[viktor's lips quirk, more a small smile than a smirk, as he offering his arm. they are so very proper society after all, and there's something amusing to playing up the ridiculous steps of the social dance, keeping his posture straight and eyes dancing with amusement.
it's nice to be in on the shared joke, just this once.
walking through the crowd is a careful matter, more to keep from catching any eyes and ending in long conversation. a good thing he hasn't seen heimendinger around, as genuine as the man was he'd rather not get stuck in a rambling story when he has a pretty boy on his arm and some level of mischief between them.]
The food is more price than taste, as any proper banquet should be. Does it matter if the fish is good if you can say it's rare and imported live? [he murmurs into pal's ear as they pass a platter of it.] Piltover hospitality.
[Ah, alright- Palamedes loops his arm through Viktor's with an amused hum, marginally more interested in watching his new favorite person at this party than the party itself as they start to wander around. He's quite good at myopically ignoring everything else around, so it's easy to keep focusing on Viktor and blow off all the local rich people in turn. Viktor can mutter in his ear about fish whenever he likes, actually...
Or, at absolutely full volume, Palamedes simply says:] Fish is horrible, actually.
[And oh, are people turning to look at him with slightly less intrigue and curiosity than before? Oops. He snorts and covers his mouth with his other hand, just for a moment. Really racking up the Piltover points.]
They're looking at me like I'm not right. Hey— [a tug on Viktor's arm, ahem,] I think you're breathtaking. Do you want to get out of here?
[viktor can't help a snort himself, wrestling on a mild look cracking at the seams with amusement. as people look on with derision he can't help but see it as points in pal's favor, as a delightful break from script.
there's some curling anxiety about playing nice, hextech's image even if his face is never the cover of it anyway. surprisingly easy to brush aside when a pretty boy is calling you breathtaking and offering to take things further.]
You insulted the overpriced, mediocre fish by proxy. [honestly pal covering his mouth like that is endearing. he starts them towards some of the side doors with just a small smile in return.
there's an arch into a curling hallway, very public but quiet enough that viktor feels confident in stopping them.] That would be a very good, simple line, though I get this sneaking suspicion you meant it. [he steps in close, hand going from pal's elbow up his arm as he asks quietly,] Your place or mine?
[or to the nearby door that definitely won't go to anywhere sad and terrible.]
[Oh, swoon, nothing like a handsome guy agreeing with your fish takes and automatically leading you away from said fish to a more private setting. This is going, ahem, swimmingly. Palamedes drops his hand, now that his smirk about insulting the fish has morphed into a smirk for flirting with Viktor; very different, very nuanced.]
It can't be both? [Maybe he's very good at lines... ha.] I'm not picky; I just want to get you alone and ask you a few more things about footnotes.
[This is not a joke, there will be a quiz, unless they happen to walk into a horrible room full of peeling wallpaper and pain. He's feeling bold- almost as if he's known Viktor for much longer than the past half hour and would flirt with him in public any day, how mysterious- bold enough to tilt Viktor's chin up with his free hand and lean in to kiss him swiftly, heedless of what fussy rich people may be watching. Not for very long, because the public arch is a bad place to talk about research.]
Not just footnotes. [He glances to the side, head tilting towards the completely innocuous door, which for some reason doesn't seem to match the decor of the rest of this hallway? Probably nothing.] There?
Edited (Don't Perceive Me noticing a typo days later. i'm not here) 2022-08-30 01:56 (UTC)
[it's a good first kiss, layered with some odd logic and absolutely understanding of how to kiss the man before him. as easy as breathing, really, though admittedly breathing wasn't always particularly easy. maybe as easy as turning his back to the party entirely, more than happy to follow this man into more interesting places.
somewhere the string band swells, and viktor's lips quirk a little too fondly to be a proper smirk.]
I would hope not just footnotes. There's an entire paper for you to ruthlessly dissect. [and more scandalous matters. he takes pal's hand again to lead them to the door, a little stutter of uncertainty at what viscerally feels off, though the warm evening light of the evening washes over it.
he opens the door and with it an odd understanding of the situation, as though struck suddenly with all he forgot in his act. there is no walking through, they are simply someplace else, still hand in hand.]
I'll keep you up all night with my criticisms, don't worry. I've brought a red pen.
[The party will rage on, or pettily gossip on, and they don't have to pay one whit of attention to any of that. It's looking like it's going to be an excellent evening after all, Palamedes thinks, giving Viktor a sideways little grin before the door, hm—
Well, something about the door. It's like the world tilts and straightens back up again in the split second it takes Viktor to open the door, and here they are, standing back in the room Palamedes swears he'd just left. The party, that was - what was the party? He twists to look over his shoulder, frowning at the innocently closed door now behind them, then looks back to Viktor. Now the Piltover experience feels fuzzy and strange, a proper dream, but Viktor is still here, so - it's Trench Bullshit Again, isn't it.
Hastily he looks down at his hand, just to see if his ring has reappeared, which it has, which means yeah: it's Trench Bullshit Again.]
Well— hmm. I don't know how this is happening again. [The last eerie shared dream was so long ago, what gives.] Ideas?
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it's nice to be in on the shared joke, just this once.
walking through the crowd is a careful matter, more to keep from catching any eyes and ending in long conversation. a good thing he hasn't seen heimendinger around, as genuine as the man was he'd rather not get stuck in a rambling story when he has a pretty boy on his arm and some level of mischief between them.]
The food is more price than taste, as any proper banquet should be. Does it matter if the fish is good if you can say it's rare and imported live? [he murmurs into pal's ear as they pass a platter of it.] Piltover hospitality.
no subject
Or, at absolutely full volume, Palamedes simply says:] Fish is horrible, actually.
[And oh, are people turning to look at him with slightly less intrigue and curiosity than before? Oops. He snorts and covers his mouth with his other hand, just for a moment. Really racking up the Piltover points.]
They're looking at me like I'm not right. Hey— [a tug on Viktor's arm, ahem,] I think you're breathtaking. Do you want to get out of here?
no subject
there's some curling anxiety about playing nice, hextech's image even if his face is never the cover of it anyway. surprisingly easy to brush aside when a pretty boy is calling you breathtaking and offering to take things further.]
You insulted the overpriced, mediocre fish by proxy. [honestly pal covering his mouth like that is endearing. he starts them towards some of the side doors with just a small smile in return.
there's an arch into a curling hallway, very public but quiet enough that viktor feels confident in stopping them.] That would be a very good, simple line, though I get this sneaking suspicion you meant it. [he steps in close, hand going from pal's elbow up his arm as he asks quietly,] Your place or mine?
[or to the nearby door that definitely won't go to anywhere sad and terrible.]
no subject
It can't be both? [Maybe he's very good at lines... ha.] I'm not picky; I just want to get you alone and ask you a few more things about footnotes.
[This is not a joke, there will be a quiz, unless they happen to walk into a horrible room full of peeling wallpaper and pain. He's feeling bold- almost as if he's known Viktor for much longer than the past half hour and would flirt with him in public any day, how mysterious- bold enough to tilt Viktor's chin up with his free hand and lean in to kiss him swiftly, heedless of what fussy rich people may be watching. Not for very long, because the public arch is a bad place to talk about research.]
Not just footnotes. [He glances to the side, head tilting towards the completely innocuous door, which for some reason doesn't seem to match the decor of the rest of this hallway? Probably nothing.] There?
no subject
somewhere the string band swells, and viktor's lips quirk a little too fondly to be a proper smirk.]
I would hope not just footnotes. There's an entire paper for you to ruthlessly dissect. [and more scandalous matters. he takes pal's hand again to lead them to the door, a little stutter of uncertainty at what viscerally feels off, though the warm evening light of the evening washes over it.
he opens the door and with it an odd understanding of the situation, as though struck suddenly with all he forgot in his act. there is no walking through, they are simply someplace else, still hand in hand.]
no subject
[The party will rage on, or pettily gossip on, and they don't have to pay one whit of attention to any of that. It's looking like it's going to be an excellent evening after all, Palamedes thinks, giving Viktor a sideways little grin before the door, hm—
Well, something about the door. It's like the world tilts and straightens back up again in the split second it takes Viktor to open the door, and here they are, standing back in the room Palamedes swears he'd just left. The party, that was - what was the party? He twists to look over his shoulder, frowning at the innocently closed door now behind them, then looks back to Viktor. Now the Piltover experience feels fuzzy and strange, a proper dream, but Viktor is still here, so - it's Trench Bullshit Again, isn't it.
Hastily he looks down at his hand, just to see if his ring has reappeared, which it has, which means yeah: it's Trench Bullshit Again.]
Well— hmm. I don't know how this is happening again. [The last eerie shared dream was so long ago, what gives.] Ideas?