|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 6:42 pm
"I didn't really mind them sleeping on me, they're warm." Seiji likes warmth, and they were a lot more endearing when not jumping all over him. Regardless, he sat still and let Junko scoop up the sleeping pets to deposit them in her bedroom. He'd have to retrieve HIkari later. She was probably going to whine, having to leave Momo's side again.
Junko's question had the boil sitting forward to look over his shoulder at the sleeping fox that had wedged himself behind the ghost. "He's right here. I was all out of room for him to crawl on me." Slowly, the boil edged forward, letting Junko slip in to scoop the dozing fox into her arms.
While she went to add him to the rest of the sleeping hoard, Seiji got back to his feet, walking slowly around her kitchen. She'd told him to make himself at home, but that was sort of hard for him, all things considered.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:21 pm
Giggling again, Junko scooped up the fox, leaning in close to Seiji as she did so. She paused, still bent over the boil before suddenly standing upright. She walked away, depositing Kuro onto her bed with the others. While she was busy making a small barrier of pillows to keep the mini pets, namely Sayuri, from falling off the bed, the timer on the oven started to go off and the kettle began to whistle. "Can you take care of those for me?" And then her head snapped up to give him a pouty look through the serving window between them. "And let the muffins cool this time before you go touching them. I'm watching you, boil." Yet despite her firm order there was still an underlying affection in her tone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:35 pm
Did she have to get so close? Seiji froze, Junko's proximity heating the air between them, and his sluggish, black heart gave a soft throb in his chest. And she didn't just scoop the fox up and bounce off to put him with the others, she paused, lingering closely, but for what?
These were the things that filled his head as he waited for her to come back, one large hand lifting to rub his palm along his brow and up to push dark hair out of his face. It was getting longer, though the neat knot at the back of his head hide that fact.
He actually startled as the buzzer went out, and whipped around to stare at the oven before Junko's voice drifted back to him, instruction him to take the muffins out of the oven, and warned him sternly to keep his fingers off the baked goods until they had cooled. "Yeah yeah. It had been one time! The burns had healed. Jeez, Junko, let it go.
Grabbing a pan holder he snagged the muffins from the oven, set them on top of the stove, and turned the gas off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:45 pm
With the minipets situated and still sleeping away, Junko padded quietly into the kitchen. She watched Seiji, leaning against the wall with her head against it. "...Seiji?" She crossed her arms, practically hugging herself. " " Junko was being serious, there was genuine concern in her voice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:10 pm
He hadn't heard her return to the kitchen. While she watched he'd let his attention wander, cool eyes taking in her nick-knacks, the pretty little odds and ends. Everything about the place screamed 'Junko', from ceiling to floor.
When she said his name it startled him, again, but her tone wasn't playful now, it was serious, concerned, and that was the last thing the ghost needed at the moment. Shoulders rounding, he turned, facing her, grey hand coming to rest on her counter. The kindest thing would have been to lie, to say he was fine, that it was only hunger pangs making him act weirdly. It was actually on the tip of his tongue, a forced smile curling lips as they parted to reassure her, but he just couldn't say it.
They didn't lie to each other, not on purpose.
The mask slipped away, glowing eyes gone painfully earnest as he looked at her across the room. He remembered the feel of her cheek beneath his palm, the taste of her skin, the warmth. He'd been able to forget, for a little while. Distracted, separated by distance, but he'd only been fooling himself. "" He didn't leave room in his tone for her to misunderstand him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:41 am
Junko didn't say a word to convince him to speak to her. She simply waited. But she was anxious for an answer that she was getting a gut feeling that she knew, and she began to play with a lock of hair as a result; her most blatant tell, stroking her own hair. Glowing green eyes never left red, and while she managed to stay calm for the most part her stomach was beginning to twist and feel far too tight for comfort. And not in a good way. She trusted him to be honest and he didn't disappoint. Her hands stilled mid-stroke, and she breathed in sharply. It was like taking a bullet. She frowned.
What could Junko even begin to say to that? Sorry I dumped you when you proposed, but hey now that it's convenient and I'm feeling better, let's date again! Yeah! Oh, you miss me? That's cool. Sorry I ripped your heart out of your chest and stomped all over it, we're cool, right? Junko pushed off the wall, taking a step toward the muffins only to stop. No. She couldn't just distract herself like that. That was a problem they had been trying to work on. Trying. But she could still see the look on his face and the hurt in his eyes, she could still hear the bite of his voice from that day. She cleared her throat and forced her hands away from her hair, instead fidgeting with her fingers. It was an improvement, and at least she was able to keep from looking everywhere but Seiji like she usually would have. For once she stopped trying to find ways to distract herself and run away.
"" Junko pursed her lips after that, trying to think of..anything else. "" She shrugged. Picking Sarias? Being cold toward her? The blatant display at prom? She deserved all of it. But she had thought he hated her, and while it had hurt she had managed to get herself to move on, though it had been a painful process she had a feeling she knew what she put him through. "" For once she didn't allow her eyes to take on that glassy quality of unshed tears. She refused to let herself cry. She cried way too often in his presence, even when they had been dating. Especially when they had been dating.
"" Junko finally cast her eyes down toward her still fidgeting fingers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 1:18 pm
Glowing eyes stayed on the ghoul, watching that sharp intake of breath, her hands stilling where they'd been stroking through her hair. It was so familiar. When she took a step towards the muffins the boil's breath left in a sigh, gaze dropping to the floor, waiting for her to distract, or deflect, or hide. It had been their biggest problem as a couple. Something would make her unhappy, or stressed, and she would just push past it, pretend everything was fine, and ignore the problems until they got to big and blew up right in his face.
When she didn't. When she stopped mid step, hands dropping from her hair to knot in front of her, he looked up again, expression wary, and could anyone blame him? He hadn't expected to hear anything promising, an apology maybe, a sympathetic look, possibly confusion. When she admitted she missed him...well, that useless heart of his gave another throb. The boil swallowed, torn between hiding his expression between cool indifference, and just letting her see how he honestly felt.
The later finally won out, and he'd pair with speaking honestly. "" For a long time he had tried, and then he'd convinced himself that he just didn't care anymore, but it wasn't true. As far as moving on went? "" He'd needed a distraction, or who knows what he would have done.
s**t, she'd pulled out the "L" word. Seiji looked stricken, and his chest rose as he pulled in a deep breath. But did she mean love as a friend? Or did she mean love. The kind they'd shared for years. When they'd told each other they would never be apart. When She'd come and visited his family.
He didn't ******** know, but he found himself moving forward anyways, a slow approach that ended with his hands rising to cup warm cheeks, tipping her head back up so he could see her eyes, search for answers in that soft, green glow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 1:36 pm
The confession made her flinch. It was like another bullet to the heart. She deserved that. Her slowly writhing hair began to relax and hang limp around her like an ebony curtain. Yeah, she deserved all of that. "" she whispered, head hanging and hair falling around her. Though she was hiding, this time it wasn't actually intentional. "" Junko's fidgeting had gone from twisting her fingers to tugging at the sleeve of her pajama top. She finally raised her head to stare out the glass door that opened out to the balcony. She swallowed hard, blinking a few times. "worst person in all of Halloween, that you deserved better than me, because a good ghoulfriend would never give up like that..I was..stressed.>" She sniffed. "" Junko added with a short laugh. Suddenly Seiji's hands were on her face and she tensed, gasping quietly and letting him turn her head. Wide, glowing green eyes stared up into glowing red and black, her jaw dropped just enough to part her lips. She was terrified, she didn't know what to do next. It had been so long. "" For a moment her vision blurred and she sniffed again. No! No tears! Stop that, Junko! She closed her eyes tightly, fighting against them. "so sorry.>"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 1:50 pm
His thumbs smoothed over her cheeks, just beneath her eyes, to catch any tears that managed to escape, wiping them away as if they had never existed. What he wanted to do was hod her close, to reassure her that everything was going to be alright, but he didn't, because he had to protect himself. She had ripped his heart out, once had been enough.
So he didn't say anything, not until the last apology had left her lips. "If you could take it all back, would you?"
People fought, relationships had their ups and downs, and admittedly their split had been a very large down, but how many movies had he seen where one half of a crumbling couple had a revelation and things worked out? Even regardless of that, Seiji had told the truth. He'd tried hating her, he'd tried moving on, but he was still hung up on the pretty little ghoul he'd fallen in love with three years ago.
But she'd grown up, not a little ghoul anymore, but a woman, beautiful and proud. She wasn't running away this time. She wasn't trying to hide, or defend, but facing this head on, no matter how painful it might have been, and that gave the boil hope.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:10 pm
He wiped away tears and she whimpered, shoulders raising in her usual instinct to shrink and hide. Luckily it was all she did, and at least she didn't try and shake her head free of Seiji's hold on her. "" She opened her eyes again to look up at him. ""
Junko whimpered again, her hands clenching into tight fists. ""
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:16 pm
That was what he needed to hear.
The boil bent forward, cutting off any further whimpering with the press of his mouth against her lips. They were just as warm, just as sweet as he remembered them to to be. Soft, rose petal lips; his stayed gentle against them. A chaste press, hands tightening on her cheeks before falling down to her shoulders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:43 pm
The kiss had been unexpected. Junko tensed with surprise, gasping with a sharp intake of breath through her nose and her eyes widening a touch. At first she didn't know what to do. Should she return it? Should she push him off? She had broken up with him for a reason, lots of reasons she had spelled out..really poorly...but he missed her, and he was here, and he very clearly wanted her back.
Did she want that? He said he was improving..was he? Were the little things that had bothered her resolved? Junko had no idea, she hadn't seen him in over a year. They very well could be exactly the same as when she left him. Or he could have changed..for the better? How much of an influence could Sarias have on him if he was trying to distract himself and convince himself he hated her for what she did to him? Was it too late? She was over him..right? It still hurt to think about him, but the pain wasn't as intense and crippling as it had once been. Whereas before the mere glimpse of that box she kept on her shelf would send her to the floor in tears, now she..hurt, but it was a dull ache she could distract herself from.
But she still missed him. She missed his cool touch, the look in his eyes when he would just sit with her and watch her, his smile, the way he laughed, his voice, their time together. She missed it.
Junko tilted her head up to finally return the kiss if it wasn't too late. She didn't reach up to touch him, not yet anyway, she kept her hands clinging to her own sleeves. Even her hair stayed away from him and resisted the urge to hold him close.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 3:22 pm
When she didn't immediately respond it was terrifying, but she hadn't pushed away either. He didn't know what that meant, he didn't know what to do now, heart in his hand and offered out to her. Maybe he'd been wrong, maybe he'd misunderstood her, read into their conversation incorrectly. It made his stomach knot up, chest tight, pulse beating loudly, albeit sluggishly, in his own ears.
It was as he resigned himself to this grand, awful mistake and began to draw away that the ghoul tilted her head, returning the kisses. It bought a small sound from the boil, soft and unsure, but his arms as they wrapped around her were tight, just this side of crushing.
He didn't know what would happen now, or if everything was going to be alright. All he knew was he still loved, that he had never stopped loving her. That counted for something, didn't it? It had to.
He broke the kiss, but only so her could press his cheek to the side of her head, and maybe she'd feel how tense he was, the shaking in his hands and arms as he held onto her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 3:31 pm
The kiss ended and she pursed her lips, letting Seiji hug her--wait..was he..was he shaking? She opened her eyes and turned them toward him without moving her head. Why was he shaking? Junko frowned. Her head tilted, moving to brush her lips against his cheek.
Junko's voice was soft, hesitant.. "There's such a sad love..deep in your eyes.."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 4:23 pm
It was a good thing the boil didn't have to breath, because the lump that was forming in his throat would have threatened to choke him. Junko lay a kiss against his cheek, voice a soft breath against cool skin, but it was her words that undid him.
Their song. Their movie. The ghost froze, momentarily, letting it all sink in, before loosening his grip enough so he was holding her more gently, his lips brushing against her forehead. "A sort of pale jewel, open and closed, within your eyes." A hand came up, dark fingers sliding a thin length of dark hair behind her ear as he looked down at her. "I'll place the sky within your eyes."
He could hear the music in his head, dreamy and light, and as he replaced his hand on her side he'd give her a gentle nudge, pulling her into a slow sway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
