BRIAR

the two of you are sat under a tree on a breezy day with your back against the bark and choso’s head tucked in your lap contently. he has his eyes closed but you can tell he’s not sleeping, just resting, his pretty lashes kissing his cheeks. chest rising and falling slowly. if anything, his relaxed stature should mirror onto you but it only makes you more nervous.

gently, you move to hold his face in your hands, thumbs dusting over his cheeks which makes him exhale a breath through his nose a little heavier in response. though no longer a stranger to your touch, it still makes his heart skip all the same. choso and affection had never crossed paths until he’d met you.

and slowly, you lower your face to his, eyes drawing to a close when you carefully slot your lips over his own. you remain there for a beat before you pull away to see a pair of alerted, intense eyes staring directly into yours.

“what did you just do?”

he’s so matter of fact. you still aren’t quite sure if you’re used to how much weight his voice has when he uses it. how it feels like he’s speaking into you instead of to you.

“um, I-“ you swallow, hard. “it was a kiss. i kissed you.”

you hadn’t really thought this through, you realize as your mouth runs dry. feels like it’s been filled with sand.

“why? what is a ‘kiss’?” he’d paused to taste the word, like he’d never spoken it before. because he hadn’t.

“it’s what you do when you like someone. when words aren’t enough to show it. you put your lips on theirs, and… move them.”

you were going to kill maki.

he nods, but he still seems to be thinking on it. “what does it mean?”

“it’s kind of hard to explain. but it’s supposed to be a good thing, you know… that couples do.” he shifts slightly, arms coming up to cross under his head instead. his knuckles brushing against the skin of your thighs, the feeling of his hands making you fidget a bit. they were almost hot.

“how’d it make you feel?” you ask.

“do it again.”

“what?”

he repeats himself, “do it again. you caught me off guard the first time.”

so you do as you’re told. once. just a peck, barely a second. then again, but this time, you stay long enough to feel his lips tentatively start to move against yours. to feel them press deeper into yours when his chin tilts upwards.

a breath is shared between the two of you, lips ghosting against each other’s before you pull away completely.

your heart is beating fast and you know he can sense it.

“so? now how do you feel?” it comes out really soft because you’re nervous and you truly can’t read him right now.

he looks… confused. curious? you don’t know, but there’s a harsh line between his brows while he mulls on his answer.

“warm. like my blood is about to burst through my veins any second now… like—“ his lips close, then part again, but it takes a few more seconds for words to escape and for the first time ever you hear choso trip over his words. “like the feeling you get when you’re getting ready to fight someone. but… different. more intense.”

“cho, it’s okay if you didn’t like—“

he doesn’t let you finish.

“give me more,” and he tacks it on for good measure because yuji’s told him he needs to work on his manners. “please.”

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