unprompted asks / always accepting | @tartalias came for my life
" i didn't take guys like me for your type . "
said in jest ; certainly intended to be. he leans a little too close, with that friendly smile that draws people in and promises them safety. of course she's no fool, between status and approximation to the witch and the swordsman at her side, but he smiles anyway. a little wider, even.
she's cute when she blushes, the tips of her ears and the dusting of her cheeks. it blends in with the soft burn from the endless mondstadt sun, the same one that threatens to triple tartaglia's freckles and give him another reason to avoid pantalone. even hidden in the trees, where he's finished fixing her wounds, only his hydro vision keeps him cool.
gently, finger touches her nose with a gentle tap, followed by his lips. it's a brief, butterfly-like kiss, and he's out of her personal space and grinning like nothing ever happened.
" you ought to get going, comrade. your knights are going to wonder why you haven't returned from your walk yet. no need to make them worry. unless you're worried i'll cause trouble, eheh. "
“ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄. “ It’s a lie through the ivory of her teeth, the whistle of wind through an old wood house ; so loud, so poignant, so conspicuous. She’s always been a romantic, little lion of Mondstadt, ( ballads tucked between missives, stored carefully beneath old letters in the bottom of her desk ) but the reality of her station stressed pragmatism over flights of fancy.
The danger of him was that he was 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒.
He was a jester to the court like a fox to the henhouse ; all pointed smiles and wicked teeth. His freckles, like constellations, shift with each gesture like the turn of planets ━━ all mappable with time, care and diligence ━━ but it was his grin that burned her up like a comet caught in the sun. How she tried not to look at them as he tended to her, preferring the swirl of dandelion and wisps of leaves. How she knew he would know that, quick of wit and perception ( she’s always worn her heart on her sleeve ; he was always earnest in his truths ).
It was why he liked to tease her. With every beat of her hummingbird heart, every bloom of colour across her face and the endless repetition of rehearsed lines ━━ he knew the places she withdrew within herself. Life was seldom predictable, nor black and white, but he was no anti-hero that love could fix or a romp in the dark that would go undiscovered. He was helping her in this moment, but how long would that last ? How could she trust him knowing full well what he was ?
He could have been electro with how she sparked, like static on dead air. His gentle touch and butterfly kiss wrinkled her nose and burned her cheeks till they were as red as a bleeding sky, and when she jumped back it was only by the mercy of his care that her injury did not make her wince.
“ That ━━ ” She felt like a child, all poise and wit thrown out the window. Jean rose curtly to her feet, brushing irately at the leaves and dander that had settled on her armour. His was a cheshire grin, her mouth was unbelievably dry. “ Don’t do that again. ”
𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓, not because she didn’t like it ( it revolted and excited her all the same ). Don’t do that because she knew if he started, she didn’t know where she would stop.