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[bottomless_bowl]

« tascheter » TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION "Riegan Caldur" ✦ Claude von Riegan ✦ Fire Emblem: Three Houses
RESIDENCE ✦ Espera Village
GEMBOND ✦ Amethyst

[.... it's silence for a good minute and then a fleeting moment of him laughing before it cuts out. If you know him you'll know you got the right number. If not you can just hang up now.]

INFO ✧ PERMISSIONS ✧ KINKLIST

Comments

un: bernie | audio

[persecutetioncomplex]

[It takes her a little while to muster up the courage, after parting with Ashe, but eventually a soft call goes through.]

U-Um... Khalid? Can, uh, I-I don't mean to interrupt anything, but, um, just... just to make sure, we're that is, you... it's... i-it's still, um, o-okay to kiss other people, right...?

video;

[bottomless_bowl]

[He actually switches the video on immediately because he doesn't want her to have any reason to start her brain cycling through disasters if he's delayed answering for any reason.

Because... well... he's a mess. Flour in his hair, shirt sleeves rolled up, a dish towel hanging from his belt and he flashes her a grin as he sets the phone aside to give her a clear view of his workspace. The tiny counter in his kitchen also covered in flour but he's just leaning idly against it for now, a big bowl of dough sitting on top of the stove proofing.]

Hey... you can keep me company so I don't rush this~ And you can kiss absolutely anyone you want to Detta.

Do... I get to know who?

video

[persecutetioncomplex]

[She looks... well, like she's been sweetly kissing somebody, lips slightly pinker than he knows they ought to be and a poorly concealed look of worry in her eyes.]

And, um, what... what about, well, dates? Is that... is that a bridge too far? I'm, um, I-I still don't know, um, what... what is and isn't allowed, and, um, I... it's, oh, it's Ashe, I-I should've said that first, you asked—

[She's officially rambling.]

[bottomless_bowl]

Det, hey... do me a favor, okay? Just. Take a deep breath. You're okay. I'm not upset and I don't want you to be either.

[He smiles gently but there's a mischievous glint in his eye that gives away just how adorable he finds her flustered rambling.]

You've got a date with Ashe? Oh-ho... he's such a sweetheart and a romantic~ I might have to up my game. [But he gives her a wink, trying to make it clear he's just being playful with her.]

Being a sweetheart and a romantic, though... you're sure he's okay with...not being your prince charming? He seems like a "one true love" kinda guy.

[persecutetioncomplex]

W-Well, um, I... sort of have a date with Ashe?

[She wrings her hands a little harder.]

He, um, he... I mean, I barely, um, barely get how we... work, most of the time so, um, he's, a little confused? He... he wants to talk to you, before, uh, we go anywhere. To... to make sure, for himself, that, um, that we're... both okay with this.

[bottomless_bowl]

Sort... of?

[Ah but she... mmm they... did sort of end up getting derailed talking about Byleth, didn't they? He frowns a little, expression growing more serious.]

Okay. And... it sounds like we should talk about that too? Do you... is that something you want to discuss over the phone? If you want to come over I can throw something together to put on the lavash.

[persecutetioncomplex]

I, um...

[She does, even if she's a little worried about where the particulars might be.]

Y-Yes, if, um, if it's alright. You... you look like you're busy? Kaeya... he's, um, n-not here anymore? If. If you wanted to come over, t-too. But, um, you... you're in the middle of something, so, uh, i-if it's not... if it's not an imposition, I-I can come over, yeah.

text; un: arrow.of.justice

[shootyourshot]

Claude,

If you have a moment, I wanted to ask you something. I'm still a little new to all of this, so please just bear with me.

Sincerely,
Ashe

-> action

[bottomless_bowl]

You know what? Why don't you stay put. I'll head down there in a few minutes.

[Kaeya is gone? Just vanished like Hibiki? Like Ingrid?

Khalid, true to his word, ends up knocking at her door not fifteen minutes later, a bowl in his hands and a sturdy leather bag slung over one shoulder. He looks a little bit sheepish, really, but beams at her as soon as she opens the door.]

I'm taking your kitchen hostage, though.

[persecutetioncomplex]

Oh, um... o-okay.

[She steps aside to let him in, with fifteen minutes of irrational worries and what-ifs burbling uneasily inside of her.]

That's, um, that's fine. Is, uh, is there... a-anything I can help with?

[bottomless_bowl]

[Khalid shakes his head a little, slipping past her just long enough to set everything aside on the kitchen counter. Then he's quickly coming back to her, an arm around her waist, dipping down to kiss her slow and gentle. Both a proper greeting and a moment to hopefully help quell her uncertainties.]

Only if you want to. [Murmured softly against her lips before he steals another kiss.] You are more important than any silly bread.

[persecutetioncomplex]

Oh.

[Her hands go up and curl behind his neck, a reflex she still can't quite believe has formed, and she kisses him back.

Of course she does.

It quells the lion's share of the worries, for the moment, and there's a shy little smile tugging at her lips when they part.]

That's, uh... I don't think I've ever been complimented quite like that before.

Private

[bottomless_bowl]

Detta mentioned you wanna talk to me.

do you want to actually talk or do you wanna do this over the phone?

[shootyourshot]

I mean
We can talk in person if you would be more comfortable about it. I wouldn't mind.

[bottomless_bowl]

It's nothing I can't start over later if I need to, çiçeğim.

[A soft smirk, amused but affectionate.]

I sort of thought... you might feel calmer having something to do with your hands while we talk though?

[persecutetioncomplex]

I don't, um, I don't think I got the... the chance to ask, properly. What does that one mean?

[She has to nod.]

Well... yeah, actually. It, it probably would.

[bottomless_bowl]

Up to you.

As I understand it I'm the one most comfortable with the topic so up to you which way you'd be comfortable discussing it.

[shootyourshot]

I think like this I'll have an easier time to sort out my thoughts. Though I admit this is pretty new to me so just bear with me.

I want to respect what you and Bernadetta have, however you might define it. But we talked and I'd also like to take her out too. She said you're open to that kind of thing and I understand that, but I don't want to get in the way or hurt any feelings or anything like that.

[bottomless_bowl]

I suppose you'll find out when we start doing lessons~

[A cheeky grin and he takes her hands and draws her into the kitchen properly.]

So... Ashe...?

[persecutetioncomplex]

[She pouts at him, but... well, she has to shift her gaze away, when he gets them back on track.]

...Ashe. Um. I... sort of... e-ended up kissing him? It, um, it was kind of, mostly an impulse, and, um, then, then we talked a bit, and... and he had questions? About... us.

[bottomless_bowl]

He's good at that isn't he? Inspiring impulsive kisses, I mean.

[Khalid looks a little sheepish but, true to his word he intends to keep their hands busy, at least. Just a simple request before he continues.]

Flour?

I thought about it. Almost did, actually. I guess, I'm just... saying you're not alone in having a soft spot for him. He's so sweet it'd be hard not to, I think. And if you want to kiss him that's okay. Whatever makes you happy, Detta.

[He reaches around her then, for the dough that needs to be kneaded and rolled out and stretched, one arm curling around her as he does. And with the contact, as always, comes that immediate resonance of magic and manna between them, unable to be close without sharing themselves. Warm and fond and protective but not possessive.]

You deserve to be happy, Det. If you want an entire flock of handsome men doting on you day in and day out then by gods I will make it happen. And, I guess maybe I didn't make this clear enough, before. If... If all you want is me, then you only need to say so. Just because I'm not used to the whole monogamy thing doesn't mean I wouldn't try. For you. If that's what you want.

[persecutetioncomplex]

He was just... he, he kept saying the sweetest things, a-and, and he really, really meant them, and we... we read the same sort of books, and, and he made me a noa sapling, and I just... I-I had to stop him and it. Somehow, that... seemed the quickest way. And.

[She's already wringing her hands, as she scurries over to pull her flour down from the cabinet.]

Is... I-I don't...

[She leans back in his arms, and there's a hesitant beat, before her own end of the connection flares to life, and...

She's a mess. A big Bernie-shaped knot of stress and doubt and self-loathing and six flavors of worry, just at a glance.]

I don't know how this works. I... I told you you didn't need to be, um, be a gentleman, in the g-gardens, and... and I think, at the time, that... y-you... might have... read more into that than I, than I realized? I-I don't... I don't know what is, or, o-or isn't okay, I...

You... you talked about men having harems of wives, but not, um, but not women with multiple husbands, or... or anything like, like what... we're trying to be. I don't... know how to do this. Do we, do we always check? Do we... do we not, and, a-and...

[She gestures, wild and vague, clearly working herself up.]

And let powder things happen and just... n-not talk about it, after? Or... sh-should we? Is... is... a-are things like that s-supposed to be... private? Are... do we...

[She seems to be struggling to find the words more and more as she goes on. Not looking him in the eye only helps so far.]

[bottomless_bowl]

[The more frantic she starts to get the more he tries to soothe her, to be something calm and steady for her. That wild gesture he slowly takes her hands and guides them to the flour instead, slowly trying to redirect that anxious energy into something productive, something that will help her focus.

It's... not unlike meditation in that really. Stilling the manic swirl of thoughts with a background focus on something physical.]

There's no letting powder things happen. If those sorts of things happen then we deal with them as best we can. But there's no shame in enjoying yourself.

That... that's really what it all comes down to. So much of Seirosian propriety stems from denying yourself, being ashamed of being yourself. It's kind of messed up? Always piling on all that guilt. I don't want you to feel like that. And I don't want you to feel like it's some failing on your part, or my part, if... there's pieces of us that don't quite line up.

Like you and Ashe and your novels. It's not my thing but I don't care if you pursue it? And bond with Ashe and kiss him or care for him or anything else. But I don't expect you to blame me for not liking the same books or not being part of that.

Everyone is different and that's a good thing. And because of that no one person is going to be perfect for another in every way. If you want to tell me about things that happen with other people I'd be honored to be included in that. But if you don't feel comfortable sharing there's no pressure to.

..... I'm dying to hear about what happened with Dimitri, though, I have to admit.

[persecutetioncomplex]

[She takes to it almost automatically, going through the familiar cycle of knead-knead-knead-flip and back again. The tangled feelings quiet a little, but they still hum in the background, like a bowstring only just plucked.]

That's... I... I-It's not... just the Church. It's not... it's not just one thing you can, you can just point at as the big problem, p-probably.

[She lets out a gusty little sigh, kicking up a little fog of flour and deflating.]

You... said something about Ashe, earlier. About... about how he seems like, l-like a "one true love" kind of guy. I'm, um. I-I never thought it would ever be in the cards for me, and, uh, well...

[She laughs, and it's such a sad sound. But her hands keep moving.]

It... it wasn't, in the end. Though... though it was because the end came earlier than I thought, rather than just... nobody settling for me, l-like I always figured it would be. But, um, that's... I always thought, rather than, um, than what Sylvain did, or whatever contract my parents set up... I-I thought that was what you ought to do, when you... decided to be with someone.

I don't... I never knew any stories where the lovers weren't i-in love like that, if they weren't, um, serial romances that didn't last long.

[Knead-knead-knead-flip.

Knead-knead-knead-knead-knead-knead-flip.

Knead-knead-knead-knead-knead-knead-kneadkneadkneadknead...]

D-Dimitri a-and I...


W-We, um. He. There was, um...

...

...w-which... t-time... w-with him?

[bottomless_bowl]

No, you're right it's more complicated than that...

[He knows that, it's an entire cultural standard that is so different.]

I did say that's... that's sort of how Ashe seems. Because that's the sort of fairytale romance thing he'd strive for I think. And there's nothing wrong with that but it sort of... idealizes a person. Or it can. Make for unrealistic expectations of perfection and then when that's not how life works lead to resentment.

Or... maybe that's just me being jaded and suspicious...

I feel like I'm trying to persuade you or convince you of something, Detta and that's not what I want. I want you to be happy and comfortable. I want you to do the things that you enjoy. Be-

[And now finally there's an abrupt shift in the sync, like ripples on the surface of a calm lake, flustered embarrassment and this terrifyingly deep, overwhelming pool of things he doesn't dare name.]

Because I- care for you. [There's more there, more that he's too frightened to say but she can feel it.]

I... don't know if that really makes sense, I guess.