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「オビ！」/「乃詞 (ないし)」のイラスト [pixiv]

Title: オビ！

Artist: 乃詞 (ないし)

Illustration ID / Pixiv Artist ID: 52852859 / 9158913

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                           His gaze immediately looked away when he saw the soundless statement run over the artisan’s lips, wanting to avoid seeing the end of it. Ken didn’t want to this, this kind of attention, to suddenly be thrown for a loop and having to sit and listen to someone speak sweetly to him and to unravel him in a matter of minutes. Several years ago he accepted the reality of being mostly solitary, and here comes this asshole, prancing along and throwing the doors open as if he can walk his way all through his veins and mind. God, it was aggravating. 

‘   what do i gain ?   ’ 

    chimes of bells were rusted copper within his throat as JUMPSTART pushed gritty laughter. normally, he wasn’t the scheming type ( well, not often but -- ). in retrospect, it would have been an equivocal attempt to master practical consolation and perhaps he was pushing for something, for something to happen ( JUMPSTART himself knew naught of what it was, but his charm of being waggishly ignorant wouldn’t have been if he did -- a game is no fun if you knew all the rules, after all ) and so he harboured the question, juggled the 20 kilogrammed inquiry in his mind with the deftness of his own hands, and something finally hit. game or not, this involved real people, involved the metaphysical entity of the Sun in front of him, and he had always respected the sun for bringing so much life to this puny planet flecked with puny dwellers. and so he flourished, the Jester performance had ended, and he was soon brought back to reality. 

                         It was something akin to sensory overload, or maybe it was pure shock? Whatever it was, his mouth was gaping slightly and the tiniest hint of color that had been there before, washed over his skin like a wave. A red so bright it bloomed over his nose and cheeks, brows furrowed as they almost always are. The hand on his cheek was almost just as shocking, enough to make him pull his chin back slightly, trying to reclaim some space. This whole thing felt odd, he felt odd– 

                         He takes a step back, his hand moving over his mouth. His fingers itched to touch the skin where he had felt the other kiss him, but he didn’t want to do that, not in front of him anyway. There’s too many thoughts in his head, too many feelings, too many questions. What a time to have another sexuality crisis– then again, it was like Jumpstart was trying to provoke one ( or that’s how Ken felt, anyway ). 

                         Nothing falls from his lips, even though they were open and he wanted to speak, wanted to say some sort of small plea for no more of that flirtatious bullshit ( it made his head dizzy and his stomach curl, and his heart beat too fast for comfort ). Slowly, hesitantly, his hand falls from over his face, curling into a fist at his side and his gaze falls, too, his voice quiet and somehow timid. 

as the dusts of cerise on soft cheeks rapidly exploded into a full-blown neon red, the tapered ends of his mouth tugged higher and higher in axiomatic amusement. involuntary chuckles spilled through the intercalation of pristine teeth, and he canted his head so as to meet the falling gaze of his proprietor. really. too cute. his movements, his reactions. adorable. he almost wanted to brush his finger across that smooth expanse again, coaxing a reaction from the very person it was attached to, teasing him, because really it was very fascinating to see that one minute he was rejecting him and permeating disconnection, and then the next his attention for him escalated with an eruption of responses, ones of verbal and non-verbal. he mouthed, cute, when he made eye contact with ken and proceeded to continue with voicing his thoughts out loud. 

‘   kin’ of already guessed, actually -- 

     All the excitement and embarrassment Kohaku was feeling suddenly melted off his shoulders into a puddle on the ground, and footsteps stopped almost immediately after hearing the elder’s comment. He–… He wasn’t… Hands balled into loose fists at his sides before arms were folded in front of him, gaze cast downward to avoid the look he knew he was going to receive.

     What, was it something I said? Did you really get offended over something like that? Suck it up, be a man.

     He’d heard things like that so often once someone started to have an inclination as to his fashion tastes; he should be used to it by now. But he wasn’t, and he doubted he ever would be. Ketsu had always been around to help in these situations, but now he wasn’t and Kohaku was left on his own to figure it out.

     “N-No, I’m–…” No, he couldn’t explain it now, not after suddenly feeling like this.

the heels of his boots clacked forth, light in its blitheness, before he realised the complement of the other’s footsteps were dispelled within a minute of his ignorance. 

‘   ... ? something wrong ?  ’ a knot brought the ends of his brows taut in puzzlement. ‘   are you oka--  ’ then after hearing what he had to say, JUMPSTART was even more confused. did I say something offensive ? because the notion of the other being a girl in disguise did not come to him as an insult to him ( if it was the truth, then so be it, good for him ), so he backtracked towards the figure that came to a standstill.

                         To say Ken was a fan of interacting with Ju would not really be an accurate statement; he hated it. It was perplexing, the fact that he was crass and foul-mouthed, and the darker-haired man took it to be a jest of some kind– took to saying sweetened words to him. A young man such as himself, harbored by a stage of rebellion and detachment from other people, Ken did not know how to react to what he felt, or Ju himself. 

               ❝You’re an actor, you could put on whatever you want.                  How do I know you’re not just sayin’ that ‘cause you think                  it’s funny how pissy I get?❞

‘   really ? the hell is with that “actor” nonsense ? can’t a guy just tell you how attractive you are ?  ’ he absentmindedly rubbed the place where he kissed him, but pulled away, grinning lopsidedly. ‘   or is that a challenge ? do you want me to compliment you more ?  ’