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[kappastrophe]

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(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

You know me. I'm an opportunist. I'll snag whatever opportunity rolls my way.

[He pauses for a second, examining Hakkai's face.]

Do you know what it is? Your tell? For when your smile's real or bullshit, I mean.

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

What have I gotten myself into...

[Though the genuine note of amusement fades into confusion. His eyebrows arching.]

What are you talking about?

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

Tsk. Too late to back out now.

[Gojyo raises an eyebrow. Really, Hakkai, you're so good at poker. How do you not know? His smile widens. He taps his forehead with a long finger.]

I can always tell. When you're just humoring someone or when you're really laughin'.

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

Mm, woe is me.

[Poker is one thing. Poker faces are one thing. Mostly because he can count the number of people on one hand who could actually read him.]

[... it's one. One person. Who is still poking him.]

Oh can you? A lifetime of card playing pays off?

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[He gives Hakkai a crooked smile.]

Could be. Maybe you're just easy for me.

[Was he going to fluster Hakkai? Annoy him? Make him puff out his cheeks and act all bitchy like he doesn't like it? This was gonna be a lot of fun.]

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

Are you sure that's the phrasing you want to use?

[Uh oh.]

[Which smile is that.]

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[Gojyo, a man who does not fear death, just grins wider.]

See? That one. That's the 'You're definitely gonna get fucked up' smile.

[He's a genius.]

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

Wh-

[He makes a completely different face. His whole Fuck You smile derailed. Like a cat who didn't quite make that jump onto the countertop.]

It is not.

[And there's the huff.]

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[ -- oh. Did he always feel this way about Hakkai looking indignant? Something warm and unfamiliar curls in his chest. He can't help it. He reaches up to brush a thumb across his cheek.]

You're cute as hell when you get all embarrassed.

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

I am - not embarrassed.

[Yes he is. He really is. And you know the thing is, Hakkai is pale enough to show whenever he blushes. Even slightly.]

[So he's indignantly looking anywhere except at Gojyo, who can clearly read him like a book.]

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[It's too much to resist. He sits up slightly -- mindful of his ribs, don't freak out Hakkai -- and hovers above him for a moment. Long red hair falls around them like a nostalgic curtain as Gojyo takes a minute to appreciate the view.]

You're blushing.

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

[It's embarrassing, how easy it is for Gojyo to do this. Just fluster him by moving. By looking at him. How dare he.]

[How dare he be this attractive...]

I am not. It's simply warm in here.

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[Gojyo knows he's pretty. It's gotten him far in life. Or, well, it's kept him alive at the very least. He's used it to talk his way out of fights, charm his way into having a roof over his head, winning a round of poker and scoring a meal or two.

And now he got to use it to ruffle Hakkai's feathers.

Hakkai, who apparently liked what he saw.

He leans in closer, making a show of examining his cheeks. They weren't that far apart before, and now they were close enough that Hakkai should be able to feel his breath on his cheeks as he speaks. His voice is low, weighted.]

That a fact? Something bringing the temperature up?

(frozen) 1/2

[knowsvinewhip]

It would seem that way.

[He reaches up, impulsively, to twine his fingers in Gojyo's hair. How many times have they ended up like this? Using that hair like a shield for both of them. Why are you making that face and Who're you calling anti-climatic?]

[A perfect curtain to kiss him behind. Which is precisely what Hakkai decides to do. Long and slow.]

[Pulling back for air, to look up at him a little breathless...]

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

[And rolls over onto his side.]

So! We should probably cool down, until your health improves.

[you bitch]

(frozen) 1/3

[kappastrophe]

[Gojyo exhales. Yes, yes, yes. This is exactly right. This is what they were supposed to be doing. Like two puzzle pieces finally slotting together.

His hand comes up to cup one flushed cheek, encouraging---]

(frozen) 2/3

[kappastrophe]

[ ---- wat]

(frozen) 3/3

[kappastrophe]

[He just blinks at the spot where Hakkai's head used to be. It takes him a second to process.

Processing.

Processing.

And then he just --- lets his head sink slowly against the mattress, letting out a low groan as he went. Like a deflating balloon.

Blue balls were in his future. A lot.]

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

[Do not laugh, do not laugh - ]

I'm sorry. But I would really hate for you to injure yourself again.

[He has the decency to at least sound apologetic. Sort of. He looks over his shoulder, though, and that Bitch Smile softens.]

... Later. I'll make it up to you.

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[He doesn't lift his head from the bed, but he does shift enough to crack one dubious eye open at his would-be torturer.]

You're enjoyin' this, aren't you?

[That expression may have softened, but he can still read the mirth at Gojyo's prone position of dejection.]

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

Admittedly... I am, a bit.

[No sense in lying. He won't be able to, even if he tried.]

But, I think I owe most of my enjoyment to - ah... [And there's the blush again. Faintly.] Simply. Being with you. At this moment.

[Well, now he's embarrassed all over again.]

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[He's seconds from teasing Hakkai about enjoying his suffering, but then he...

What happens next does strange things to his insides again, and Gojyo doesn't really understand why. It's like his stomach flutters. He can feel heat dust his own cheekbones as he blinks owlishly at the man next to him.

He's cute as fuck.

The smile that pulls at his lips is hard to describe, a mix between hesitant and boyish. Hopeful.]

Yeah?

[So eloquent. Nailed it.]

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

[Speak for yourself, Gojyo. You're adorable. He almost never gets to see this man flustered. He can't remember ever seeing it, to be honest.]

Yes. Is that such a surprise?

[Logic says, yes, he realizes it would be, given Gojyo's history. But... they've always been a pair, haven't they? Ever since that first meeting. Being separated is, on some fundamental level, wrong.]

Even in another world, we managed to locate one another.

(frozen)

[kappastrophe]

[Hakkai was right. It wasn't exactly surprising. Not from him. There wasn't a bone in his body that thought Hakkai would take off and leave him behind, at least without a damn good reason. And probably a self sacrificial one about how it was somehow better for Gojyo, blah blah blah.

But it was one thing to think of it in terms of a friend. A good, loyal friend who had become an immutable part of his life. Comrades who'd been through it all. This ... made it different for him somehow. It had him feeling vulnerable. Which was okay with Hakkai because he trusted him, but uncomfortable. Unsure.

No one had ever been happy just being around him before. No one who really knew him, anyway.

But he's him so it's not like he can just say any of that shit. So he clears his throat, cheeks still pink.]

Yeah-- no, I-- yeah.

[Nailed it.]

Heh. Guess you're stuck with me.

(frozen)

[knowsvinewhip]

[It's true. Leaving would only be a last resort. If there were no other option, if he really one day did become a danger to Gojyo somehow, or something like that. Under no other circumstances could he think of turning his back on his friend. Even before this evening.]

[He shifts, back onto his back. Easier to talk this way, so he isn't craning his neck the whole time.]

As eloquent as ever, I see.

[You did nail it. He understands, in other words, and won't ask for more. For a more detailed, more wordy response. That's fine enough for him - because, as usual, what matters is the unspoken. The understanding here between the two of them.]

I believe that I always was. I made my peace with it long ago.