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Mn! Yeah! [dang, now he's all jazzed up with excited energy - 1am whomst?

he starts to move away to finish cleaning, but gets caught up in a thought that has him turning back, blabbing before he can think too much on it.]

D-do you think before that-- A-- [oh wait, this is embarrassing actually.] Er, uh-- Let! Let me ask later, okay! Sorry, I'm gonna finish this first!

[with great haste and steam hissing off his scalp.]

Wait. You can't just--[Except that Manabu can, in fact, just start and bolt. He moves fast when he wants to.

Insert sigh, resignation, and a redirect to put away the glasses he had originally come back here for. They probably should make an attempt to finish and get out of here anyway, right?]

[Manabu scoffs at himself, snatching the broom and getting to work. stupid idiot! he'd never get anything done if he asked to try again at kissing now...!

...but he sure is going to be tormented to hell about it in the midst of cleaning, making this the most torturous amount of sweeping he's done since getting chores as a punishment back in basic. he's almost inclined to just halfass the job, but...but future-him would regret it. and Chizuru would probably pick up his slack and that'd make him just feel guilty.

and what kind of half-assed sweeper deserves nice things like...like kissing, anyway?!

that in mind, Manabu diligently sweeps up the floor and beats the dirt off the mat by the door, clapping his hands of the tasks when he's done with a satisfied sigh before calling out:] All done!

What about you?

[Kazuma's own tasks aren't all that arduous and, outside of the continual curiosity at just what Manabu had meant to--wanted to?--as him, he doesn't have much to distract him from the work.

Once the glasses are away, he performs a few last-minute checks: tidying up what they may have missed, or what they may have set astray with their earlier work. He's just putting some supplies away when Manabu wraps up.]

Finished here as well.

[Manabu hums an approving sound, nodding. good! that means...]

...

[that means...]

Auh, then...

[welllllll...

he rubs the back of his neck, shifting in place a bit, clearing his throat and mustering up some courage. it's tough!]

I, ah, I was wondering! If, um. Well... Kind of, of circling back a bit. To a while ago, uh...

[If Kazuma hadn't been curious before, he certainly was now. Enough so that he's leaning against the bar, full attention on Manabu.]

Yes? Whatever it is, Manabu, just ask...

[TOO MANY ATTENTION... Manabu ducks his head, shoulders shrugging up.]

I! I wanted to ask! If I, I, we--that is, I never got to properly, without...weird Trench things happening, and even after all the dis-discussion, still...!!

[the embarrassment is almost suffocating; he cringes, his unoccupied hand lifting and trying to wave, as if mortification is just something he can wave off like fog.]

Khh-k-ki-ki--

Ah...[Kazuma feels a little bad, letting him stumble through it for so long when he was able to catch on to the point quickly enough. The least he could do would put him out of his misery. Easy enough?]

Manabu, [A soft tone, a gentle approach. Kazuma was not always the most delicate, but this might require a finer touch than his usual brashness. He moves to get in close, reaching out to place a hand on his arm. An attempt to calm and quiet before he leans in place a kiss just at the corner of his mouth. A bit of a tease more than a genuine kiss.] It's sweet of you to ask, but you don't have to every time you want to kiss me.

[Manabu bristles, a cracked vocalization cut short when he's touched; he lifts his head just in time to get cut off from sputtering thanks to the little peck. static pops off the tips of some of his hair as his wincing eyes widen, stuck in place well after the assuring words (he needs the brainpower to process them).]

A-are you sure-? [he finally blinks and looks up at him, eyebrows lifting.]

[The static, in this close of proximity, leaves the air between them charged--an oddly pleasant if bewildering sensation.]

Am I--[A gentle laugh, followed by a fond little hm.] Yes. I'm quite sure.

[it is extremely unfair how just a simple little laugh makes Manabu's heart jump; he swallows it back down - the last hesitation before he tilts his head up and hastily leans in to kiss him. thankfully not too much gumption that would've yielded a headbutt, but even so, it's packed with a bit of indignation for himself and Kazuma's stupid nice laugh and face.

look he had to think fast or Kazuma would be quicker on the draw again!!]

[The kiss itself isn't so much a surprise--he did, after all, invite it. But the energy behind it is. It's enough to earn a soft, startled noise from Kazuma; muffled and quickly quieted as he kisses him back.

The hand he had on Manabu's arm slips, gripping at his forearm just below the elbow as he tugs him just a bit closer.

Perhaps goading Manabu would be worthwhile if this was the goal and end result.]

[Manabu didn't really need the encouragement, but he'll take it, because it means he can really think on and inevitably get lost in kissing. it's not really something he ought to analyze too much, but it has been plaguing him for a long time, you know?! whether he really wanted to kiss Kazuma or not...

stepping in, the arm guided by Kazuma's hand lifts and winds around his shoulder. there's far less aggression backing these moves than the post-suckerpunch retaliation kiss, but Manabu isn't gingerly smooching, either. it's a kind of hungry earnestness, motivated both by the want to know and the eagerness to shut the hell up and just enjoy a nice thing.

it might be a bit strange to be kissed by a guy currently thrumming with electricity in his veins, but there's like a dozen electricity-based puns to work with there too. take the win, Kazuma.]

[Any other situation, where he wasn't solely focused on the weight of Manabu's mouth on his, he'd be certain to think of those puns--and voice them. Now though? He was more engrossed with the idea of giving as good as he got--blame his competitive nature for that one, you can only benefit Manabu.

His earnestness, and the hunger that underlies it, is only matched by Kazuma's own. But it is more of an answering call, matching and responding to him instead of trying to take the lead. He's taken that more than once, and if this is Manabu's attempt to figure this all out and do something himself--well he wasn't going to complain or take it from him. With Manabu's arm now around him, Kazuma's hand settles at his hip, grip gentle but firm--though rather it's to steady Manabu, himself, or the both of them is up for debate.]

[it's so weird...part of Manabu, the part raised with certain norms and proprieties, wants to be embarrassed and recoil at how much the rest of him is so into this. it's actually a relief in a way: it means, perhaps, his attraction was real? or real enough. not just strings being pulled by bored and errant Pthumerians...

kissing Kazuma is different. with Ryunosuke, there's a kind of even give and take - a call and echo where they match intensity. given that Manabu lunged in with something to prove, the dynamic is naturally different and distinct...and kind of exciting?

he breaks the kiss, settling on flat feet while catching his breath, his face flush and dazed, hair frizzed and gaze a bit far away.]

...

[...until he blinks back to lucidity and sees Kazuma's hair. Ryunosuke's was funny enough, but Kazuma has a lot more of it.

he looks like he's been touching a plasma ball, hair all standing up like that.

Manabu has to very quickly clam up to stifle a laugh.]

[Stifled or not, the hint of laughter startles Kazuma out of his own little moment. He looks puzzled--a look of confusion that certainly makes for a picture with his flushed face and static laced hair (not that he realizes the latter is part of the whole thing just yet).]

What? [He tilts his head, a thoughtful frown completing the lost look on his face.] What's so funny?

A--uh, [his mouth quirks, sheepish. after a fast little glance around, he tilts his head toward the array of bottles and glasses - free reflective surface real estate.]

Look.

[The suggestion is met with a deeper frown, but he looks anyway. And:]

Hn--slkdfh...ah. [THe undignified noise is immediately followed by hurried attempts to flatten his hair back down from where it was standing on end.]

I--That's something I'll have to come to expect as a possibility I suppose...

[Manabu leans back a bit to duck and keep from getting elbowed in the face amidst all the hair fussing, coughing to clear his throat of the laughter in his breath.]

Ye-yeah! Sorry...about that... I can't really control it.

I know...[He gives up on getting rid of all of the static, figuring some of the fussing is just making it worse.] I don't mind--It was simply...unexpected.

Though I probably should have expected something from that spark of yours.

[Manabu utters a faint, self-conscious sound, fully withdrawing his arm from Kazuma's shoulder, bringing the hand to the back of his own neck.]

Coldblood's weird. I don't know what cold has to do with electricity anyway. [or heat, given the history of searing burns and kotatsu heating between them.]

I won't zap you on purpose, anyway. Or burn you. So...

Manabu-- [Kazuma follows the retreat of his arm by reaching out to him again, his own arm going round his waist. An attempt to keep him close, to keep him from pulling back too far.] I know. I don't worry about you doing any of that on purpose.

[And for good measure, he follows up the reassurance with a peck on his cheek.] I don't mind a bit of static. I'm a little fond of the spark.

Wuh-- [Manabu flushes scarlet for a flash - just enough to fluff hair again before the cold part of coldblood evens his color out again. the flustered expression remains, however! it's like a staticky swoon, this particular Manabu style.

he'd have shrunk away more if the peck didn't halt the very notion - and his train of thought before he can snap out of it.]

Okay, well, that-- That's good. [lame, Manabu. he clears his throat again, lifting his chin - nearly bumping Kazuma's face doing so.] Er, that is, it's not like I could've done anything about it anyway, you know...!

Yes, well...[There's that soft, fond laugh again.] You're in luck, considering I find it endearing. [A pause, a grin. A chance to possibly fluster him further:] And cute.

[That statement is followed up with a brief, stolen kiss before he let's Manabu go.]

Though...it's only getting later. And I believe we have a date tomorrow to rest up for?

[goddammit he's winning again. Manabu wavers in place with the lingering, floaty feelings that cheeky kiss has instilled; he has half a mind to grab that face of Kazuma's and smooch it again!

but instead opts for just floaty frustration as the mention of being in time and a place is brought back.]

Uoh, ri-right...right. Yeah. [he backs away, reluctantly freeing himself from the hold.]

Let's get out of here. [and sleep?? sleep. imagine sleeping as opposed to stewing over kisses and cheeky laughs and smirking faces. damn.]

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truerevival - 2022-10-02 23:13 (UTC) - Expand

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