This fic is probably less polished than it could be, but I felt like posting something today so I cleaned up something that was sitting in my Google Drive :D
Tags: Unresolved Sexual Tension
As Keqing walked through the evening streets of Liyue Harbor, she felt like she was forgetting something.
She clutched at her cream-colored shoulder bag - a bulky, impractical thing - and shuffled around the fabric of her too-long dress. The dress was admittedly pretty - lavender with white accents, which suited her tastes perfectly - but she felt that it clung too tightly to her legs, restricting her. It was a far cry from the flexibility she had with her usual short dress and tights.
Usually, she was all about looking well put-together without sacrificing practicality and mobility. This dress sacrificed both.
She made a mental checklist: she knew she had the correct dress and handbag, from how they irritated her so. She was also wearing the correct heels. She brought her left hand up to feel her hair; it was in the same style as usual, but without her favorite worn-out hairpin, as much as she had hated to part with it for the evening. Ningguang had informed her that such a scratched-up piece of jewelry would stick out like a sore thumb in the crowds of done-up partiers. Keqing had almost decided to wear the hairpin in rebellion, but she had ultimately decided against it.
The buildings around became sparser as Keqing walked to the outskirts of the city, where the venue was supposed to be for the party. Honestly, Keqing didn't see the point in throwing a party for the victory over Osial - the Jade Chamber had been destroyed, after all - but Ningguang had insisted. And Ningguang certainly had the funds to make it happen.
Keqing walked over the crest of a hill and spotted the venue. It was a two-story mansion, with plenty of paper windows that glowed from the indoor light. The majority of the upper-level windows remained unlit, so the party was probably being held downstairs, for the most part.
Keqing slowed her pace as she approached. She still couldn't figure out what she was forgetting. It was a vague fog that danced in the edges of her brain, just out of reach.
Hopefully, it wasn't too important.
Keqing approached the front door. It was shut, probably to keep out the chill of the evening air. As she laid her hand on the handle, the realization hit her.
Ningguang, sitting behind her desk, fiddled with her pipe between her fingertips. "You are really going to keep your hair in its normal style? I don't have a problem with it, but I hope you're aware that it's going to be a formal party."
Keqing nodded. "I prefer keeping my hair up. It gets too unwieldy, otherwise."
"Hmm. I won't stop you, but perhaps you can wear makeup instead."
Keqing knew Ningguang hadn't meant it in a negative way, but she was still slightly offended. "I wear makeup every day!" Minimal makeup, anyways. Foundation, and usually a swipe of eyeliner.
"Oh, I'm aware. In this case, though, I mean the flashier kind. If you add some color, it will really pop."
"I don't know..." Keqing wasn't sold on the idea. However, at her words, Ningguang stopped twirling her pipe and fixed her with a hard stare. Keqing realized that if she declined, Ningguang was going to make this a bigger deal than it was worth. Keqing sighed. "If you think it's a good idea, I will wear it."
Ningguang twirled her pipe again. "Good. It'll be good for you to relax a little."
Makeup.
Keqing had forgotten to put on her extra makeup. Including the eyeliner.
She scrambled to unhook her bag from her shoulder and dug into it, feeling for her makeup. She was sure that she had brought it; she had stored her makeup in this very bag to make sure she wouldn't forget. She felt the makeup bag and let out a quiet sigh of relief - it was there.
Keqing looped her bag back over her shoulder and formed an attack plan. The party had started almost an hour ago, so there were sure to be many guests already there. While some guests were surely watching the door to greet important guests, they probably wouldn't bat an eye if Keqing slipped in quietly and acted like she had been there all along. As long as she didn't make her entrance a big deal, no one would notice. She would be able to find a quiet spot to apply her makeup before officially joining the party.
With her vague plan in place, Keqing turned the handle and opened the door just wide enough to pass through. She walked in and scanned the room. There were groups of people standing around the large reception area, some with drinks in hand, all absorbed in their own conversations. None of them seemed to have noticed her.
Luckily, there were staircases to either side of the room near the entrance, both leading upstairs. Keqing took the staircase to the right and quickly climbed up.
When she reached the top, she peered over the railing one last time. She wanted to check if she had been noticed. As she scanned the partygoers, her eyes caught a pair of gold ones that were looking right at her.
It was Zhongli, the consultant from the funeral parlor. His gaze was piercing, even from so far away, and his expression was unreadable. Keqing's breath caught in her throat. Zhongli had probably seen her sneak in without talking to anyone. She hoped he wouldn't mention her presence.
She couldn't tear her eyes away as she stood still with bated breath, waiting for him to react. However, before he could do so, the girl standing next to him - Hu Tao, if Keqing recalled correctly - waved her hand in his face. Zhongli gently batted her hand away and said something while shaking his head.
Keqing took the opening to walk away, further down the upstairs hallway. The hallway was lined with doors to who-knows-where, probably offices and bedrooms and bathrooms. There was no light coming from the cracks underneath any of the doors, so Keqing assumed that most, if not all, of the rooms were unoccupied.
Keqing picked a door at random and knocked. When there was no answer, she cautiously turned the handle and peeked inside. There was a lamp by the door, which she quickly lit before closing the door behind her.
She looked around. It seemed that she was in a guest bedroom of sorts. There was a large bed, a desk with a chair, and a smaller table with another chair positioned beside it. The room was devoid of personal effects.
Unfortunately, there was no mirror in sight. Keqing had half a mind to check the other upstairs rooms for one, but she was trying to hurry. If she had known it would be so difficult to find a mirror, she would have hunkered down outside to do her makeup instead.
It seemed she would need to make do with the small mirror she kept in her bag.
Keqing sat down at the desk chair, got out her makeup bag, and put her shoulder bag on the floor next to her. She only had a bit of makeup to add, because she had already put on some makeup earlier.
She opened the makeup bag and rummaged around before she found her lipstick. Awkwardly holding up the mirror, she quickly but carefully applied it. It was only a couple shades darker than her normal lip color, but it made a noticeable difference.
Next was the eyeliner. She grabbed her eyeliner brush and opened a container, revealing the ink. As she stared into the dark purple ink, she suddenly felt a lot less confident. With only a small mirror and low light to guide her, she was sure to make a mistake.
However, there was no time to lose. She dipped the brush in the ink, and she held the mirror up close. Then, keeping her brush hand as steady as she could, she touched the tip of the brush to the edge of her lower eyelid. The ink looked dark in the container, but, when applied to skin, it appeared fuschia.
She slowly but steadily dragged the brush towards the outer edge of her eye, trying to create as straight of a line as possible. She took her time, as it was difficult to see exactly what she was doing in the low light.
Perhaps she was going too slowly, because the tip of the brush suddenly crumpled and her hand slipped a bit, leaving an unflattering purple line down her eyelid towards her cheek. "Shoot." Maybe she had applied too much pressure.
There was a knock at the door, and Keqing jumped. She had to jerk the brush away from her face, lest she mar it with more purple ink. A deep voice came from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"
Keqing's visceral reaction was to decline, so whoever it was wouldn't see her with such an embarrassing streak of ink on her eyelid. However, she stopped herself before she could utter the words. She didn't want to be rude to someone who was probably trying to check up on her, and at a celebratory party, no less. Gathering up the remnants of her pride, she called, "Come in."
The door opened, and Keqing was only half-surprised to see Zhongli step in and shut the door behind him. He must have left to follow her soon after he spotted her.
It was only now, with Zhongli standing only a few feet away, that Keqing noticed that he wasn't in his usual attire. His suit was similar to his usual one, all grays and dark browns, but his coat lacked the embroidered pieces of fabric that usually rested near his legs.
"I happened to see you sneak in," he said in way of explanation, despite Keqing never asking. "It seemed like you didn't want to be seen."
Keqing did her best to speak with her usual confidence, even with the embarrassing streak of ink below her eye. "And you thought that the obvious reaction would be to follow me anyways?"
Zhongli had the decency to look embarrassed, glancing away as he said, "I thought that there might be a problem, and that perhaps you could use my assistance." His eyes slid back to Keqing's face, and she could tell that he was staring at her eye. "It seems that there is a problem, after all."
Keqing was thankful for the relatively low light in the room; it hid the blush she could feel heating her cheeks. "There would be no problem if I could just find a full-sized mirror."
"A moot point, since there is no sufficient mirror in sight."
Keqing stared at him, not quite sure how to reply. Zhongli stared back in silence, his eyes glinting in the lamplight. It gave his expression a strange sharpness, despite the mundanity of their conversation.
Keqing finally said, "Are you just going to stand there?"
Zhongli blinked, and his expression lost the hint of intensity it had held only moments before. "Oh, that's right. I apologize. I was serious when I said I came to offer my assistance." Zhongli pulled up the chair from the nearby table so it was facing Keqing's and sat in it. He took out a small cloth from a pocket in the breast of his coat. He held the cloth near Keqing's face. "May I?"
Keqing was shocked. This man hardly knew her, yet he was offering his help like it was the most natural thing in the world. Was he always like this?
Keqing briefly considered telling him to leave; she could tactfully inform him that such gestures were inappropriate between strangers, and that would be the end of it.
But she really did need the help.
"Go ahead," she said. She turned in her chair so she was fully facing Zhongli.
Zhongli leaned forward in his chair and dabbed the cloth at Keqing's eye. She instinctively closed it. "Good," he said, "the ink hasn't dried yet."
Keqing felt terribly awkward, doing nothing but letting Zhongli take off her makeup for her. The pressure from his hand was gentle. So gentle, in fact, that Keqing doubted that he was getting all of the ink off.
After a few more moments, Zhongli moved the cloth away, and Keqing opened her eye again. Zhongli leaned back and inspected her face. The attention made Keqing feel a bit self-conscious.
Zhongli nodded to himself. "It looks like I managed to get all of it." He folded the cloth and placed it back in his coat pocket, purple ink stains and all.
"Won't that stain the inside of your pocket?" Keqing pointed out. Surely Zhongli knew that it might stain.
Zhongli stared down at his coat pocket, and Keqing had to hold back a laugh at the awkward crane of his neck. He looked back up at Keqing and stated, "The thought didn't occur to me."
Zhongli was an odd man.
"Either way," Keqing said, "It's too late now."
"You are correct about that. I only wear this coat on occasion, so it's not a significant loss." Zhongli gestured to the desk. "Hand me the ink and brush, will you?"
Keqing handed him the still-open eyeliner container and brush. She asked, "You know how to apply eyeliner?"
To Keqing's surprise, he laughed - a low, melodic sound from deep within his chest. "Yes, though I'm sure you would have figured it out yourself upon closer inspection."
Keqing looked him in the eyes, about to ask what he meant by that, but then she realized.
He was wearing orange eyeliner. He probably applied it every morning. Keqing felt a bit embarrassed for not noticing it. She admitted, "It was a silly question."
Zhongli held the brush in his right hand and dipped it into the ink. He set aside the ink on the corner of the desk closest to him. Leaning forward, he held the brush up near Keqing's eye, resting the side of his palm on her left cheek.
Keqing couldn't help a slight jerk back at the sudden contact. Zhongli brought up his left hand and cradled Keqing's jawline. "Hold still," he said.
Thankfully, Keqing managed not to react to the second sudden contact. However, she needed to remind herself to breathe, slowly in and out through her nose. The pressure of Zhongli's fingertips on her jawline was terribly distracting, even through gloves.
After she took a couple of breaths, she wondered why Zhongli hadn't moved the brush yet.
She got her answer when Zhongli moved his hands away from her face with a slight frown. He said, "It's a bit difficult with gloves. You'll need to excuse me." He placed the brush on the desk.
"Um, sure."
Zhongli slowly peeled off his left glove, and Keqing hated how the action made her heart quicken a bit. It was only his gloves; she wasn't supposed to be feeling like this.
Despite what she told herself, her eyes snapped to where he peeled off the dark fabric to reveal pale skin.
Zhongli went on to remove his other glove, as well. He picked up the brush again. With his other hand, he cradled Keqing's jaw once again.
Keqing heard her own quick intake of breath, quiet but sharp. The sensation of Zhongli's bare fingers on her skin was soft and warm, but his grip was still firm enough to hold her in place.
Keqing looked at Zhongli's face to see his reaction. From his still-neutral expression, it seemed that he hadn't noticed Keqing's gasp. She wasn't sure how that could be possible in such close proximity, but she didn't dare question it.
She felt the cold brush touch the skin of her eyelid and made sure to keep her eyes open, as still as possible. As Zhongli slowly traced her lower eyelid, she had to keep her eyes from darting around; she wasn't sure where to look. Zhongli was so close that the only thing she could really look at was his face. His lips were pressed firmly together in concentration.
The few moments it took to apply the eyeliner felt like an eternity. Keqing could feel the pulse in her throat against his warm fingers. She could hear the soft breaths through his nose. There was a certain intensity in the way his eyes stared diligently at hers, even though Keqing knew that he was concentrating more on the makeup than her.
Honestly, with all these things combined, there was no way that Zhongli wasn't doing this on purpose.
Keqing evaluated his face again, though, and it seemed like he truly was focusing on the task at hand. There was no way to tell for certain.
After a few more seconds, Zhongli leaned back. He moved his hands from Keqing's face and took their warmth with them. The contrast of the cool air on her face made her immediately miss the contact.
Zhongli said, "That should do it. Now, I'll do the other side, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Keqing said.
Zhongli dipped the brush in the ink again. Then, he took Keqing's jaw back in his hand as he held the brush to her left eye. The angle was a bit more awkward, this time, since he was using his right hand to apply eyeliner to Keqing's right eye.
Again, Keqing was left to deal with the sensation of his fingers on her throat. She stared into Zhongli's eyes and realized that they were closer to amber, only tinted with flecks of gold from the lamplight.
Zhongli's fingers pressed harder into her neck and curled in an attempt to adjust the angle of her head. It was a simple movement, but Keqing's breath hitched anyways. It was even louder than her previous one; there was no way Zhongli hadn't heard.
Aside from a slightly quicker breath into his nose - which may have been Keqing's imagination - Zhongli didn't react at all. He moved the brush along Keqing's lower eyelid with ease.
However, when the brush got halfway across, Zhongli's hand shook and Keqing felt the brush's bristles collapse under the force, definitely leaving a large spot under her eye. Zhongli quickly pulled back with a concerned expression on his face.
He put the brush on the desk. "I apologize. Let me get that." He reached into his jacket pocket and produced the same cloth as before, now stained purple.
"Oh, um... it's no problem." However, there wasn't much of a point if Zhongli was going to be messing up just as much as Keqing was. "I thought you said you do this every morning."
"I do," Zhongli said as he started to wipe Keqing's eye, "But you will need to forgive me." He took the cloth away to examine Keqing's face. "I'm a bit..." His eyes flicked to hers, and she got the feeling that he wasn't just examining her makeup, "distracted, to tell the truth." He went back to dabbing at Keqing's eye.
Meanwhile, Keqing's brain was going into overdrive. Zhongli was casually wiping her face like he didn't just admit to being affected by their proximity. Suddenly, the air felt heavier, with the knowledge that Zhongli was feeling the same things as Keqing was. Keqing realized that their knees were almost touching as well.
Zhongli put the cloth back in his pocket. "Now, let's try again." He smiled, and Keqing swore that her heart skipped a beat.
Keqing mentally slapped herself. She refused to be charmed by a man who had just smeared ink all over her eyelid.
When Zhongli held her jaw steady in his hand, their eyes met. The silence was pregnant with the knowledge that the attraction they had was mutual, and that they were both relishing the feeling of skin-on-skin just as much.
On second thought, being charmed wasn't so bad.
Zhongli quickly applied eyeliner to her eye without incident, but Keqing was holding her breath the entire time. When he backed away, she needed to remind herself to breathe.
Still slightly breathless but wanting to fill the silence, Keqing asked, "How does it look?"
Zhongli stared at her for a long moment. Just when Keqing was going to ask him what was wrong, he said, "You look stunning. See for yourself." He gestured towards the tiny mirror that was still resting on the desk.
That hadn't really answered her question. Keqing reached for the mirror and held it up to her face. "I asked how it looks, not how I-" She caught her appearance in the reflection. She had expected the eyeliner to look too masculine and blocky, but she was pleasantly surprised to see that it fanned out around her outer eye. Though it did look a bit similar in style to Zhongli's.
It suddenly hit her what Zhongli had said. He had called her stunning. She lowered the mirror. "Did you mean that?" She mentally reprimanded herself; of course he had meant it, it was already so obvious that he had been distracted-
Zhongli took her question in stride. "I am proud of what I do, but I'm not so vain that I might praise my own handiwork."
It was a bit of a roundabout way to say it, but... he wasn't complimenting the eyeliner, after all.
Zhongli lifted Keqing's hand from her lap and held it between them. Keqing stared at it, not knowing what to say. She let go of it and stood up, putting both of her hands on the sides of Zhongli's face. "You're driving me crazy, you know that?"
Zhongli smiled. "You're not alone in that sentiment."
The thought seriously crossed Keqing's mind to kiss him right then and there, but that felt too forward, even for her. She took one of her hands from his face and traced her pointer finger down his neck. His eyes closed as she did so. When she reached the collar of his jacket, she ran her fingers across the edge of it, threatening to slip underneath. She could hear Zhongli's sharp breath.
So much for not being too forward.
When she stopped moving her fingers, Zhongli opened his eyes and ran his hands along her forearms. His fingers were soft - delicate, even. Then, he brought his hands to the curve of her waist. He moved them down to her hips.
Keqing traced both of Zhongli's collarbones. Since he responded so well last time, she plucked at the edges of his clothes where they met his skin, and he gave predictable, small, almost inaudible gasps in return.
Zhongli placed a hand on the side of her leg, over her tights. Keqing didn't break eye contact. Zhongli moved his hand up on her thigh, tracing higher and higher - closer to where she wanted it but not nearly close enough - but then he moved his hand back down again. Keqing let out a shaky breath.
Zhongli's gaze was determined and attentive as he repeated the motion, fingers tracing circles on her inner thigh. Much too soon, they trailed back down towards her knee.
It took all of Keqing's willpower to say, "We," Zhongli's thumb brushed her inner thigh again, "ah, we can't do this here."
Zhongli's hand immediately stopped moving, and Keqing almost told him to keep going. "Oh, I apologize. I didn't realize you were uncomfortable." He moved his hands to his lap.
"No, it's not that. It's just, I promised Ningguang I'd be at the party, and Ganyu's probably wondering where I am-"
"I understand. It wouldn't be appropriate."
"Not appropriate. Right."
"That's correct."
They stared at each other for a second and then both laughed, and Keqing stepped a safe distance away so she wouldn't be tempted by him any longer. Keqing said, "Um, I'm sorry about that."
"It is no trouble, truly."
"Maybe another time. When I'm not busy." Keqing couldn't believe what was coming from her mouth. 'Another time'? She could feel her cheeks rapidly heat from embarrassment.
Zhongli didn't seem to mind her awkward phrasing, though, from the slight smile that danced across his lips. "Does the Yuheng ever have a day that is truly not busy?"
Keqing put a hand on her hip. "Well, I'm supposed to. I don't work overtime every day."
Zhongli just stared, and Keqing got the feeling he didn't quite believe her. Maybe Ganyu was right when she called her a workaholic.
Keqing added, "I'll take you out for dinner sometime next week." She hoped it wasn't too forward to assume he wanted more than a one-time thing.
Her fears were assuaged when Zhongli replied, "I'd enjoy that."
"For now, though, go to the party with me?"
Zhongli stood up from his chair and offered an arm. Keqing smiled and took it, slipping her hand easily into the crook of his elbow. The gesture, while painfully traditional, was sweet.
Zhongli said, "It would be my pleasure."
I was nervous to post this, so pls let me know what you thought! Hope you enjoyed :D