thebastion | Day 100 :: mingle - end of the core hunt[open]

[ He reaches up a hand, coughing into his fist before sniffing and looking off to the side. ]

Of course. You tend to be the exception in a great many things.

Good to know~!

[sinking down into the water again, closing his eyes. Mmm, he should make a list of these exceptions.]

[ Say nothing. Just float. Be zen. Just enjoy the water. Nothing to see here. Kaoru is naked. ]

...

[ Eyetwitch. ]

[yes, Seimei, and so are you. It would make this bathing thing rather difficult if you weren't. It's not like you can see much of anything, given how everything below the neck is submerged...]

[ Doesn't matter. Its in his head now. Weeks of not thinking about it. Weeks of avoiding situations where he'd be forced to think about it. Thanks Kaoru. THANKS. ]

*ahem*

I was thinking about using some of the shards to get a full kaiseki...

[he gave you the option to not put yourself here, Seimei. He gave you the option to say "no, I am not comfortable with bathing with you" and would have accepted it if you had. It's your own fault, really]

[opens one eye again, the movement simultaneously lazy and hopeful, thanks to a little onsen-induced bliss] ...real food?

[ Yeah sure, say no, watch Kaoru mope. Great choices. K thnx. ]

Real enough, insofar as magically fabricated food goes, I suppose. We do not have the proper ingredients for large meals available in the Bastion and I dislike using the foods here when other people need them more. However, in celebration of your successful mission and your first time facing genuine combat, regardless of how you were involved, I thought a big dinner would be appropriate. You bought that delicious sweet treat with the red berries. I should return the favor.

[sploosh. Sitting up straight in shock, though it's not such a big deal, the water still comes up to his chest. He has a multitude of different protests - he works fast to select the right one]

H-huh? But you can't compare a strawberry cake to a full kaiseki meal! They're not even in the same league! At least let me pitch in!

Edited 2013-08-29 13:48 (UTC)

[ He narrows his eyes, keeping them above Kaoru's chest and ignoring the heat in his own face. ]

I would normally protest. However, I am coming to understand how...important it is for you to have a certain level of involvement in things. I would prefer it be from my own collection. I will agree, if you allow me to pay two thirds of the cost. That will satisfy us both, I believe.

[opens his mouth to protest more - because really, shouldn't it be more fifty-fifty? Then Seimei can have more shards for Seimei things... But he closes it again. Somehow he has a feeling things will always be a tad biased on his favour in this relationship... He should take compromises when he can get them]

...all right, one third.

[ Satisfaction at winning the non-argument helps the onmyoji loosen up a fraction. Not enough to just go paddling about, but enough that he doesn't look like a half-dead, wallowing toad. Kaoru can even see his whole face. All the redness included. ]

Are there any particular things you like more than others that I should be aware of? I do not know the limits of what the Bastion will provide but I would like to take a stock for the meal.

[ Nevermind it was ALSO part of a clever ruse to get Kaoru to forget the idea of a house party, if possible. ]

[clever, Seimei. Very clever. Kaoru doesn't suspect a thing.]

Mmm, I'm not picky. [settling again, leaning his head back against one of the warm rocks around the edge of the bath] Real food is real food, after all. And I do enjoy surprises.

[opens one eye to look at him with a small smile.] ...that's better, Seimei. You look a lot less like you're trying to drown.

I was not trying to drown before. [ He protested indignantly. ] I simply do not bathe with others. Particularly others I have a vested interest in. Ever.

[ Dark eyes narrow at the red-head as the onmyoji simmers quietly, incredibly long black hair swirling around him, creating an inky blackness the shrouded all from view but the halo of his face. His dark hair wet and his body bared highlighted how milk-pale the man really was. No finer a complexion has Kaoru likely ever seen. Certainly Seimei was a man unaccustomed to labor in the sun. Or labor at all, for that matter.]

We should consider pooling our resources, however, and see about getting you a means of healing and a means of defense. Some manner of shielding or barrier...I really must insist, if you're planning on going outside of the Bastion.

[really? That's not what it looked like from Kaoru's side of the pond. A quiet hum as he rolls his head slightly left to right. It's the closest he can get to a massage in this place, but the warm stones feel good against his skin] Particularly others you have a vested interest in? [Moi?!] That almost sounds like I have no chance. In that case I may have no other option but to concentrate my efforts to break you of that particular habit... I mean, if you don't want to bathe with me then it will make certain other things a bit more difficult, further down the line...

[...all right, he'll stop poking now. Seimei's dark-eyed gaze is met by half-lidded, mirthful amber as Kaoru settles for watching him lazily. Oh yes, he's quite appreciative of Seimei's... charms. Just... taking them all in]

Mmm. We'll figure it out. I should find out what I can learn, I guess. And how many shards these things cost.

Edited 2013-09-10 09:50 (UTC)

[ Those words and being watched in such a manner made Seimei feel suddenly very small and vulnerable. He quite distinctly felt a hand on the back of his neck though hew knew none was there and he was unsure if that was his hair tickling his spine or nerves tingling.

Whatever the case, Kaoru's looks were met with stony indifference that couldn't have been more forced if the onmyoji had put words to his weak reproach. He was frowning so hard he looked like his face was melting.

At least Kaoru changed the subject so Seimei didn't feel quite so much like a bug on a pin. ]

Ah yes. That is something we really ought both attend to in proper order. We will see to our meal and shared celebration, then we can focus on attending to our offensive and defensive abilities. As well as any creature comforts we find a need for.

[ Best not to mention his thoughts on sharing his home eventually, if things were less casual. It was glaringly apparent to him that he was - dare he say - unprepared for advances in the relationship? Merciful Fortunes, he was older than Kaoru by years and yet incapable of making eye-contact in a public bath? How had that happened? ]

[a small smile creeps across his face] ...creature comforts... [though it's not that so much as all the "We" and "Our" talk. It's comforting, to be part of an "Us"] After, of course.

[...well, not entirely. He kind of wants to dress up for this dinner and a few more shards would have to be sacrificed to do it.]

[he lifts his head at the sound of a splash from the girls' side of the partition listening carefully for any sound of distress... there aren't any, but he can't hear swimming noises either and that's a tad worrying]

Just a sec.

[He dives under the partition to get to the other side, legs kicking up behind him. Tama-chan, what are you doing in there?!]

[ Flinching from a small wave of water sent his way, Seimei used the opportunity to find a more comfortable position where he could sit instead of squat to stay under water. While Kaoru was distracted with Tama-chan, the onmyoji dipped his head back and rubbed his face free of any grime, eventually arranging his hair to provide modesty while still offering a range of movement.

When Kaoru returned, Seimei looked significantly less ready to bolt, checking his fingertips for signs of pruning. It was moments like those that the red-head could see the man's unconscious vanity showing. ]

Kaoru...

[ His voice was conversational, light and purposefully distracted, as though merely suggesting something as an afterthought. ]

Do you think you might grow tired of this? Of my courtship, I mean. In a place so small with so few people, I would understand if eventually you grew weary of indulging me.

[ It was sudden, and Seimei was carefully indifferent in voice and expression, but it was something he had considered for some time and he wanted it presented clearly to the boy. Human lives were often brief, and the onmyoji was bound to live a long time. He wanted to discuss with Kaoru the possibilities, their limitations; he wanted to make it clear what his intentions were, to himself as much as Kaoru. Seimei did not make commitments lightly, and he intended to make one to Kaoru, should the young man be open to it, but he did not want to build anything on a dubious foundation. He did not wish to tether the boy to him when there were other more exciting prospects possible in the future, should other less complicated beings show up in the Bastion that might interest young Hitachiin more. It was an uncomfortable thought, but he was far more accustomed to being alone than Kaoru was, an he was willing to step away, if it meant getting to enjoy to younger man's company, even if only in passing.

So many internal thoughts that would never be properly verbalized. He only hoped he could convey these concerns sufficiently without making a mess...

By the Fortunes, this business was complicated!]

[when Kaoru returns after a little more splashing, it's in a slightly ungainly manner, burdened as he is by Tama-chan, who appears to be trying to climb on top of his head, her tail swishing as she makes slightly alarmed chirping noises. Kaoru tries to steady her with his hands, wading back around the curtain without bothering to stay low, sorry Seimei, but it's not like he's completely on show]

...it seems she jumped into the water without considering that she can't swim.

[setting her down on the rocks, rubbing her head until she calms down a bit, though he's really just buying time to think about Seimei's question]

...I'm not the type to flit around from person to person, you know? Some people do - and that's okay but... It's not for me. I don't make connections so shallow as to just drop them when they don't benefit me. If I consider someone to be my friend, that's something pretty big. So for someone to mean even more than that... they have to be pretty stellar.

...I choose you, Seimei. Do you understand what that means?

[ He'd beeing coming through his hair with his fingers as he listened to the boy speak, a slow, soothing motion. It sometimes took him hours to do his hair for the simple fact that oiling the entire length was time-consuming. He enjoyed self-indulgent tedium, however. And it gave him time to think, which was all he really did in the bath, usually. ]

I believe it means I am a very lucky man, who should be grateful for his strange stroke of fortune.

[ He sighed softly then, looking up from the water and tilting his head, looking considerably younger with his wet hair slicked back. ]

I only intended to make you think. It would not be...uncharacteristically selfish of me to continue pursuing you, and ignore others in the process. I have spent an enormous portion of my life very much alone. I am accustomed to it. You are not, and I would rather not be the one to impede your explorations, so to speak. You are beautiful to me, without being restrained and suffering my attentions and minor jealousies. I only fear I will be keeping you from better things, and wanted you to consider that yourself as well.

I had intended, at the first, to court you rather recklessly, I think. However, recent events, and your own voiced concerns and mild complaints have made me realize that "modern" is not merely a description of time, but of mind-set. If I grip too tightly, I will only be crushing your wings. So I am...attempting to be mindful of your needs in the future instead of those only present in the moment. And if I am somehow stifling you, I wished to address it and give you the freedom to not have me doggedly pursuing you in the months to come.

I promise you I am trying to be concise and make sense. I had meant to say a good deal less and have done with it.

[ Frustrated splashes of color filled his cheeks as he huffed like a petulant child, sitting there on his rock. ]

Should I have simply said 'Oh, that is very nice' and had done with it? Tch...

It means that I am just as lucky. [scooping up a handful of water and gently trickling it over Tama-chan] ...really, I mean it. What could be better?

...I'm not suffering your attention, Seimei, don't put it like that. And if I make it seem like... like I don't appreciate you, I need you to know that is not my intention. I contradict myself often, you see, saying things are inconvenient or irritating even though I enjoy them.

[turning around and sinking into the water again, as Tama-chan starts heading along the rocks to Seimei.]

Honestly I'm... No, not flattered, flattered doesn't even begin to cover how I feel - about the attention you pay me, about everything you do. I don't want you to worry about whether you're doing things right or wrong though; you aren't stifling me. The only reason I complain about the attention is because I enjoy it. But I want you to feel you can be forward with me, or at least as forward as you feel comfortable being. I don't want you to feel like everything has to be perfect, or that mistakes aren't an option. Imperfections are never a bad thing.

I believe that is, and was, perhaps my greatest fear. I know nothing of courting, Kaoru. It pains me to admit a lack of knowledge in any subject, yet I am woefully under-prepared for this. Try as I might, I have been simply doing as I've read without sincerely considering the merits of just...writing it our own way.

[ He sighed, cocking his head to the side and regarding Kaoru for a moment. Eventually he looked away, gesturing vaguely at nothing in particular. ]

Would you help me wash?

[ Quite a step. More of a leap, really, but Seimei felt the deep end of the pool was where learned to swim, and it was neither a poorly timed nor inaccurate analogy. ]

I have never felt that you were unappreciative, Kaoru. I have simply believed myself to know what was best, when in fact I...may have to accept that I know nothing at all.

[gives a small smile at Seimei's request, retrieving a sponge from inside his towel before kicking off to float leisurely to his side of the pool. Tama-chan gets to keep the sponge for a while, as Kaoru needs both hands free to work through Seimei's hair]

Where I'm from, we say rules were made to be broken. Which is just as well, because I'm not so good at following rules anyway.

[twisting Seimei's hair into a loose braid, just to hold it in one place while he does Seimei's back and shoulders] ... There's nothing wrong with admitting if you get lost or don't know what to do either. We're both feeling our way through this a bit, but that's not a bad thing, is it? Too much certainty makes things a bit boring... and it's nice, getting butterflies every now and then. [like now. He's secretly thrilled to have been asked]

[ Evidently it was the season for butterflies. Seimei's skin was flushing pink, but it could have been the water. ]

I might appear to adhere to strict rules but I was considered something of a rule-breaker in my time. I was never very good at doing what I was told. In fact I had a practical need to defy my superiors at every turn simply because they were beneath my skill yet still proposed to order me about like a dog.

[ He paused, curious at his sudden admissions, lips curling into a faint smile as the sponge ran over his skin. He couldn't suppress a shiver, dark eyes drifting to the rippling water. ]

How long is considered an acceptable span of time before holding hands or...embracing someone? Not now, of course! [ He rushed to clarify, because clearly holding each other while nude was completely out of the question. ]

Hmm? Why not now? [murmured quite mildly, and certainly without any intention to raise Seimei's temperature any further as he squeezed the warm water over his shoulders. ...I feel we're past the point of asking permission for things like that, though. I would be delighted if you surprised me.

Well...then...perhaps I will. [ he murmured, staring hard at the water where his knees were. eventually he raised his hands out of the water, reaching for Tama-chan and sitting her on his knees, keeping her just above water. ]

We are not in a position to be holding one another. It would be inappropriate...do you not think? [ He hedged, asking instead of assuming in full and shutting it down entirely. He did not want to hold Kaoru while nude. Not yet, anyways, but if it was what Kaoru wanted he would have tried for the sake of it. The idea made him terribly uncomfortable. Clothed, he believed he could happily hold the younger man. Unclothed and wet? No. No certainly not. ]

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