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Moments after you settled into a sofa next to the tavern's large hearth with a roaring fire and a fresh stein of beer in hand, the door's hinges squealed. A gust of cold night air blew across your face as a young man walked into the tavern. Despite wearing a heavy woolen coat lined with fur, thick boots and pants, the man still shivered. You watched him, taking a sip of your beer. He had amber sullen eyes that only a native Snezhnayan could possess.
You gestured to the open sofa across from you when he made eye contact, welcoming him in. He gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Letting the hood of his coat fall, he knocked the snow from his boots. His ears were covered by a set of white fuzzy earmuffs, neatly camouflaged with pale green hair.
"Your usual, Alyosha?" called the grizzled bartender.
The man nodded, collecting the poured drink.
You caught the bartender's attention, "Put his drink on my tab please."
Alyosha flinched back, cranking his neck to look at you a second time. He frowned at whatever he saw, eyebrows pulled together like he was solving a puzzle. You watched as some decision was made because his expression smoothed over into an easy confidence. He strode over and settled into the sofa you'd offered.
"Not seen you at this establishment before. What brings you here?"
"Uh, boredom." Alyosha's eyes shifted to the hearth, where flames lapped at logs, "I suppose… a drink by a warm fire."
You showed a deck of cards, "Do you play?"
That emerged a small smile and flicker of competition, "Only if there's coin on the table."
"That could be provided."
You began to shuffle, splitting the deck and arching the cards between your fingers to riffle them together. You repeated this motion, alternating between methods of shuffling.
"The bartend mentioned your name… Alyosha, correct?" you dealt out the first hand and placed two pieces of mora from your pocket on the table.
"Aye," Alyosha picked up his hand.
You looked at your own. It wasn't a good start. In fact, your hand was rather terrible, proving any luck that could be gained from being the dealer, false.
The cards blurred into a repetitive rhythm as you played together. It wasn't long before your initial bad luck hardened into a definitive streak, resulting in several consecutive losses. Your coin purse grew lighter and you called for a second round of drinks just to dull the sting. In Mondstadt, you weren't a bad play, but perhaps the competition was more drunk and therefore looser with their hands.
Alyosha held his cards close to his chest. You endeavored to read his expressions, trying to gauge the next best play before his. However, as much as you tried, it seemed that Alyosha's brow twitching only resulted in a faint curve of his lips when he won. This was undeniably going to be an expensive evening, but worth it —every mora lost meant learning more of your newfound infatuation.
"Does everyone in Snezhnaya keep a rifle like yours?"
"Not everyone, but certainly a good number do."
"For hunting I assume," you said.
"Yes."
"What creatures do you hunt then?"
Alyosha smiled. The largest that you'd received all evening, "When did I say I hunted 'creatures?' There's more to this region than bears and the common hillichurl."
This conversation lulled when you couldn't decide upon a response, concluding a round of cards. It was another loss and your pouch became lighter still. Frustrated, you were torn between requesting the bartender for a third drink or to abstain and keep some of your wits.
"With all the coin I've won from you tonight, I think I can manage two drinks," Alyosha offered.
This took you by surprise. You'd started to doubt if it was at all worth it, if Alyosha was simply oblivious, or if he'd picked up your hints and was choosing to ignore them. However, Alysoha's offer made you hopeful and that feeling turned almost eager when Alyosha returned with two new glasses of beer. Both were heavy stouts. Alyosha pushed one toward you with the bottom of the other, the glass clinked together with a chime.
You took a slow sip. A dark bitterness dried the top of your mouth and almost left you hurling. Stouts were not your favorite, but the alcoholic heat in your chest grew stronger regardless of taste.
Alyosha leaned back, his initial guarded posture softening slightly in the dim light as he watched you over the rim of his glass.
"Have you not had it? It's one of Snezhnaya's specials." said Alyosha.
You shook your head, "I may travel, but I'm not very adventurous with my food or drink."
"Shame."
You laughed at Alyosha's expression. It was particularly put-out, different from what you'd come to expect of Alyosha. Perhaps it was being several drinks deep, the crackling fire, or the new comradery that resulted in the first touch. Without thinking, you'd stretched over the table to brush a piece of hair that fallen over Alyosha's eye to the side, petting his cheek like you would a dog.
A blush lit up on Alyosha's face. You idly wondered how far down the flush traveled. His ears… they were still hidden by the set of earmuffs that Alyosha hadn't removed even after several hours of sitting by the fire.
"Do you mind if I–" you paused for effect, smiling at the beginnings of a plan, "upped the stakes of our game?"
"How so?" Alyosha tilted his head.
"In addition to mora, we bet the clothes on our back."
His eyes widened and they glowed like a geo vision, reflecting the flames in the hearth, as he processed the proposition. The alcohol (or the touch a voice whispered) seemed to have finally softened Alyosha's reserve, because a competitive, nearly eager, smile broke across his face. Alyosha nodded, even adding his own mora to the table.
The cards were dealt. A charged thrill ran down your spine, encouraged all the more to win. Alas, higher stakes didn't outright flip the scales. You immediately lost your heavy winter coat. You tossed it over the sofa arm while Alyosha laughed, his confidence surging.
But… as you drew the last sip of your stout, the deck finally, finally began to favor you. Mind kicking into overdrive and pushing past the drunk fog, you baited Alyosha.
"I can't play anything with these," you groaned. You drew a new card from the deck.
Alyosha was unsympathetic. And that would become his downfall. Your complaint was a lie; the six cards in your hand were the best you'd been dealt all evening. The new card you'd just drawn even better. Your body wound into a coiled spring as you forcibly kept your cool while ending your turn. You couldn't seem too eager.
Another set of turns passed before the end of the round. Alyosha then initiated scoring. Slapping down his final hand, he offered a smug smirk, expecting yet another surrender.
With agonizingly slow movement, you let your act drop. You met his gaze, a smile spreading across your face as you laid your cards flat on the wooden table one by one. The perfect sequence gleamed, the highest score of the game, completely overshooting Alyosha's.
Alyosha sighed, staring at the cards on the table. He counted the score again, but the score did not magically change. He'd thoroughly lost this round. His shoulders slumped, showing his disappointment at his winning streak's abrupt end.
"Well," he murmured, defeatedly collecting the cards into a stack. "A deal is a deal. What will it be?"
He glanced down at himself. Earlier in the evening, Alyosha had removed his outer coat after proximity to the fire became too warm to keep it on. He was left in a form-fitting tunic that did little to hide the rise and fall of his chest. His hands hovered near the hem of his shirt, bracing for the inevitable loss of another layer, while his cheeks burned a deeper shade of crimson under your steady gaze.
You hummed —mulling over your options— though you already knew your choice. When Alyosha's demeanor shifted to irriated, you stood, crossing to his side of the table. He stared up at you, impatient frustration crinkling his brow. You smiled and swiftly swiped the earmuffs from his head. They landed on the table.
"No—" Alyosha went to cover his ears with his hands, but you grabbed his wrists with your own.
He snarled.
Your smile widened, delighted.
Alyosha's cheeks blushed furiously once again, and just like you thought, his ears went pink too. They were slightly pointed. Even in Shezhnaya, there were those who frowned upon elvish heritage. You thought this shameful, especially so when carefully studying Alyosha's features.
Releasing one of his wrists, you tugged on the lob of Alyosha's ears, "I would be disappointed that you go to such efforts to hide your cutest feature, but I think I'm more touched — It's like you're saving them for a special someone."
"What? My ears? That's not why I—"
Alyosha's ears grew redder.
"So you aren't trying to hide how they light up every time you blush?"
"I don't see how that is any of your business." Alyosha retorted, unsuccessfully making motions to free himself from your hold.
"That hurts." You said, "I genuinely thought we had something forming here. I know you were slipping extra cards into the deck, but when I finally clench out a win, you don't even want to give me the attention winning against a cheater deserves. Honestly, Alyo–shaa."
You shifted closer, taking a seat on Alyosha's lap, effectively trapping him against the sofa. He let out a sharp huff as your weight settled onto him, his fingers twitched in your remaining grip. Confident that Alyosha couldn't escape, you released his other wrist and moved your hands to cradle the sides of his face, your thumbs sliding underneath his jawline. You leaned even closer and your breath fanned across the sensitive skin of Alyosha's left ear.
He seemed to have fallen into flustered silence. It was like his body heat was evaporating off of him. You tilted your head, watching the way he tried to maintain a semblance of composure despite the obvious blush. By now, his ears had gone so red that they could be mistaken for strawberries.
You wanted to eat him. You couldn't help yourself. The urge to devour him and uncover the range of noises that Alyosha could produce was irresistible.
You pressed a small kiss to Alyosha's ear, "It might be a crime to cheat, but it isn't one to be unique," you murmured. "In fact, it's quite the opposite."
Alyosha parted his lips, shifting slightly away from you.
Ah, it seemed he had another feature that he wanted hide. You moved with him, pressing your own bulge against his. Your chests pressed together.
"You really are quite expressive," you said, your voice low and suggestive.
He let out a sharp exhale and you could feel his eyelashes on your skin when he squeezed his eyes shut.
You granted another chaste kiss to Alyosha and began to fondle his other ear with your hand, playing with the lobe like it was a stimming toy. He shivered and let out a tiny grunt when you pulled hard.
"We're in–mmpfh—public."
"We don't have to be," you shrugged.
"Ahh—"
You'd bitten the tip of his ear.
"—This is indecent." Alyosha managed to hiss.
"But you can't deny that you're enjoying it, can you?"
Alyosha turned away, which only left his teased and tortured ear more vulnerable.
"Come, I have a room upstairs. That should protect your delicate sensibilities," you said.
"I'm not delicate."
You laughed, hitching Alyosha up over your shoulders, "Prove it to me."
Heading to the stairs and past the bar, you gave the older matron of the establishment a nod. She squinted with concern at your 'luggage', but despite the verbal cries, Alyosha had gone limp. You winked at the matron, patting Alyosha on the bump. He squeaked.