@1andoni: ❛ will you go out with me? ❜
thunder rumbles in the distance, a sonorous war cry at the shores of watatsumi. rain falls off the awning of the house in droves, the patter upon tiled roofs enough to lull gorou's keen hearing into a sense of relaxation. he didn't like being caught in the rain - but there was something about being kept cozy and indoors, warm before the irori, that leant to his comfort. gorou would be the first to admit that he was a sucker for nights like this, when the thunder was far away enough that it didn't aggravate his memories and when the lightning was yet too dim to quake his soul.
but the oni was a counterweight to the fear that would come. he knew that deep down, though stubborn independence refused to admit it. the general himself was much more keen on the idea that he was 'managing it all on his own' and 'it was fine without assistance,' when in truth itto's presence at night - and when the storms on watatsumi got too bad to handle - had kept him together more than he'd care to admit.
knees are tucked to his chest as he sits before the other - their dinner plates long discarded. gorou's tail is wrapped about himself, his face buried against his knees, and he stares the oni down over his pant legs, drinking in his strong countenance like a predator drawing upon prey that he might leap at any moment. another rumble, closer still, and comfort fades to uneasiness - but it is tempered by itto's presence, his warm aura, and maybe that's why gorou doesn't immediately reduce to sputtering idiocy when the question leaves itto's mouth. maybe that's why he doesn't spontaneously combust on the spot, or find a convenient place to hide to avoid screaming his answer too eagerly.
dignity. refinement. the yokai inhales once, his ears perking forward and head raising from the little nest he'd made upon his own knees. " do you mean...? like... " he's not sure he can say it, truly, because what if he's wrong? what if it's pity? an attempt to distract him from the oncoming storm and subsequent despair that it would bring? but itto wasn't that kind of man, gorou knew, and yet his anxiety railed against his next actions. he unfurls himself like a flower, drawing across the space between them so that he's on all fours before the other's seated form. though they both rest upon the tatami, the gesture is hardly supplicant, and instead more of gorou's strange intensity coming into play behind the bright teal of his eyes. " like... " he repeats gently now, rocking back on his haunches to meet the brunt of crimson gaze head on. it even matches the hue that takes to his cheek. " ...a date? "
