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[swordfucker]

Guren Ichinose | Red | #A5211F

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[passio]

[ it’s ironic that, for all the times he cries with no catharsis, that he can’t seem to muster tears now when it might actually help him feel better. instead, all he can do is try to catch his breath while kissing guren.

his feelings. their feelings, and it’s amazing how far they’ve come from dextera’s frightened encounter with him in the well. it’s more than “like.” ]

… [ he’s so lucky, to have met someone like guren. ] Tonight—let me stay here. Please.

[ he doesn’t even need to ask and he knows that, but a point needs to be made of it anyway. ]

[swordfucker]

You can always stay here.

[He knows Dextera knows that, but he asked anyway, and so Guren will answer the same as always. Of course he can stay. Of course he can stay whenever. He'd also go to Dextera's whenever asked.

He smooths his thumb over his cheek.]

[passio]

[ dextera is slowly, slowly finding his peace again.

he’s aware that this is a side of guren that doesn’t get shown to others easily—he’s seen guren with the rest of the town, the way he presents himself on the forums, and he’s grateful that guren has always seemed soft, like this, with him. he was bound to feel this way eventually, whether it was ever returned or not. ]

…tomorrow. Rematch.

[ they can’t play chess again right now, and probably not for the rest of the day, but tomorrow is something new. he’s sure he’ll feel better in the morning. ]

[swordfucker]

Yeah.

[Guren agrees, quietly, and he's smiling as he leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth again. It's true, he's not like this with anyone else. He hasn't been this way to anyone since Mahiru, aside from a few certain quiet moments with his retainers. This, though... this is a connection he's had from the beginning. He might have thought Dextera was a weirdo, a little like a lost animal who needed direction, but there's something that Guren is drawn to, inexplicably. Now, spending time with him more and more, it's impossible to pull away.

He rests his face against Dextera's, nose brushing softly against his cheek as he breathes out a laugh.]

You'll need the time to think up a way to beat me again, anyway.

[passio]

…

[ it tickles, when guren breathes against him like that, and the combination of such a feeling and guren’s playful teasing helps set his heart back to normal. that’s something they should still talk about, the inevitable separation looming over them both, but… for now, it’s fine. dextera wants to be selfish. ]

Heh.

[ a laugh… a good sign, to be sure, especially when he turns to return the kiss.

it’s nice, to just be able to do this. ]

[swordfucker]

[He kisses him back, again, with a smile. There's plenty he's avoiding about the future, and he knows it, absolutely. But he has a problem with ignoring things like this. He refuses to acknowledge it. He'll change fate to avoid it.

So for now, happiness. And he's also thinking with relief that maybe people will stop bugging him about hooking up with Dextera if he replies that he already has.]

Let me put the board and pieces away before we wreck them.

[By getting all cuddly. He's pulling away to do just that.]

[passio]

[ dextera should be the one to do that, considering it’s his board and guren is still healing, but there’s a few seconds of lag before he remembers to be polite.

he gathers up the pieces that guren hasn’t gotten to yet, and tucks it all away into the bag he brought. ]

You should rest.

[swordfucker]

I don't wanna.

[Like a child, he says that, standing up to move this bag of goodies over to the table where his laptop rests. This time, he doesn't bother turning it on. Having Dextera here helps in a lot of ways, honestly.]

You don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm healing a little faster now, so I should be back to normal in no time. See? They're just scars now.

[And even those will vanish, in time. He runs his hand over his own chest, to show Dextera that it's fine.]

[passio]

…

[ dextera is genuinely taken aback by guren’s answer, and he’s silent for a moment, his hands hanging in the air because he can’t believe guren just sassed him.

slowly: ]

Then… what do you want to do?

[swordfucker]

[Guren looks to Dextera at that, thinking, stepping closer, letting his smile settle into place as he reaches to take one of those hands.]

Stuff. [He thinks he's so cute.]

[passio]

Stuff.

[ dextera mouths that, a little incredulous—guren is being cute, and it’s a nice distraction from how upset he was. guren isn’t always cute like this, and their relationship is new enough that everything still feels novel.

he turns guren’s hand so he can write onto his palm, sweet in his own way. ]

Like what?

[swordfucker]

[That's the idea. Making things lighter, settling back into what they can't take away from him. What he'll be so much more careful protecting. He ducks down when Dextera's writing is finished, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips that he smiles at the end of, and then stands right back up.]

Like that.

[For one.] Maybe just sitting and relaxing for a change, too. What do you want to do?

[passio]

[ this time, dextera follows him to stand up, still holding onto his hand simply because he can. he never needed an excuse before anyway, but it feels personal and intimate to do it now. he likes it. ]

…

[ he glances away from guren’s face, suggesting that he has an idea but is a little too shy to suggest it. ]

[swordfucker]

You’ve got something in mind.

[ Guren catches it, and he’s expecting something embarrassing, or maybe just cute, rather than what was forming earlier, but it doesn’t stop him from getting excited thinking about it. Honestly, he just wants to spend time with him. ]

What is it? You can tell me.

[passio]

[ guren is right not to return to that earlier moment between them, where the air was heavy with desire—dextera’s hopeful request here is something a little different, and his cheeks turn pink as he thinks about it. ]

Shampoo.

[ he writes this on guren’s hand like a schoolgirl writing a love note, without the decisive strokes he’s used to using.

he wants to take a bath… ]

[swordfucker]

[ He’s so cute and Guren’s heart can barely take it. He loves how he wrote that... ]

Oh, you want to use my shampoo? [ That’s... precious, and he probably could use a bath, relaxation wise as well as to clean up. ]

We can do that. Have you ever used shampoo before? [ If not... he’ll have to help to make sure nothing is wasted... He’s not sure if that’s fine or not, either. ]

[passio]

…probably.

[ which maybe doesn’t offer much confidence. if he has used shampoo before, he doesn’t remember it.

he realizes that guren will probably want to help him in some way, but… well. he doesn’t mind that as much as a modest man should. ]

[swordfucker]

...probably.

[ I love that Guren is more embarrassed about this than Dextera. ]

Then I’ll help you out, if you don’t mind me being in there. No offense, but I like that shampoo, so I’m trying to make it last.

[passio]

[ probably!

dextera squeezes guren’s hand, pressing his thumbs against his palm just to touch, and then nods as he pulls away. he was shy about stripping in front of guren before, but… there’s a new context, right?

and he could always just keep his underwear on if he had to. ]

I like it, too.

[swordfucker]

[ Okay, Guren laughs a little at that. ]

I’ll get the water set up. Come on.

[ he’ll lead him into the bathroom (which is shared with another bedroom so he’ll just go ahead and lock that side) and get stuff ready. Good old water that’s not running water... Eventually it’s set up, and Guren gestures to tell Dextera he can get in before he turns to grab the shampoo and some towels. ]

I wonder if Clark can make any shampoo, too. He made soap. Still, this stuff is straight out of a store, so it’s a little different.

[passio]

[ dextera thought he was fine with it, but the reality is that as soon as his coat is off, he gets shy about it—of course, right? he’s definitely not japanese, with far too much modesty about bathtime, though he does manage to peel out of his shirt without too much fuss.

his scar is there, the same as it was before, unable to be healed by death and rebirth. he glances from it, to guren’s face, but he doesn’t seem upset about the scar itself. it’s more like he’s just shy, and the scar is a reminder that he could potentially be getting naked. ]

This is enough.

[ if guren has to dunk him over the edge of the tub to wash his hair, then so be it. ]

[swordfucker]

[ Honestly, he feels a little bad. That’s not going to be relaxing!! So, he glances down and offers a towel forward. ]

How about I turn around and you wrap this around and get in? It’s not going to be comfortable if you’re half dressed.

[passio]

[ …he didn’t think about that!

so he’ll gladly take it, nodding like guren just had the best idea in the universe, and then he’s already stripping even before guren turns around. the bandages go, too—they’re cloth, and not actually covering any wounds, so he can put them right back on when he’s done.

the sound of him slipping into the water is sign enough that guren can turn around, but just in case, like before, he knocks on the edge of the bath.

hello! he’s like a stray dog that needs to be power-washed. ]

[swordfucker]

[ He loves this gremlin.

He turns around at the knock, moving over to set other towels nearby, and grabs the shampoo bottle with one hand, placing the other on Dextera’s head. ]

You really don’t seem like the kind of guy who’s shy when people see you doing certain things, you know. [ Like eating hearts or bones, for example... But Guren is grinning. He knows better. ]

Dunk your head. [ pat pat ]

[passio]

[ even dextera knows that getting naked isn’t socially acceptable, even if he is technically in the most socially acceptable place to be naked… in his—in guren’s house, in guren’s bathroom, actively sitting in water.

it’s honestly probably weirder that he’s not in the nude right now.

he takes a deep breath, and does as he’s told, submerging—maybe unnecessarily—most of his body to get his hair wet. it seems even darker when saturated with water, a black that shines nearly the same blue as his hex code. he comes back up soon, and shakes it out of his face. ]

…?