synopsis: fate has a funny way of granting your wishes when you least expect it—like a dance with the infamous reconnaissance captain of the knights of favonius.
pairing: eula lawrence x gn!reader
word count: 1.9k
warnings: alcohol consumption
inspired by: dance with me by beabadoobee
a/n: just a small piece i’ve been meaning to write for my beloved main. <3 i’ve loved eula ever since getting her by chance and i’m glad i finally got to write something for her. (bonus: this fic is loosely connected to my previous work wine so if you manage to catch the small reference i’ve written in you’re cool and i love you)
the knights of favonius had decided to host a banquet and an accompanying ball to celebrate the arrival of a diplomatic delegation from fontaine, and unsurprisingly, eula was nowhere to be found.
“i have no time for such frivolous affairs,” was the spindrift knight’s sharp and honest reply to your question of whether or not she would be in attendance. “and besides, seeing as my reputation has a habit of preceding me, i’m quite sure the acting grand master would be content to send me off elsewhere where i can’t sully the good name of the knights by simply being there.”
while you weren’t necessarily surprised at her response, it still didn’t make it any less disappointing for you to hear it, nor was it any less disappointing for her to not be there among the crowd of knights and diplomats you’d been surrounded with all night. despite this, you tried your best not to let it get to you, even if your mind did occasionally linger towards the thought of the spindrift knight, among other things.
shaking your head, you try to distract yourself by surveying your surroundings. glancing upwards, you’re met with the brilliant light of two golden chandeliers that hang from the ceiling, warmly radiating a bright yet soft glow that accentuates the elegant attire that your fellow attendants are currently wearing. at the opposite end of the banquet hall is a string quartet seated atop a small stage, providing mellow background music to the abundance of excited chatter being exchanged between knights and diplomats alike. in the back of your mind, you’re very briefly reminded of all the fairytales you used to read as a child of grand balls filled with beautiful princes and princesses, but your thoughts quickly dissipate the moment you feel your shoulder be tapped and a familiar voice hum low in your ear.
“good evening, sir kaeya,” you greet the blue-haired cavalry captain with a smile and a raise of your goblet. “i trust you’ve been having a good time tonight?”
kaeya playfully tsks at you. “how many times must i tell you that we’re well past the need for such formalities?” he grins, though he returns your gesture by raising his goblet of wine—which you note is practically filled to the brim to the point of overflowing—at you. “though to answer your question, yes, i have been having a lovely time indeed.”
“that’s good to hear.”
the two of you start exchanging chit-chat, and continue to do so for some time. kaeya’s halfway through telling you about his curious encounter with a drunk lieutenant earlier in the evening when he pauses at the sound of the string quartet beginning to transition into a waltz. it only takes one shared glance between the two of you before the captain graciously extends a hand to you with a smile on his face.
“care to dance?”
you smile back at him, and take his hand. “i’d love to.”
after placing your goblets elsewhere, the two of you proceed to the center of the banquet hall, taking each other’s hands and beginning to dance to the music of the string quartet. everything should have seemed perfect—the atmosphere was merry, the crowd was lively, and you and kaeya were dancing gracefully across the room like a pair of professional ballroom dancers. but despite all that was happening around you, something just…
“is there something bothering you?”
you blink up at kaeya, his star-shaped pupil looking upon you with concern. “pardon?”
“i apologize, since i know it’s rude to assume,” kaeya begins, but the sudden shift to a shit-eating grin on his face tells you he isn’t one bit sorry for what he’s about to say next, “but you’ve seemed pretty preoccupied all night.”
“it’s nothing, i just—”
“you miss the reconnaissance captain, don’t you?”
kaeya’s grin only grows wider at the sudden flush that overtakes your face. “i knew it.”
the cavalry captain watches you try and stammer up excuses, but after a minute of nothing but gibberish escaping your mouth you decide it’s better to give up and give in. “i wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t attending tonight, but i… i wanted her to. i wanted…”
“you wanted her to dance with you?”
“as if she’d ever dance with some amateur like me,” you try and joke, but it falls flat with the weight of your somber tone.
“you’d be surprised to know how eager she is to do so, actually,” kaeya nearly fails to suppress his laughter at the sight of your eyes widening to the size of saucers at his remark. “eager in her own vengeful little way, of course.”
“and how do you know that?”
“i just do.”
you’re just about to start going off on a tirade before the sound of the cathedral bell rudely interrupts you—that, and the suspicious smile that lights kaeya’s face hearing it.
“ah, just in time,” he says, and you quirk a distrustful brow at him. “what? don’t you know what time it is?”
“no?”
“why, if i recall correctly, the reconnaissance captain and her scouts should be back from their mission at around this time. i could be wrong, but seeing as i was in charge of having personally arranged the mission in question…”
“and what do you mean to accomplish by telling me this?”
“that’s up for you to decide.”
the music comes to a stop. kaeya gently lifts your hand to kiss it goodbye. “farewell. i hope you have a pleasant rest of the evening.”
“kaeya, what—”
with a playful smile and a wink, kaeya walks away, leaving you and disappearing into the crowd.
after downing a few more goblets of wine to quell the growing unease in your chest, you decide to call it quits for the night.
outside, the streets are quiet, almost eerily so, with not a single sound to be heard except for the evening breeze whistling a bitingly cold tune. you express your gratitude towards the few passersby you encounter by waving politely at them—at least, to the best of your ability considering your slightly tipsy state.
you continue onwards with your walk to nowhere until you find yourself at the plaza. you wander over to one of the many stone benches in the area and take a seat, sighing in relief at your legs finally being able to catch a break from all the stairs you had just climbed. the warm glow of the street lights surrounding you, lovely as they are, are dim; so dim, in fact, that you fail to notice the sight of a shadow approaching you from the corner of your eye.
“and here i thought you were above some dimwitted drunkard too inebriated to care about their safety being exposed out in the open. hmph. to think i taught you to be better than this.”
you nearly fall over in shock at the familiar voice that interrupts the slow slurring of your thoughts. “eula?”
“who else would it be?” the spindrift knight huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she draws nearer to you. you pray to barbatos that she assumes the flush on your cheeks is from the wine and not the fact your heart is threatening to beat out of your chest at the sight of her.
“but really, just what are you doing out here by yourself so late at night? aren’t you supposed to be attending that banquet over at the goth grand hotel? gods, i practically made a fool out of myself barging in there unannounced just to look for you! and the fact you had the audacity to worry me when i couldn’t find you… mark my words, i’ll make sure to—”
“you… looked for me?”
“what? just what kind of question is that? did you think that i wouldn’t look for you?”
“...no?”
“hmph! preposterous! absolutely outrageous! the fact you’ve had the audacity to not only wander off elsewhere without me to protect you, and for you to assume my actions and feelings unprompted… you’ll pay for this!”
you chalk it up to the alcohol meddling with your brain, but in that moment, the wildest idea pops up in your head. a wide, dopey grin etches itself onto your face as you lift a hand out to the reconnaissance captain standing before you.
“say… what if i paid for my transgression with a dance?”
the look on eula’s face instantly makes you regret your words. this time, in addition to your flushed cheeks, the blood in your veins runs ice cold with dread and embarrassment, and you quickly withdraw your hand from her reach to sheepishly rub the back of your neck with it.
“or maybe we could just settle the score with some good ol’ sparring, hah… m’sorry that i asked you that so boldly, i know that you don’t take kindly to—”
“i’ll take it. let’s dance.”
you blink. “what?”
“you wanted to pay for your misdeeds, yes? i accept your means of payment. now get up. let’s dance.”
“but i don’t—”
“know how to dance? then i’ll teach you.” you once again chalk it up to the alcohol, because you refuse to accept any other explanation for the sudden soft shift in eula’s tone. hesitantly, you get up from your seat to approach her, gingerly holding her gloved hand and trying not to let your breath audibly hitch at the feeling of her hand on your waist.
“grip my waist a little tighter,” eula instructs you, repositioning your hand against her side. “i won’t break. now follow my lead. one, two, three, one, two, three…”
the first few minutes the two of you dance is painfully awkward. all of your previous grace and elegance from that earlier dance with kaeya have all but disappeared, your dancing skills reduced to nothing and your movements limited to stiff shuffling and careless swaying. eula seems to catch on to this, judging by the way her grip on your shoulder tightens ever so slightly—not enough to cause significant pain or discomfort, but enough to steady you as the two of you waltz across the plaza together.
eventually, the two of you manage to fall into a slow and steady rhythm, dancing along to the sound of your shoes clacking against the cobbled plaza floor. impulsively—you make a mental note to apologize to her for it tomorrow when you’ve sobered up—you lean in and bury your face into the crook of her neck, pressing your bodies together closer than you’ve ever been.
“i… have something to confess,” eula tells you, and you hum into her shoulder.
“mm?”
“i wasn’t supposed to return from my mission until dawn, but i requested i be able to return early, because i…”
eula’s hand lets go of your shoulder, and her arms slowly begin to wrap around you in an uncharacteristically warm embrace.
“i wanted to dance with you.”
your breath hitches, but it quickly melts away as you smile into her shoulder. for a moment, you’re tempted to say it—the three words you’ve longed to tell the beautiful reconnaissance captain you’ve loved since the moment you laid eyes on her—but in the end, you choose to sink deeper into her arms.
“thank you.”
eula lets out a disgruntled huff, but the look of love and care in her sunset-colored eyes says otherwise.
