"Only when I get bored of my stamp collection," Ian deadpanned, and then laughed. He turned his head sideways, hearing the sigh of frustration, and then there was a curtain of pink and blonde hair falling about Shiloh's face. Ian's eyes flickered to his cheeks, then down to where it lay against his neck, something flashing briefly across his gaze.
"Yeah," said Ian, and smiled. "Better."
Shiloh was looking at him again, a smirk on his lips, and Ian felt an almost irresistible urge to reach out and -
- well, he wasn't sure what exactly, but he was trying very hard to resist the irresistible urge to do whatever it was. Still blatantly ignoring the cacophony of Naomi's string of disapproving comments, Ian lifted his arms, folding them beneath his head, fingers linked under his hair.
"My hair is always messy," he said lightly. "It's a little too long for my tastes, so it gets in the way a lot. I was debating cutting it, but that also takes more effort than I'm willing to extend, so..."
He turned his head to look back at Shiloh, smiling up at him. "I couldn't ever get it to look as good as yours, though, I don't think."
sammpai
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:48 pm
Shiloh blinked at the compliment, his face turning as pink as his hair. He couldn’t exactly brush that one off as nothing, but that was what he was going to do anyway and he glanced away, leaning forward and resting his head on his arms.
“It’s not that long, I like it,” he said, in reference to Ian’s hair. “But I guess it is sort of that weird length where it’s too short to put in a ponytail but too long to stay out of your eyes. I’m sure you could find someone to play hairdresser, or you know… Just pick up the scissors yourself, lazy.”
He’d been staring ahead as he spoke but he finally dared to look back, and when he did he found Ian smiling. Shiloh relaxed, he was definitely just reading too much into things, Ian was just a nice guy, and that was all. A nice guy who was about to get an unfortunate makeover.
“Or… C’mere,” Shiloh said, shifting quickly so he was kneeling by Ian’s head, attempting to hold him in place while he reached for the man’s loose strands of hair, trying to squeeze them into one of his spare hair elastics. “We’ll make you beautiful yet!”
Was that a blush spreading across Shiloh's cheeks? It surprised Ian, who had been assuming that Shiloh was the type to just smile and laugh everything off, but there was a pink tinge to the other's cheeks that had nothing to do with the heat of the air or the fact that they'd just been wrestling around.
Cute, he thought, his expression softening slightly. Naomi disagreed, but her opinion, at the current moment, didn't matter in the slightest. He smiled.
"But effort," he said, teasingly whining. "That takes more effort, and I'm not exactly a role model when it comes to doing things properly..."
He trailed off, blinking in surprise. Shiloh's fingers were in his hair as the other knelt beside him. Automatically he tensed; he wasn't used to others touching him, seeing as how he was the one who did most of the touching, he was the one who did most of the moving forward, but this was a turn on things.
It felt oddly nice, in spite of what Shiloh was attempting to do. Ian's shoulders relaxed a little, a small laugh escaping his lips.
"What, you're saying I'm not beautiful already?" he teased.
sammpai
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:02 pm
Haruka disagreed as well, yapping something about honor and not understanding this foolish game at all. Shiloh tried to explain to her that there was no game, this is what humans did, they hung out, but the inugami spirit was having none of it. She was glad he was making friends, but they’d come here for training, and there had decidedly been none of that and to top it all off, he had even somehow still managed to lose. She needed time to cool off, and told him as much as kindly as she could, before falling silent in his head.
It had made Shiloh pause for a fraction of a second, Ian’s hair held in his hand. Shiloh had always been a hands-on sort of guy, his family having never been the sort to hold back on physical contact. Normally he tried to gauge a situation before diving in, but considering the close contact they’d just shared in their scuffle, and the fact that he’d gone back into laughing everything off mode, he missed Ian’s moment of tension.
He slipped Ian’s hair into the elastic, and sat back to admire his work. It was terrible, and he laughed, settling back onto his rear.
“Do you want to be beautiful? That’s a little odd… And if it is the case, you probably shouldn’t have let me do your hair.”
Shiloh's fingers felt warm and reassuring in his hair, even if he was doing silly things to it. It had been a long time since he had been on the receiving end of this sort of thing, of anyone intimating contact with him, and it was oddly pleasant.
He wondered how long he could get away with being this close before he did something stupid again.
Reaching a hand up, Ian tentatively felt the top of his head and the ludicrous ponytail, and gave a snort of amusement, turning his head to give Shiloh a raised eyebrow. "Not beautiful," he corrected, his lips curving upwards in a catlike smirk. "I don't think I could pass for beautiful. You, perhaps," he said, with a grin. "But not me."
He gave another snort. "And I didn't let you do anything, silly, you just sort of took over."
It was said good naturedly, Ian reaching up to pluck the hair tie from his hair and shake his head so that the dark strands fell back over his face in damp strands, now slightly more bedraggled looking. He swiped a hand through his hair.
"Your turn," he said, making a turn around gesture with his other hand.
sammpai
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:12 pm
“Naw,” he said, waving off Ian’s words. “I might be adorable, devilishly handsome even, but not beautiful.”
He smirked, trying with difficulty to suppress the urge to laugh every time he looked at Ian and his spectacular little ponytail. At least was smirking, until Ian pulled the hair tie from his hair, and turned to him with dubious intent. Shiloh laughed, scooting backward from the other hunter.
“No, no,” he argued, waving his hands dismissively again, “Didn’t you already say I was beautiful? Besides, you know, effort and all that, and wouldn’t want you to over-extend yourself…”
"Nah," said Ian, and his smile was a little less catlike than it had been before, some of the hard smirk leaving his lips. "Nah, beautiful's a good word for you, and believe me, I would know."
There was a pause as he considered what he was just saying and then Ian shook it off because Shiloh was still so cheerful and he had a way of letting everything just slide right off of him -
- like, Ian thought with some ironic amusement, water off a duck's back.
He arched a brow as Shiloh scooted away. "Uh huh," he said dryly, and he reached out a hand, fingers wrapping around one of Shiloh's ankles and tugging the other back towards him. "Come here, you, you're not getting away that easily, not after you made my hair so beautiful. I'm just returning the favor."
sammpai
/laughs for ten thousand years
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:59 pm
And right off his back it should have rolled, Shiloh trying very hard to not focus on the fact that someone found him beautiful, or just how exactly Ian ‘would know’. He had thought himself generally unflappable, but this was a situation he’d never exactly found himself before. Friendly scraps usually ended up in a few bruises and a congratulatory slap on the back, not compliments and flirtatious smiles.
So back he scooted, but it was very apparent that he hadn’t scooted fast enough, when Ian’s hand closed over his ankle, pulling him back towards him and thwarting his attempts at escape.
“Well, that’s very kind of you,” he said, making a cheeky face at him. He tried to pry Ian’s fingers from his leg and squirm away at the same time, but it didn’t go very well. Haruka had stirred from her quietness, curious that maybe the game had begun again. But when she saw that Shiloh was decidedly losing again, she huffed loudly in displeasure and fell back into silence.
“But really, it was my pleasure, you don’t have to repay me, honest! I don’t want to be beautiful,” Shiloh continued. The last of his words trailed into a whine, and he kicked his foot at Ian good-naturedly.
{ It is useless and does not do anything to further your success here. }
You don't know that. Maybe it does.
{ Or maybe your definition of 'success' is entirely different from mine. }
Ian was laughing now. "No, no," he said, and then he was leaning over Shiloh, one hand on his ankle, the other curling around one of Shiloh's wrists. "Really, let me show my gratitude to you for my lovely hair job earlier."
He tugged hard, harder than he had intended, and pulled Shiloh into his arms so that the other's back was against his chest, Ian's legs on either side of him. Securing an arm around Shy's waist, Ian leaned his head around his shoulder to flash a smirk at him.
"Now sit still," he said, and moved his arm away, lifting his hands to sift through Shiloh's long strands.
"While we're at it," he said lightly. "You might as well tell me a little more about yourself."
sammpai
idk ian idk
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:59 pm
“You know, that’s really not necessary,” Shiloh persisted, but Ian’s other hand had already closed over his wrist, and gave a grunt at the force with which the Mist hunter pulled him against him. Thoughts of escape had given way to confusion again as he shot Ian a curious glance, held put by the arm around his waist.
“Sheesh,” he lamented, rubbing his wrist, “If you want to do my hair that badly, fine, fine. I’ll sit still. But you better make me the most beautiful belle of the ball. Maybe I’ll even wear it for the rest of the day, to show my gratitude.”
He’d do it too.
But regardless of his challenge, he settled in obediently, letting the man toy, for better or for worse, with his hair. It wasn’t unpleasant, having someone play with his hair, but the situation itself was unprecedented, Shiloh had certainly never had a guy’s fingers running through his hair. Ian’s touch was gentle as it combed through his pink strands, and Shiloh decided that he’d never been one to think too much before, and he wasn’t about to start now. He’d wear whatever Ian gave him with a grin, no matter how ridiculous.
“What do you want to know?” he asked, picking idly at the grass between his legs. If he had let himself think, he would think that it was pretty nice sitting here and having his hair played with. Relaxing even. But he wasn’t thinking about those sorts of things.
kurotomato
shiloh is 2 nice and oblivious he will just take it /lays down xDD
"It's more a matter of pride, I think," said Ian loftily, sliding a hand through Shiloh's hair. It was still slightly damp from earlier, but it felt unexpectedly soft, which surprised him. "You gave me such a nice hairdo, I just have to return the favor."
He leaned over Shiloh's shoulder again, grinning. "What's the saying? No good deed goes unpunished, right?"
Ian leaned back and studied the other's hair with a sort of critical, scrutinizing look. He reached out a hand and let his fingers sift through the strands, sliding them down, his fingertips lightly brushing against Shiloh's back in the process. He wasn't skinny, exactly, more long and limber than skeletal or bigger.
Just the right size, Ian mused. Shiloh sat obediently in front of him, and Ian tried to studiously ignore the fact that he was putting himself in a very precarious situation by doing this, by allowing himself to get this close to someone.
He shrugged, his shoulders rolling, and started braiding a few strands together, fingers moving in deft movements. "Anything," he said easily. "Tell me...your favorite thing to do when it rains, for example. Or maybe tell me what you would do if you were given fifty bucks and a day off."
sammpai
/tosses ian off a cliff
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:40 pm
“Unpunished,” he laughed, “That’s seems about the right word for it.”
But his tone was a little lighter now, Shiloh relaxing more the longer Ian played. Ian’s fingertips played lightly over his skin as he separated his hair, but Shiloh barely noticed, mulling over Ian’s suggestions in his head. They seemed like good enough places to start, and he wanted to consider his answers honestly.
The sun shone brightly overhead, and he closed his eyes, leaning back without thinking.
“It’s actually really fun to go swimming when it rains, or to slosh around in the mud. Thunderstorms are even better, especially when you can watch them roll in, so cool. And hm… if I had 50 bucks and a day off, I’d probably buy a bunch of junk food, gather up some friends and rent a bunch of terrible horror movies. They’re the best. They're all downright awful and hilarious, even the newer ones. I love it.”
Ian wasn't entirely certain that Shiloh was aware of what he was doing - in fact, he was relatively certain that Shiloh had no idea what he was doing, but the fact remained that he was still doing it even if he didn't know it was being done.
In other words, he was leaning back, and there was hardly an inch between them now and Ian felt this was probably a bad thing, but at the same time it was also a very nice thing.
He hadn't had this much fun in a very long time, not since -
Don't go there.
His mind automatically threw up a blockade, a wide fence a mile high, and Ian closed his eyes briefly, his fingers stilling for a second before he started moving again.
It's in the past. Move on.
"I don't think I've ever gone swimming in the rain," Ian said with a small laugh, looping one stand of hair around another as he deliberately tried to keep his voice casual, like he wasn't having an internal battle in his mind. "I think I meant to, at one point, just to see, but then it never panned out."
Finished with one small braid, Ian moved onto another, his fingers brushing against the back of Shiloh's neck. "Terrible horror movies?" he said, and smiled. "Okay, like what? What exactly is your definition of a terrible horror movie? Like those Saw ones?"
sammpai
/whistles even more innocently
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:16 pm
“That’s too bad, it’s a lot of fun. Unfortunately I don’t know if the island is the best place for that sort of experience. I wonder if we’ll get any rain now.”
He was soaking up the sun with a smile anyway, now thoroughly enjoying the pampering. This was a far cry from the hair pulling experience he had expected and it was nice to just hang out with someone again. He had had a pretty regular group of friends back home, but he hadn’t been at Deus long enough to creating any lasting relationships. That, and the fact that Deus was a working island, not a vacation, and that most of his days were spent trying to keep up with the multitude of things to learn in the labs and otherwise, there wasn’t a whole lot of time for socializing.
He didn’t mind really, he’d come to Deus to find some sense of purpose and steady duties kept his mind off unpleasant things. Still, it would be nice at the end of the day to have people to chill with, instead of just dully heading to bed. So this was nice. He was sort of glad the power was out, because it afforded the luxury of just doing nothing in between rounds.
He shifted his weight a little, unintentionally stretching into the fingers brushing against his neck.
“Naw, the Saw movies try too hard. I mean really, really terrible. Like either pre-millennia old school, or like, um, Shark Night 3D, that one was great.”
Ian gave a small snort. "Never know around here, apparently," he said, idly tugging at the finished braid as though trying to see if it would stay together. "One day it's a mess of fog and mist, the next day it's sunny...not that I mind the sun, really," he added. "I actually prefer rainy weather more."
He grinned. "It's more interesting when it rains."
It was rather nice, he decided, to not be expected to do anything right now. Instead of trying to focus on the work, the constant expectation of being productive, having a short window of time to sit and relax was pleasant.
Especially when the company in question was equally pleasant, even if said company was currently shirtless and practically sitting in his lap, which was again, just one of the unfair things of the world, Ian had come to determine.
Shiloh had shifted again, and Ian's fingers moved steadily in his hair. Every now and then his knuckles would graze his neck as he worked, but now, with Shiloh so close, Ian let his fingers linger just a beat or two longer as the brushed against him. He mused over this, but came up with nothing solid.
"Shark Night 3-D." Ian gave a groan, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "That movie is awful. I saw it on accident when a co-worker of mine brought it in, and I thought my brain cells were going to die."
Laughing, he wove a few more strands together. "What about food?" he said. "Ever eat anything really weird before?"
The questions were almost abrupt, like he was trying too hard, but Ian was not used to actually making conversation about other people. Making acquaintances was one thing, but making friends was an entirely different story.
