▐ | 「 S C A R S. 」

          humming lightly as a single raven brow lifts upwards, both of koujaku’s lips are soon following example until he’s left with an undeniable grin etched upon his features. said grin only serving to grow wider and wider the closer he comes to the male’s back until  , suddenly  , he’s wrapping both arms around the man’s waist without warning. another hum  ,  this one more gentle  ,  and he’s speaking as a cheek presses lightly to the side of aoba’s head.            

“I will wreck you so hard, Koujaku. Try me. I dare you.”

                  —– “   mm  ,  the luckiest man there ever was. ”  his words come light and quiet  , a pair of strong arms snaking around to fold aoba’s waist firm from behind as his nose takes to burying itself into the other man’s neck. for once , it seems he’s truly going to refrain from playing it off as some sort of joke. instead of the usual tease or ‘how did you survive?’, there’s only a soft hum that borders on sad as eyelids fall shut. 

        —⌖|| Aoba smiled, deciding to steal another quick kiss on his own; as many times as he could call Koujaku a big dumb oaf, he just couldn’t get enough of him. Even when he might be upset with him for disappearing so often…it made him worry. Not that Koujaku was messing around, nothing like that. Just worried that…maybe one day he wouldn’t come back, like before…when he was gone for so long…

                   "I uh….I think I might have…stashed an overnight bag….or two…at your place.” He chuckled a touch awkwardly. “Y’know….just in case..”

           While he had held himself back for the time being so he wouldn’t ruin Aoba’s time to speak, he’s certainly not upset by the fact Aoba sneaks in another kiss. In fact, it makes him all the happier and it’s obvious by the way his lips stretch into a wide smile, red eyes never seeming to leave Aoba’s face. He knows it’s unfair to remain away for so long, sometimes without even a proper explanation, and perhaps that’s why he moves to carefully place a kiss against the male’s forehead, any usual hesitance all but vanished. Maybe, just maybe, that’s why he seems overly eager to “make it up” to the male. Honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure of all the reasons himself.

Aoba just kept him pulled close, kissing him back…probably a little too needy, but what else was he supposed to do? He’d missed Koujaku more than he could really put into words without sounding like a complete sap. So he’d have to show him…

‘M..maybe..” he mumbled against Koujaku’s lips, “…can I stay with you tonight..?”

whatever needy behavior Aoba may have exhibited  ,  Koujaku was thrilled to return the gestures with equal amounts of enthusiasm. true  ,  it had been his own fault that he had been away from the other male for so long but that certainly didn’t seem to stop him from fully displaying his happiness at being reunited once again. as Aoba speaks  ,  he reins himself in a bit and makes sure he doesn’t try to steal a kiss or two  .  .  .  or three. however  ,  his attention is soon caught and held by the request and Koujaku is forcing himself to remain calm despite his spiking heartbeat. 

“God…” Aoba nuzzled against him a moment, trying not to smile; he was supposed to be mad at him after all. But he couldn’t help it. This was the first time in ages he had honestly felt good. He felt loved and safe again. He grabbed Koujaku by the hem of his kimono and yanked him down to eye-level, smirking at him a little. “….I love you, you big dumb goof…”

              —– “ this big  ,  dumb goof loves you  ,  too  ,  you know. ” it’s practically whispered as he leans down more once tugged on  ,  his expression lighting up like some kind of kid faced with gifts.