pins/needles

“Grungy and effortless… You have strange tastes, Ishiko.” He moves to sit up next to her, wrapping his long limbs around her side, claiming her with his snuggles. “Don’t talk to me or my sons ever again.” There’s definitely some giggles coming from him, a sign that he really doesn’t mind her criticism of his lizards. “No. I mean. Yes. You can kiss me. But you have to kiss Mr. Bowie first.” Maybe he should’ve just agreed to the trade-off, it would’ve been a win/win scenario, and David Bowie probably wouldn’t have minded, but he’s a stubborn guy. He’s detecting the apprehension from Ishiko towards having the lizard that close to her face, and he’s ready to pounce on this new-found fear. “Don’t be scared. He doesn’t bite. He just wants a kiss. Look at him. He’s so hurt.” Gun’s gaze returns to the lizard, who’s stopped in the middle of Ishiko’s arm to stare blankly ahead. “He’s so upset he can’t even move.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, giggling. There’s a familiar type of comfort that comes to Ishiko when she feels the warmth of his body next to hers, arms snaked around her and keeping her close. Of course, she still couldn’t help but feel a bit of unease at the situation; while she wasn’t one to find reptiles exactly appealing, enough time had passed that she’d gotten acclimated to his pets. There was a slow process to it, though. She started small with approaching them slowly, and eventually built up to being able to touch them beneath her fingers and even have them skitter across her arm like now. But to kiss the lizard? She turned back, staring at it with her eyebrows furrowed slightly. “He doesn’t look hurt, he looks like he-” Cutting her speech off, Ishiko blinked for a second, staring at the lizard before staring at him. “…Like he needs a little peck.” With a clear of her throat, she lifted her arm up before leaning in and pressing a quick peck to the lizard’s head. Her eyes are squeezed closed of course, a split second to do what he asks before finally pulling away and burying her face in the crook of his neck. “There,” she responded, voice muffled, “I did it.”

“I look like I rolled out of a garbage can, what the hell are you talking about?” He laughs to cover up the sudden bout of shyness he’s feeling from her compliments, stroking his finger over the top of the lizard’s head gently. “Dammit, maybe I shouldn’t have brought him in here. He’s cock-blocking me now.” The lizard makes its way from his body to her arm, tentative steps taken with his nails hooking to skin so he won’t slide off. “Excuse you! David Bowie is fine. Don’t talk about him that way.” He eyes the salmon pink color around David’s face, the reptile’s eyes lidded with a constant neutral look to it. “It’s just his skin, he doesn’t have pigmentation in those areas. He was an experimental one, they breed these for colors. That’s how I got him. If he was full-blown pastel, it would’ve been a lot harder to get my hands on him.” His finger runs along the bumpy skin of its back while it treks along Ishiko’s arm. “You hurt his feelings. Give him a kiss.”

“It’s a… grungy, effortless, lowkey look,” she replied, eyes trained on the lizard while it tentatively moved onto her fingers before moving up her hand. “Like I said, you look good.” As her gaze followed the lizard while it slowly crawled up to her forearm, she turned to glance at the other, his head perched in her lap and staring up at her. “What? Freddie and George seem to be more… vibrant in their expressions. It’s easier for me to tell that they’re alive-” Pausing to clear her throat, she realized that just maybe she should stop digging herself into a deeper hole with him. Of course, when he asks her to kiss the lizard in apology, Ishiko stared at him, eyes wide and lips pursed. “…Wh-” She doesn’t mind the lizard on her at the moment, really, but to kiss the lizard? That was something she wasn’t quite prepared for just yet. “Give him a kiss? Can’t I just give you a kiss instead?” she asked, hoping that just maybe he’d accept such a trade off.

"Grungy and effortless... You have strange tastes, Ishiko." He moves to sit up next to her, wrapping his long limbs around her side, claiming her with his snuggles. "Don't talk to me or my sons ever again." There's definitely some giggles coming from him, a sign that he really doesn't mind her criticism of his lizards. "No. I mean. Yes. You can kiss me. But you have to kiss Mr. Bowie first." Maybe he should've just agreed to the trade-off, it would've been a win/win scenario, and David Bowie probably wouldn't have minded, but he's a stubborn guy. He's detecting the apprehension from Ishiko towards having the lizard that close to her face, and he's ready to pounce on this new-found fear. "Don't be scared. He doesn't bite. He just wants a kiss. Look at him. He's so hurt." Gun's gaze returns to the lizard, who's stopped in the middle of Ishiko's arm to stare blankly ahead. "He's so upset he can't even move."