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[swordfucker]

Guren Ichinose | Red | #A5211F

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[swordfucker]

[Guess what! Guren's at the point where he no longer needs bandages. And guess what else! He's still shirtless in his own home, so Dextera gets the pleasure of walking in to him standing at his bookshelf, admiring that stupid lion that he's set next to the heart embroidery on it and adjusting the bracelet he's still wearing. Embarrassing.

His wounds have healed over enough to be pretty nasty scars, but it's likely that even those will heal in time. Much faster time than normal, considering the improvement so far. His demon is coming back more and more.

He turns when he hears the door open.]

What the hell did I tell you about knocking—

[But oh, it's not his housemates at all. It's Dextera... who didn't knock? And Guren looks surprised for a moment before relaxing with a laugh, raising his hand quickly to wave it off.]

Sorry. I thought you were one of the others. [Dextera can enter without knocking.] You brought the board?

[passio]

[ dextera likes… all of this. although he tenses up in fear when guren starts to snap at him, he’s quickly made aware that he’s the exception to guren’s rule—and that feels good. that feels excellent. ]

Sorry.

[ signed, but he’s less sorry than he normally would be—evidenced by less focus on guren’s face, and more on his torso, with a quick glance to the lion and the embroidery on the shelf behind him as well. he looks better.

he holds up the bag he brought along, cheerful, and the pieces clack around inside. he’s ready. ]

[swordfucker]

Great.

[He doesn't even bother waving off that apology, since he thinks Dextera barely meant it. He eyes the lion a second longer and then turns away. He can tell Dextera what it does later.

For now, he's moving over to him, stepping maybe a little closer than normal as he reaches to help take that bag.]

Let's set it up on the floor. I've been bored out of my mind.

[passio]

[ dextera is in a good mood, as he almost always is when they play chess together. it feels like their thing, when he plays it with guren far more than he does with anyone else. guren is a good match for him.

he sets the board on the ground, gently dropping the pieces on the floor next to it so he can set it up. ]

A little dusty.

[ they’ve been busy…! ]

[swordfucker]

We’ll have to fix that.

[ Guren is there next to him now, moving pieces to help set them up, eyes flicking to watch Dextera occasionally. ] Sorry it’s been so long. I don’t even know how all of this started, but it feels like it should be more of a regular thing, even if we get busy. I’ll make time for it, next time.

[passio]

…?

[ that’s a weird thing to say, isn’t it? that he doesn’t know how all of this started. dextera asked him to start playing chess, after all, but he supposes it has been a few months.

in true dextera fashion, though, he doesn’t immediately question it. ]

Hmm. You need the practice.

[ sassy! but maybe a little half-hearted as well, because he’s trying to figure out what guren meant. ]

[swordfucker]

[ Guren doesn’t even notice that something is bothering Dextera about that. He’s too wrapped in his own thoughts and finishing placing the last two pieces with a smirk. He’s into this, he wants to play more and more, that’s all he can think. ]

Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you just because you came back to life. We’re gonna have to start making bets.

[passio]

[ luckily for guren, that sparks dextera’s genuinely competitive streak, and he looks up from his thoughtful gaze at the board. his eyes are wide, but he’s not completely guileless. ]

What kind?

[ they don’t have to make a bet now… but dextera would like to know what he’s in for. ]

[swordfucker]

[ Guren toys with one of the white pawns as he considers that, and his grin says enough alone. Fun ones? ]

Whatever kind we want. [ Simple... and covering all things. So many possibilities. ]

Anything from making you stop eating the leaves off fruit to getting another kiss. Haha.

[ He doesn’t think he has to bet for the latter one now, though. ]

[passio]

Ah—!

[ after dextera left guren’s house the first time, he wasn’t sure if he could kiss guren again—he was happily proven wrong, of course, but it still feels novel to him. kissing? without consequences? his ears burn at guren’s playful suggestions, two different kinds of embarrassment mingling into a red flush across his face. ]

You go first.

[swordfucker]

Hahaha. Alright.

[He'll stop laughing now... He makes his move, and it's a little different from his usual starting strategies. A lot of coping about Dextera's death was done in chess strategies compared to real life, so.]

[passio]

…?

[ dextera’s shyness is immediately washed away to leave room for intrigue, at guren’s opening move. he’s still just a little flustered, but now there’s interest in his eyes as he peers at the board—although he responds with the same practice that suggests it’s something he’s seen before, it takes him a little longer. ]

I like that move.

[ is this flirting?? ]

[swordfucker]

Because it's good for me, or good for you?

[It's probably flirting. Guren's smirking as he makes his next move, and his reactions have adapted a little, as well. He's sure he's no match for Dextera in the long run, but he'll still have times when he wins or pushes back enough. He wants that, he needs it.]

[passio]

Good for you. [ a beat. ] Fun for me.

[ it doesn’t matter how many memories about his brother make chess strange for him—he’s making new ones, with guren. he doesn’t play like someone who learned from a book, and that’s fun. guren is fun.

they’re just a few moves in, as dextera moves his next piece into place, but it’s already going a little differently from their matches before. ]

[swordfucker]

[It's always heated when they play chess, but now it feels even moreso. At least, Guren feels it. He doesn't know if it's the knowledge that Dextera kissed him and wanted that, or just that his own playing is going surprisingly enough that Dextera is having to think a little more than normal to push back, but it's an incredible feeling. Way too much excitement.]

This is pretty fun for me, too.

[He says it a few turns later, thinking out his next move and then placing it.]

[passio]

[ it’s a nice break from how hectic things have still been, the past few days. although it’s nothing compared to the town at large’s tendency to throw things at them every which way, dextera’s death and revival have made him busy. this is a kind of solace for him, to stick close to guren.

the oddity of guren’s earlier comment has been forgotten, thankfully. ]

…

[ although they’re not timing it, for this match, a good ten seconds pass before dextera makes his next move. it’s obvious, that guren just gave him a genuine pause. ]

[swordfucker]

[You know, there are plenty of times when Guren can be called catlike, but they're never enough to mention. Now, though, the stare he's giving Dextera at that pause is too amused, too focused, it's like you can see a tail flicking behind him.

Thankfully, he's not a furry, so he's just sitting and watching, but god he loves this.]

I got you on that one, huh?

[passio]

[ dextera looks up, and he’s surprised to see guren looking at him like that—even with that tone that’s clearly smug, he’s not sure he’s ever seen all of guren’s various quirks come together like this. ]

…hmm.

[ he looks away, setting his piece down with more force than is necessary, though the sound of it is somehow playful too. no!! you didn’t get him at all!!! ]

[swordfucker]

[...That's a look he wants to chase, but he doesn't want to ruin this really good chess game, either.

So, he laughs and looks back down at the board, thinking. Even if he teases Dextera about taking a while, his move after being stumped is always a strong one. Guren can't get too cocky, or he'll lose to that.

He's careful but he's confident with his next move.

He wasn't enough to save his friends... but maybe he can be enough to win a chess game, at least.]

[passio]

[ dextera plays his best to the very end, and it’s a tight match—but ultimately, it’s impossible for dextera to know every permutation of every strategy, and there’s a flicker of genuine frustration on his face as he moves his final piece.

he knows he’s lost, and he wouldn’t make such a face now if it hadn’t been so close. it’s only chess, but his heart is beating hard. ]

Again.

[ before guren even gets the chance to make his last move… he signs it quickly enough that his hands audibly smack against each other.

look at that competitive face! ]

[swordfucker]

[He wants to smooch it.

Anyway, he loves that competitive fierceness. He has a feeling Dextera is going to crush him this next time, even if he's trying out new methods, so he wants to enjoy this feeling while it lasts. So, even if Dextera was determined to end it early, Guren reaches over, and while staring directly into his eyes, makes his last move.]

Checkmate.

[At least let him win properly, first!!]

[passio]

—!

[ guren didn’t have to go through the trouble of claiming checkmate, but he did, and there’s a weird mix of feelings in dextera’s chest that push both annoyance and desire to the forefront of his mind.

mostly desire, though. he goes from eye contact with guren to looking at the smug shape of his mouth, and a moment that seems too long and yet instantaneous passes between them. ]

Again.

[ one more time, as he fixes his gaze from guren’s lips to his eyes. ]

[swordfucker]

...We can go again.

[He relents in that way, agreeing to a rematch, but there's no way he can focus on setting up the board just after that eye contact. He leans across it instead, his hand squishing a few pieces out of the way as he does, and yanks Dextera by his collar into a kiss that's a lot more heated than all those sweet ones they were exchanging before.

But it's fine. He's shirtless, scarred but not bleeding, he can try a scandalous smooch.

Though, he also wonders if Dextera is so eager to try again that he'll break this up.]

[passio]

[ his poor board—

but dextera doesn’t fight it at all, when guren kisses him like that, even if he gasps sharply while their mouths still have space between them. it’s a very different kiss than anything they’ve dared yet, but dextera doesn’t mind that at all.

it’s just that—well, there’s no excuse, except that he knows himself and knows he’ll take it too far, too quickly, if he allows too much leeway.

so he kisses guren long enough that there’s no doubt he wants it, even if it’s clumsy in both inexperience and surprise, and then he’s trying to work his fingers between their faces to get them apart.

like he has to pull himself away by a crowbar. ]

[swordfucker]

[Ahhh, there's too much desire. He's so used to giving himself so little in terms of this, and now that he's allowed himself any of it, he wants to keep taking and taking. It's horrible, probably... Even if Dextera does seem to enjoy it.

So much that it seems like he's forcing himself away with a little difficulty. Guren breathes out against his lips and pulls back so he has that easier.]

...Sorry. [He let himself get carried away. But if Dextera is... shy, or worried, then he doesn't want to push that.]

I'll stop. [Maybe... for now... this is harder than it should be]