Chapter Text
“Snow white?” Kaeya burst into laughter.
“Oh come on! You promised you wouldn’t-“ The blonde stopped with a look of dread passing over his eyes, “Oh God, you’re going to tease me about it now aren’t you? That’s the only thing I’ll hear for the next few months,”
“No, not the next few months,” He waved dismissively, “More like the next few years,”
Aether punched Kaeya’s side and he recoiled - temporarily. Immediately his arm was back around the blonde’s shoulders, just like it had been for the past half an hour. It definitely wasn’t an unwanted presence - especially when it gave him little squeezes as signals for things, or when his fingers brushed up against his collarbone, or when his thumb rubbed circles into the back of his neck. Kaeya had always been a flirt, and Aether was used to it by now - perhaps a little too much so. Physical affection whether platonic or romantic was something he secretly yearned for, a desire that merely grew and never stopped after Lumine had disappeared. And the dumb pirate man had almost definitely picked up on it.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m sure you looked gorgeous,” Kaeya murmured, “I’m just disappointed I wasn’t there to see it.”
“Shut up. I look horrible in a dress.”
He shrugged, “I beg to differ. And who played the dwarfs?”
“Diona, Klee and, uh, Bennett.”
“Now I really regret sleeping in,” He chuckled, “And they all did this willingly?”
“Well, Diana had to be dragged onstage. Klee was promised a fish-bombing session free from intervention, and well, Bennet got picked out of a hat.”
“Typical of our resident misfortune.”
Aether’s nod turned into a muffled giggle as a leaf blew right into Kaeya’s face. “Speaking of misfortune,” He flicked it away, laughing.
The breeze swept two or three more their way, and Aether looked into the distance to see the loping woods, ripe with a dense undergrowth and- “Apples galore.” The cavalry captain remarked.
Apples galore indeed - flickers of light peeked through gaps in the canopy, dancing across the red-skinned fruit; something like an artist’s envisioning of a blurry summer’s scene.
Reaching the first tree, Kaeya plucked an apple and smoothed his fingers over the surface, “Beautifully ripe - perfect.”
“Jean will be pleased,” Aether began filling his basket, eyes latching onto the speckled skins of the fruit every instance.
“Y’know…apples like these remind me of that old tale, what was it…Adam and…something?”
“Huh?”
“That religious story from this book of myths Lisa recommended me. It revolved around a singular apple.”
Aether tilted his head, “Never heard of it,”
“Well, you’ll have to ask her for the details of course, but from what I can remember, the consumption of this apple led to the birth of misery and suffering. Somehow, there was a talking snake involved, but I’m not sure how that tied in with the rest of it.”
“The point, Kaeya. Get to it.”
“Temptation, Aether,” He said melodically, “Someone or something was tempted to take that bite. To sin.” He plucked another apple, “I mean, seeing how passionate Jean was about getting her the best ones from Stormbearer Point, I’d say these certainly evoke that same sense.”
Kaeya’s teeth sank into the fruit.
“Wh-” Aether had to stop himself from slapping it out of his fingers, “You know she said they were rare, don’t ruin the festival now.”
“Mm, well, I can definitely see why she asked for these, they’re incredibly sweet.” A smirk tugged at his lips, “You sure you don’t want some?”
“I’m good.” Aether quipped, “Or as your book of myths might have put it, ‘Thou shall not tempt my pure and hallowed self.”
“Just one taste, come on.”
“But Jean-“
“Aether, eat the damn apple.”
“Nope,”
Kaeya started towards the blonde and he shrieked, dashing behind a nearby tree.
“Don’t make this difficult,”
“Oh, I will.”
A shared grin, and the chasing ensued.
The grove was perfect for what was essentially tag, especially when the sunlight-broken breeze ran through Aether’s hair, bringing the scent of faraway cecelias and dew-spotted calla lilies along with it; Kaeya was never too far behind, occasionally getting close enough to swat at Aether’s braid which trailed behind him in the air. Kaeya was fast, but the light-footed blonde was faster - though, as the minutes sprung by, it seemed to prove true that the cavalry captain’s lung capacity (and therefore endurance) was in fact superior. Aether’s braid soon dropped down to its usual resting place when he finally ran himself into a dip in the cliff-face, boxed in on all sides. Damnit.
“Well, well, well.” The cavalry captain sauntered towards him, rolling the apple in the palm of his hand.
Aether groaned backing away, “I thought you didn’t like cliches.” His back hit something hard - a tree trunk, “That’s objectively the worst one. You could have said ‘let’s finish this’ or…I don’t know, ‘is that all you’ve got?’ or maybe ‘there’s nowhere to hide’ or-“
“I’m going to shut you up now.”
He felt the press of the apple against his lips, and a hand under his chin, thumb teasing his mouth open. The warm summer air suddenly felt hot against his flaming cheeks, against every area of skin that Kaeya’s fingers brushed against.
“Open wide,” A smile - and dimmed blue eyes, so incredibly focused on him and him only. His voice barely reached Aether’s ears.
“Mmph,” He said in return. The darkly mellow fragrance was prominent, dissipating off the apple (or was it from Kaeya?), and he was so, so close. Jean wouldn’t mind, right? Just one fruit. But even so…
Kaeya’s fingers traced the length of Aether’s jawline, and when the back of his hand brushed against his adam’s apple, he finally gave in.
The apple tasted strong and velvety, both the sweetest and the most bitter thing he’d ever had. Though simultaneously, there was a subtle tanginess - a brightness. It tasted like what he thought Kaeya would taste like.
“Good boy,” He watched as Aether crunched away, ruffling his hair.
“Shut up.” The blonde blushed a bright crimson.
“You’ll thank me later when the baskets are all empty. Maybe as repayment you could convince the Cat’s Tail to do a rerun of Snow White,” He chuckled, “And make sure to invite me along this time.”