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An average night inside the Angel’s Share consisted of several things, most involving drunken singing, dancing, cheering, and just general fooling around.
This night wasn’t the average night inside the Angel’s Share.
Christmas was usually a joyful time for many. Spending time with your family, receiving whatever wonderful gifts you desire, and filling up your stomach with delicious food. Call him the Grinch but… Kaeya never liked Christmas, despite how joyful and mesmerizing the festive lights and snow were. It only reminded him of his rather unfortunate familial situation. So there he was, in a dim corner of the empty Angel’s Share, tipsy as could be. His only company was his “brother”, who stood in silence wiping glasses clean with a worn down rag. Diluc himself seemed like he would fall asleep any moment now. Him and Kaeya neglected to get gifts for each other. Not that either of them cared… mostly.
It was awfully late. Dawn was on its way, almost too soon, for the two had no time to say the things they truly wanted to say. A wise man once said, “The nights were mainly made for things that you can’t say tomorrow’s day.” Tonight was one of these nights. Kaeya laid on the cocktail-scented wooden table, lengthy strands of blue hair strewn across the prop, ends soaking in spilled wine. Many would find this rather nasty, Kaeya would too. Sober Kaeya. Drunk Kaeya couldn’t care less— if he could even process the fact. A few minutes of dead silence and scattered thoughts flying about his head, a familiar figure strutted into the tavern as if they owned the place. Rosaria. Of course. She always had that head turning sort of independent woman confidence about her. Kaeya had seen her around countless times before, though even his inflated pride and ego couldn’t bring him to speak to her. But again, that was sober Kaeya. Drunk Kaeya couldn’t help but lift his tired head and gaze at the woman.
And boy, was she beautiful.
It’s the first thought that crossed the man’s mind, and a string of others would’ve followed if she hadn’t swiped a bottle of wine from behind the counter and plopped down in the chair right across from him. It seemed that Diluc had fallen dead asleep. Kaeya stared at the woman as she downed the alcohol as if it were a bottle of water. It was impressive, to say the least.
“What are you looking at? Want some?” A clear and deep voice cut through the quiet air, snapping Kaeya out of his stupid trance.
“What are you even doing here, cavalry captain? Don’t you have some sort of celebration to attend with your little… knight friends?”
Kaeya thought of an answer. His mind was blank, not one thought behind that deep blue eye.
“I… no. N-no celebration.” The man stuttered and stumbled over his words, slurring and speaking excruciatingly slow to avoid saying something he’d regret later. A weighted sigh followed. Everyone saw Kaeya as the charming, extroverted, mysterious cavalry captain everyone loved. But there was so much more below the surface. Many of these secrets would never escape its jail, deep down in the man’s heart. He’d never be able to fully open up and keep his relationships steady. So to avoid his own disdain, he kept these personal anecdotes to himself. But… would it hurt to scrape the surface? No one had ever bothered to do so. Maybe that was his problem, always waiting for others to give him the attention he craved, rather than simply giving into his moments of vulnerability.
“Oh. Surprising, you seem like quite the popular guy.”
“Do… Do I really?”
“Yeah. You seem like those really cunning womanizers with a lot of social status. Am I right or am I right?”
It was only then Kaeya truly analyzed the woman’s features. Her triangular jaw, rounded lips and piercing yellow eyes. Her angular eyebrows and short purple hair really perfected the look. The way the warm amber light simply reflected off her cool complexion gave Kaeya a pleasant churning feeling in his stomach.
“I’m no womanizer… buuuuuut, I guess you could say I have.. social status. Actually, what’s a pretty girl like y-you doin’ here? Don’t *you* have a celebration to attend to?”
“Nope. I don’t have anyone to celebrate with. But, I guess you’re my new someone.” She sighed, taking another long and lengthy swig of the stolen wine by her side. She slumped back into the wooden chair, the aged furniture creaking and whining under her weight.
“That’s… that’s nice- what’s your name again?”
“Rosaria.”
“Rosaria, huh. That’s.. that’s a cute name.”
Rosaria cocked an eyebrow at his words, but she didn’t think much of it. Drunkards say things they don't mean. She never took those compliments to heart. The two stared at each other for a few seconds. The silence didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, each other’s presence was calming enough for them to sit without speaking for several minutes at a time. Kaeya finally spoke, mainly to stop himself from falling asleep right then and their, in front of such a pretty girl.
“So! So.. uh, why don’t you have anyone to, y’know, celebrate with?”
“I could ask you the same thing, handsome.”
“It’s… a really long story.”
“I like really long stories. I don’t have much else to do. Share your long story, and I’ll share mine.”
That night— or rather that morning— a nearly unbreakable friendship formed.