tongue and well-practiced smile to charm his way into something that almost looked like stability.

...but what does he say to it? Kaeya doesn't know yet. He reaches out, cups her face and draws her in close - a single kiss to her forehead and he says the only thing to come to mind. If there is anyone in Mondstadt he's just a touch past comfortable being vulnerable around who isn't Jean, it's Rosaria.