#bedexhop

He tries his best to keep his voice light, easy. "Why's that?" he asks, gripping his two shaking hands together. Trying not to betray the strange tightness in his gut, the suddenly loud thumping of his heart in his ears. His feelings roil and turn in his stomach, a dozen thoughts running through his head per second. 

Then a hoarse whisper drags over the carpet. "You have no reason to... reciprocate." 

Hop's heart drops. When he looks, Bede shrinks even smaller into himself. He wants to reach out, but in the firelight, Bede looks so... fragile. Without his sharp words and smirks, his cheeks and eyes look delicate. And sitting down on the sofa, without his height allowing him to tower over Hop, his slender shoulders look far smaller than Hop's used to. 

Gently, Hop asks, "That scares you?"

He laughs into his hands, his gaze still adamantly kept straight ahead. "I probably sound mad, don't I? But yes, Hop, that terrifies me." Bede bites his lip, and his fingernails are digging into his hands so deep that Hop's afraid that it'll break skin. "I've been... unkind to you in our youth. You have no reason to like me. It boggles my mind that I'm even here, now. By your side."

"We were children." Hop swallows. He hasn't felt the sting of Bede's words in years, had dismissed it as an immature child taking out his weakness on him. But now it's clear, etched on his face, that Bede has not forgotten their first meeting. He shakes his head. "It's nothing, water under the bridge. We've both become better people since then, haven't we?"

Violet eyes darken. "It's more than that." He turns to him at last. The smile on his face is so strained, so fake, that's so far from the put-together Bede he knows. 

An urge wells up, and despite his initial reserve, Hop reaches out, grasps Bede's hands in his own. There's a flicker of shock across Bede's face, and he exhales slowly.

"Tell me," Hop says, gently prying his fingers away from one another. 

"What benefit could you possibly see in being with me?" His voice is no louder than a whisper, but the sharpness in his words is painfully loud. "I'm callous. Brutal. Arrogant." He laughs then, eyes dipping once more. "I know what they say about me."

"They should keep their mouths shut," Hop shoots back, squaring his jaw. 

A sigh, a flick of violet eyes. Hop can hear the tinged exasperation in Bede's tone before he even speaks. "Hop-" 

"You're brilliant." He holds Bede's hands tight in his own, stares at him, willing him to meet his gaze. When he finally does, Hop takes a deep breath. "You're always honest with me. You've always helped me- even when we were children. You're strong, and as much as you don't show it, you care. I enjoy being around you, I enjoy learning from you. You make me so much better as a trainer and a person.”

"Is that so?" A small smile graces his elegant cheeks now. The cold chill of his violet eyes warms in the firelight. 

Hop nods vigorously. "A-and, if we're comparing-" he chuckles weakly- "I don't know what you'd see in me, either."

Bede's eyes widen incredulously. His gaze searches Hop's face, before lingering on their entwined hands. Gently, a thumb runs over Hop's knuckles, before Bede raises his hand to rest above his heart. 

Hop breathes, unable to tear his eyes away from Bede's face as he scoots closer, leans in.

"You make me feel safe," Bede whispers. "You make me feel loved, and warm. Like I could take on the whole world, because you're right by my side. That's why I..."

He trails off, unable to finish. A pink flush dusts his pale cheeks, and Bede turns away. 

The heavy thumping of Hop's heart returns. He turns over everything that's been said, everything that hasn't been said. Looks at Bede, at his delicate yet sharp features, at their hands intertwined. 

He squeezes Bede's hand gently, drawing his attention. Holding his gaze, Hop takes in a deep breath. 

"I think... I'd like to love you too."

Bede stares at him. "You 'think'?"

Hop flushes. He has a million and one excuses, a million and one ways to backpedal. But instead, he scoots closer to Bede, squaring his shoulders. 

"Could you kiss me?" 

Bede gapes at him. For a moment, Hop wonders if that was the wrong thing to say, but before he does, the other man starts to laugh. A relaxed, light sound that lifts the heavy shadows that had covered Bede since his confession. 

Hop smiles, and then when Bede turns to him, his violet eyes are resolute.  

Bede brings his hands to his head. Tentative and slender, they trace Hop's nose, his cheeks. Warmth dusting across his skin, tender and gentle. Hop lets him angle their heads properly, and Bede's so close that he can see the flecks in violet eyes, feel his breath against his lips. 

The kiss is soft, sudden. Quiet, and featherlight. But the sensation of Bede's lips, the taste of his cherri-sweet balm, sends a shiver down Hop's spine. Bede moves slowly, tentatively. Gentle, sweet.

Hop closes his eyes as he drowns in the sensation of it. He leans forward, responds- wraps Bede's slender shoulders in his arms. The desire to taste more of him, to feel more of him, swims through him and he buries his fingers into Bede's hair, pulls him closer. 

A soft moan escapes Bede. His hands now dig into Hop's shoulders, and with surprising forwardness, his tongue flicks out and glances over Hop's teeth. It shoots lightning through him, and Hop can't suppress a groan. 

And just like that, Bede pulls away. Their foreheads rest against each other, the sound of their ragged breaths mingling in the night. Hop's cheeks are flushed, his clothes are in disarray. But as he glances at Bede, he sees the smug smile on his companion's face. 

Bede licks his swollen lips, and Hop can still taste the cheri flavour on his tongue. "What do you think?" Bede asks, though the way he looks at Hop tells him that he already knows the answer.  

Hop chuckles. Rests his arms on Bede's slender shoulders, enjoying how wiry arms hold him securely. 

"I think I could get used to this. To love you, if you'd be patient with me."

Bede smiles. Violet eyes shine bright in the evening light. 

"I think... I could manage that."