Chapter Text
Keyleth stands before Vax's door, holding the letter tight. More than a love letter or a confession, it's a script she has memorized to not trip over her words in the moment of truth.
She knocks shyly, with enough strength to let Vax know she's outside but still giving room for him not to hear, so in case he doesn't open, she can just tell herself he's not home and leave. To her relief and partial dismay, she hears footsteps approaching, so she takes a deep breath and hides the letter in her pocket. A few seconds later, Vax is in front of her. "Keyleth!" He says, a light immediately appears in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
She momentarily forgets how to speak and immediately forgets whatever was written on the letter, feeling a blush rise already. He looks like he just woke up, but he still looks so damn good…It's unfair. It's so unfair.
"Well, I…It's Valentine's Day," she begins, "so I figured out…Maybe we could do something together…" She feels the need to add "just as friends" to play safe, but she's not here to leave with him as a friend. She's here to…become something else with him.
She leaves him as much room as possible for him to figure out what she really means. Maybe it's because he's as oblivious as she can sometimes be, or because he doesn't believe it, or because she's not as clear about what she means as she thinks she is, as she's been told by many people, but he puts on a smile and lets her in. "Oh, yeah, spending Valentine's Day without a partner sucks. We could do something together, if you don't feel like being alone."
She could say something else or specify what she meant, but instead chickens out and enters beside Vax in silence.
The apartment is exactly as she remembers, messy and in desperate need of being cleaned, with pictures of them and all of the friend group decorating most of the walls and shelves, but what catches her eye is a corner of the room. She has gifted him many plants before, and all of them have died, according to him. He sucks with plants, he has told her, over and over.
Yet in front of the window (though those plants don't benefit from having that much light), there are three pots of plants recently watered, with all kinds of products beside them, and what she figures out are botanical books.
Vax notices her staring, nervously chuckling. "I—Well, I felt bad every time you gave me a plant, and it died, so I've been trying to learn how to…Y'know, keep them alive." He averts his gaze, embarrassed. "Vex has made fun of me for it for months, now, but it's worth it. These have stayed alive for a whole month, now."
God, that's so cute. The mental image of him trying to learn for her makes her fall in love with him a bit more, if that is even possible. She's going to scream. Instead, she just approaches the set of plants and looks at the books. "I recognize this book. It's great for beginners, though I would recommend others more. I can try and find them in the library, I think that's where I got them from." She kneels before the plants. She examines the leaves, checking for plagues, leaving Vax standing there, not knowing what to do. "These are good choices if you want to start working with plants, or just keep them alive. They don't require that much care or attention, but this one needs a bit more water. She's thirsty," she hums, tracing the leaf with delicate care.
Her voice has lost its insecure tone as she talks about something she knows very well. It's a confidence that appears and disappears as quickly as she turns and notices the way Vax's staring at her, a softness in his eyes she's not sure she's seen before. She turns red(der), standing up in a flash.
"I think they're good choices! It's similar to what I started with, but maybe—Maybe I'm wrong, I could be wrong, I…" She blurts, voice descending into an unintelligible mumble, as her hands reach to play with her hair, gesture she picked up in high school and never quite lost.
"Hey, hey, I'm sure you're right. You're the one who knows about green stuff, you work at a flower shop, this is your thing," he reassures, putting a hand on her shoulder. He's sweating, she notices, but doesn't say anything. "Do you want to watch a movie, or something?" He suggests.
She lets out a small laugh, calming down. "That would be nice. Nothing love-related, I don't think I can handle it."
"Yeah, me neither. How about the opposite? Are you up for a horror movie? You can cling to me if you get scared," he teases, grinning.
Keyleth giggles, looking up with a sheepish smile. "I would like that," she says. "T-The movie!" She corrects herself. "Watching the movie, not the cuddling part—That too, but—I'll shut up. Where's the remote?" She smiles awkwardly, sitting on the sofa.
Vax chooses to be merciful and doesn't tease her too much about her previous words, sitting next to her and reaching for the remote. He puts on the first movie that catches his eye, nothing too scary, according to him. The thumbnail looks cheap, the blood looks fake, but every movie is a good movie in good company, so he plays that one. "Are you sure about that one?" Keyleth begins, eyeing him.
"I promise it's not too scary," he jokes, once again, glancing at Keyleth. "You won't have nightmares."
She laughs again, and Vax feels pride in the way he can get her to laugh, but maybe it's just a nervous reflex, he thinks. Or maybe he genuinely finds him funny.
The movie starts with a scream that allows him to stop that train of thought and go back to the screen.
Keyleth has no idea why Vax chose this movie. She has never seen it, but she's been told by friends that it's terrifying, yet he chose it with a lot of confidence. He's letting out little gasps he immediately muffles, probably because he doesn't want her to think he's a coward. If only she could tell him she finds it so endearing…
It's not like she's doing much better, but she's not having such visceral reactions, just tensing every time something happens. The only time she genuinely screams is when the bad guy seems to go for the dog, clinging to his arm almost unconsciously.
He doesn't pause the movie, but she can feel he's tense, now, and not because of the film on screen.
After a particularly loud yell from one of the protagonists after being caught by the monster, Vax reaches to hug her as if she were an emotional support plushie. She can feel him trembling around her. Who would've known that Vax'ildan, the man who seemed to fear nothing, who was always willing to put himself in risky situations for those he loved, would be so scared of horror films?
"I…I'm sorry, Kiki," he mutters, pulling back.
"No, no, it's okay," she says, very calm, to Vax's surprise. "I can stay here," she delivers, settling in his arms, using his legs as pillows. She doesn't seem to mind as he tenses again after another jumpscare.
She may appear calm. His mind is an entirely different story.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING??", yells her mind, as she struggles to concentrate on what's going on on the screen.
Her mind is yelling at her to pull back and say something, not to just stay there. She isn't even comfortable, she tries to tell herself, but the phantom pain of the weird position disappears gradually, replaced by a warmth she cannot name. God, it's so awful, but it's not like she wants to move too much. She's in his arms, after all. She desperately tries to ignore the way her heart beats as if it's about to burst, quietly thanks the darkness for hiding her blush, and goes back to the screen.
Once the movie ends, they're still in each other's arms. She has to admit the movie did scare her a couple of times, but not nearly as much as it scared Vax. "Well, that was a ride, wasn't it?" She chuckles. "Vax?"
He's still trembling, holding her arm tight. Once he realizes the movie has, in fact, ended, he pulls back, clearing his throat. "Oh, yes, yes. Wasn't that bad, wasn't it?" He says nervously, incorporating, but not letting go of her hand. She doesn't do anything to pull him away, either.
That damned silence again. This time, it's quickly interrupted, but not by whom she would like.
"Have you two finally talked everything out?" Vex's voice appears from the doorway, entering with Percy behind her.
"Keyleth? Have you told him?"
"Told me what?" Vax asks, turning to face her.
She gives Percy the deadliest look she can manage, which only makes him innocently raise his hands. "Guess not. Don't worry, we were just going to leave the bags here and leave you alone again."
Vex chuckles, leaving her bag on the kitchen counter and ruffling Vax's hair, whispering something in his ear that makes him turn to glare at her.
They're right, they don't stay for too long. A few seconds later, they both hear the door click shut.
"…What did you want to tell me?"
She's going to kill Percy. This entire stupid thing was his idea, and now he has fucked her up even deeper. She lets out a deep breath and gets ready to talk. The letter, forgotten in her pocket, has fully left her mind, so she improvises.
"I…You have noticed how those two were together, right?"
"Yeah, I had the disgrace of finding them making out. Guess they're together, now. I'm not very fond of De Rolo, but if he makes her happy…"
"They are, yes. The thing is…Percy and I made a deal. It was to get him to confess, I promise," she lies, "but now I have to fulfill my part and…" she mumbles, looking away.
For once, Vax seems to understand what she means, turning red. "So…You're telling me…"
"I don't even know how! You're reckless, very stupid sometimes, and there is stuff I want to kill you for doing, but…"
Before she can finish, Vax's lips are on hers. Thank God, she thinks, as she wraps his arms around his neck, because she wasn't sure she was going to be able to finish that sentence. Once the kiss breaks, they stare at each other, still in their arms, with a sheepish smile.
"That was nice," she breathes.
"Do you want to do it again?" He asks.
"Sure."
Valentine's Day is almost over. The whole purpose of the deal was to spend Valentine's Day with their respective twin. But there, in the quietness of the apartment. Maybe they've lost the 14th,
But they can go out on the 15th. Or the 16th. And hold hands in public and kiss in private. Her heart flutters.
That's good enough.