[That little stumble aside, Ellis is doing fine, so Diluc sees no need to stop now. He's a beginner, after all. He's bound to make some literal missteps. Diluc pulls back far enough to speak, a thin smile on his lips.]
You'll have the hang of this in no time. Are you enjoying yourself?
[ Ellis always looks up at Diluc when he pulls back a little, because he thinks that's his cue for talking. He nods quickly, since he's enjoying it very much! thanks god. ]
[That's a relief. He'd hoped Ellis wouldn't feel terribly embarrassed after his little fumble ealier, so he smiles a bit broader knowing he's no worse for wear.
Well then, how about a changeup? Diluc gives Ellis' hand a little squeeze to signal him.]
[ Ellis's eyes widen. Him? Lead?! He's never been a leader for anything in his life, and while he's more comfortable with others taking the lead, he's never thought of a leadership position in any way possible.
That said... He wants to impress Diluc a little bit for reasons that he himself doesn't realize and nods anyway. He tries to mimic Diluc's dance position from earlier. He's about half right. ]
[Diluc falls into the role effortlessly, placing his hand in Ellis' and loosely draping an arm around his shoulders. There's no uncertainty or concern in Diluc, he's simply enjoying their dance.]
If you'd like, I can teach you some more involved dances once you're confident in the basics.
[He'll teach you how to tango, Ellis. There's even more bodily contact in that dance.]
[Oh...?! This time, he manages to take Diluc down with him, who just happens to land flat on his tailbone. Oof. It's hard to mask the pain on his face...]
[ Oh no!! Ellis immediately tries to get up and it's easy for him to do since Diluc basically cushioned this fall, but then he falls down again anyway. He sprained his ankle. Ouch. He looks concerned over to Dliuc, not sure what to do. Did that hurt?? He looks so apologetic and he's internally screaming inside. ]
[It smarts, but he's hardly in agony down here. Ellis' failed attempts to get up only add insult to injury, but Diluc is hardly offended, making use of his strength to haul them both upright. That means holding Ellis a little, but they're on their feet again in no time.]
Don't worry. You've only just begun to learn.
[But maybe he should rethink teaching Ellis how to tango...]
[ Ellis is trying so hard to just stand on one leg because the other has a sprained ankle. Diluc may be making a good decision on rethinking teaching Ellis how to tango...
But because he's only standing on one leg, he can't do the dance steps anymore. ]
[...It's no good continuing on like this. Diluc sweeps Ellis up into his arms, unable and unwilling to see him suffer through the steps when he's clearly injured.]
[Ah... So it must be a relatively minor sprain, then. In any case, it's at least somewhat his fault that Ellis has gotten injured, so he'll take it upon himself to care for him. That said, he circles back around to the reason they came here today.]
Check your bingo card for me. Did that check off a box for you?
[ Oh, right. He pulls it out the pocket and checks... the slow dancing has been marked! He nods to Diluc's question and puts the bingo card away. He's not sure what to grab at, so he just fiddles with the hem of his own shirt. ]
Why don't we make this an even exchange? I have 'cuddling' on my card, which should be simple enough to fulfill.
[Diluc can speak about it easily because he doesn't see anything untoward about cuddling with Ellis. This is just for the sake of fulfilling squares, right? No one's catching unnecessary feelings, right??]
[ Diluc really dead ass saying that when he saw Ellis potentially catching feelings on their first meeting. Okay, man!!! But, well. Cuddling is fine. He really went up to a complete stranger and asked to cuddle with him so that he could get a bingo square done. It shouldn't be that hard with Diluc!
Except, yeah. It kinda is, with how warm he is and how intimate it feels. He has all sorts of mixed feelings. Despite that, he nods. It's cuddle time, Diluc. ]
[ Ellis is incredibly flustered when Diluc takes him to a bed, because when Kaspar and Ellis cuddled, they just kinda hugged it out below the shade of a tree and the former fell asleep. But the bed?? Huh?????
But from how Diluc says that they'll get it over with quickly, it manages to smack him in the face to make him forcibly calm down. It's kinda working.
So once they both lie down, Ellis wraps an arm around Diluc's torso, gets close, and nuzzles a little into his neck. It's basically Intimate Hugging. ]
[is the bed not... where you cuddle.............???
But— oh. Diluc is always warm, but he noticeably heats when Ellis wraps his arms around him. Slow dancing is one thing — there's an expectation of modesty there, despite the closeness — but this is different. This is new. His muscles tense beneath Ellis' touch. Well... All he can do is endure it, right..........? Right.]
[ Ellis looks up when he feels Diluc tense and mouths: "relax" before settling in and quietly breathing out. Diluc is really warm and while he's not the kind of person to be sleeping when there's another person in the room, the warmth threatens to send him to dreamland, just like before.
Well, it seems Ellis is enjoying the cuddling at least. ]
[Relax...? Alright, he can do that. He's a capable man.
Not. Diluc's muscles relax a hair, but he's still tenser than a corpse, struggling to find a place to fit his arms to Ellis. Fuck it, he's just going to hold him around his waist. This is cuddling, right? It's like slow dancing but horizontal and with a lot less movement.]
[ Ellis isn't a serial cuddler, but since he likes cuddling, it's easy for him. He can gradually tell that Diluc is trying his best to make himself emotionally unavailable, but Ellis wants him to relax, so he tries gently patting Diluc's back as if to comfort him or lull him to sleep. ]
[...He gets it. He's uncomfortably stiff, right? Diluc tries his best to relax, and he manages gradually, but it's not easy. He's always on guard, always prepared for a fight, so it's hard to tamp down on his natural instincts. He's managing at least, if only with considerable effort, reaching up a hand to sift through Ellis' hair with uncertainty. Is this good...?]
[ Oh... It's an additional gesture that he didn't expect, but Ellis likes it tremendously to the point that he unknowingly purrs from the back of his throat. He has no volume control, so it's pretty loud. He even tries to lean his head into Diluc's hand. ]
[Ah? Was that good? He'll keep stroking down Ellis' hair then, testing the waters by raking his nails lightly against his scalp. Does this feel good...?]
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ellis
You'll have the hang of this in no time. Are you enjoying yourself?
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Well then, how about a changeup? Diluc gives Ellis' hand a little squeeze to signal him.]
Would you like to lead?
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That said... He wants to impress Diluc a little bit for reasons that he himself doesn't realize and nods anyway. He tries to mimic Diluc's dance position from earlier. He's about half right. ]
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If you'd like, I can teach you some more involved dances once you're confident in the basics.
[He'll teach you how to tango, Ellis. There's even more bodily contact in that dance.]
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He nods anyway.
Ellis tries his best to be correct in his steps and the way they move and... he's actually getting the hang of it. He's doing it! He did it!! He...
... tumbles over his feet again. ]
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Don't worry. You've only just begun to learn.
[But maybe he should rethink teaching Ellis how to tango...]
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But because he's only standing on one leg, he can't do the dance steps anymore. ]
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How is your ankle? Let me take you to the doctor.
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but kyaaa diwuc-sama ]
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Check your bingo card for me. Did that check off a box for you?
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Why don't we make this an even exchange? I have 'cuddling' on my card, which should be simple enough to fulfill.
[Diluc can speak about it easily because he doesn't see anything untoward about cuddling with Ellis. This is just for the sake of fulfilling squares, right? No one's catching unnecessary feelings, right??]
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Except, yeah. It kinda is, with how warm he is and how intimate it feels. He has all sorts of mixed feelings. Despite that, he nods. It's cuddle time, Diluc. ]
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[Because that's just the kind of relationship this is! No unnecessary feelings needed!!
Diluc carries Ellis home and plops him into bed, crawling in alongside him. Ah...]
...Well, I'll admit this a bit outside the realm of things I'm used to doing.
[In other words, bitch doesn't know the first thing about cuddling. Ellis??]
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But from how Diluc says that they'll get it over with quickly, it manages to smack him in the face to make him forcibly calm down. It's kinda working.
So once they both lie down, Ellis wraps an arm around Diluc's torso, gets close, and nuzzles a little into his neck. It's basically Intimate Hugging. ]
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But— oh. Diluc is always warm, but he noticeably heats when Ellis wraps his arms around him. Slow dancing is one thing — there's an expectation of modesty there, despite the closeness — but this is different. This is new. His muscles tense beneath Ellis' touch. Well... All he can do is endure it, right..........? Right.]
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Well, it seems Ellis is enjoying the cuddling at least. ]
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Not. Diluc's muscles relax a hair, but he's still tenser than a corpse, struggling to find a place to fit his arms to Ellis. Fuck it, he's just going to hold him around his waist. This is cuddling, right? It's like slow dancing but horizontal and with a lot less movement.]
Sorry. As you might suspect, this is new to me.
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