[Guren watches him quietly at that answer. It makes his chest burn, his heart leap, and he enjoys the pressing of their fingers... but there's something like concern in his eyes, too.]
I know. [It's quiet, and he keeps their eye contact.] But you don't have to. As long as we meet back in the end... you can follow, or you can wait for me.
[He's not sure Dextera should always follow him, even if he loves his company. He already has that issue with loyalty, doesn't he? Where he's so intent on following someone else, someone like Ryo, like that Archangel.
Guren doesn't want to be that sort of force in his life. He wants to be something different.]
[ waiting for someone? dextera has never been given that option. that implies something like independence, a chance to go forward on his own, and that’s—terrifying, frankly.
he knows guren doesn’t like his devotion to the archangel, or his closest proxy in ryo. dextera doesn’t like it either, but that certainty that he can’t think for himself is so deeply ingrained that he can’t help it.
still, when guren says it—it somehow feels possible. ]
…okay.
[ he’s not acquiescing. he’s just trying to listen, truly. ]
[Guren is relieved that Dextera doesn't argue him on this. The most worrying thing would have been the insistence that it was right to follow, even if it's ironic that going along and agreeing with him is the healthier choice. At least, that's how he views it.
Whatever. He leans in, kisses him once more, and then reaches to the side for the basket, pulling back just so he can pull it close. I don't fucking know what they could eat but Guren made something simple but just careful enough to be cute, so there it is, enjoy it.]
[ there’s probably some berries and stuff in there, and dextera will immediately go for those because he’s predictable. it’s amazing enough that guren found this place—having something to eat alongside it is just extra special.
[Oh yeah, there are definitely berries, and Guren ends up holding one out near Dextera's mouth for him to take, if he wants.]
Lavender has a lot of uses, but I couldn't bring myself to pick any of it from here. There's actually plenty of it in Flavo, and around other parts of the forest near here. I guess this was just a lucky place where more of it grew.
I'm sure it wasn't here before, either, which means something made it appear. [He's thinking he's getting how this town works, little by little...]
[ it is absolutely necessary that dextera gets that berry, and because this is a date, he doesn’t shy away from letting his lips brush guren’s fingertips—even if it’s unnecessary.
they’re together. everything is fine. flirting is fine, and dextera doesn’t have to be ashamed of his desire if guren wants it too. ]
Like the tulips.
[ there are a few of them growing around here, actually, but nothing as bright or well-tended as the ones in front of dextera’s home. ]
[Guren had seen those, and he was half tempted to pick one and give it to Dextera... but picking it means killing it, and in a town like this, he thought Dextera would appreciate the living ones more. Guren does, at least.
He shifts subtly on the blanket, making it so that his arm can brush against Dextera's from how close they are. The next berry is for himself, but he'll give Dextera one more, at least.]
They remind me of you. Not just the tulips. Flowers do.
[ dextera is going to do something brave here, and settle himself in guren’s lap. he could fall asleep here, like this, but he’s not going to do that because he wants to be awake for every moment with… his guren? whatever they are. it doesn’t matter.
[Oh... he's in his lap, all of a sudden, and Guren is so surprised that he hesitates before placing his hand on his head, running his fingers through his hair. This is...fine, right?
Now, what's a not embarrassing way to say that Dextera blossoms with love and brightens everyone's day.]
They just do.
[Thanks, that's helpful. But Guren thinks on it a moment longer, and relents.]
They make people happy and relaxed. It's... something beautiful growing even in harsher conditions.
[He's looking away, now, trying to hide how gay that was.]
[ something beautiful—dextera feels like he could melt away and die from those words alone, and he obviously shifts in guren’s lap, made shy by the sweet answer.
then guren reminds him that he cried over grass, and dextera huffs. ]
[Guren laughs, and it's so much brighter when it's this genuine. It's not even like his other laughs have been fake or anything, but the ones in moments like these are light. He's not weighed down, even if temporarily.]
Haha, don't worry. It was cute.
[This may be the first time he's used cute in a sentence out loud and had it not be sarcastic.]
Besides, you're the one who asked why they reminded me of you, so I just gave you all of it at once. [And shamelessly used something to hide behind so he wouldn't be embarrassed himself!!]
guren isn’t prone to sounds like that—even when he’s amused, the best dextera ever expects is a handsome chuckle or something like a bark of amusement, but this feels like dextera has done something right.
if he had been angry, it immediately disappears, but he wasn’t truly angry to begin with. just flustered.
he takes guren’s hand, tracing the lines of his palm. writing something, slowly. ]
[This energy between them hasn't changed at all, but it sure has grown. He's drawn to Dextera, to his smile, to his touch, to everything he says, and watching him in his lap, tracing out a word slower than he needs to... he feels that more than ever. It has him grinning, bright and hopeful, and he realizes that this is the first time he's really felt hope since he was a child.
That five year old that didn't have a clue what he'd have to deal with. Now, though, he knows everything... And even if there's still that determination, the anger, the desire to win everything he can and be on top, the desperation and the sadness— this hope is growing with every day. He thought that had died permanently. He's jaded, he's bitter, he's worried and not optimistic, but at the same time... he's here, experiencing this.
It should be impossible for someone like him. But Dextera came back from the dead. People didn't have to die for it. His chest is swelling with emotions by now, and his eyes spark as he looks down at him.]
Yeah, I'm a jerk. [He says it like he's proud and willing to admit it, tilting his head to one side, watching him curiously.] You still like me?
[ dextera couldn’t ever mean it, to call guren a jerk, but guren wears the name like a badge of pride—and it makes dextera laugh, something that’s more felt than heard in the way his shoulders shake on guren’s lap.
how could he have ever gotten so lucky? guren likes him. he likes guren. every moment they spend together feels like heaven, and that’s hardly even hyperbole.
he’s touched god. this is nearly there. ]
A lot.
[ sincere to a fault! he adores guren with everything he has, and so he slowly moves his hand up guren’s arm, stretching to brush his fingers against guren’s face and then, he leans up enough that the expectation is there before he even says anything.
[There's so much warmth spreading between them as Guren tracks the fingers up his arm, aware of every touch, leaning into the one at his face. But then Dextera is leaning up, and he doesn't have to get very far, let alone sign a word.]
I'm lucky.
[His lips quirk up after he's said this, and he closes the last bit of distance, one hand sliding behind Dextera's head to help support him there as he kisses him. It's warm, but it's passionate, too, eager to share just how much he likes him.]
[ dextera doesn’t know much, if anything, about love. he doesn’t remember it, has never known it except in twisted, corrupted forms—but this has to be something like it. he kisses guren slowly, only breaking apart when the position becomes uncomfortable to maintain.
if nothing else, this town brought them together. ]
My first date. [ he smiles, softly, and presses his fingers to guren’s lips just to feel his mouth from another angle.
[ Guren smiles, his own fingers running along the side of Dextera’s face. This is his first real date too, but saying that aloud sounds too misleading. There were too many days sitting in the grass, watching the sky and talking about the future. It’s probably the same, even if he never admitted it to himself. ]
How do you like it so far? [ He laughs, because he just keeps asking the same thing. ]
It’s your first date, and I’m the one worried about screwing up.
[ dextera can’t believe he’s the one saying that to guren, but the sentiment is important. guren has done all this for him, and he’s still worried that dextera doesn’t like it.
so dextera sits up, moving so that he’s kind of sitting half in guren’s lap, his legs under him in a way that’s sort of on the blanket and sort of not, but the point is that he’s close.
he cups guren’s face, brushing his thumbs over guren’s cheeks. ]
Guren.
[ spoken, whispered, whatever—just before he kisses guren again. ]
[ This is so much, he doesn’t know what to do with it. Plenty of people care about him, for reasons he doesn’t fully grasp, but to have it expressed quite like this is... surprising somehow. It’s warm, it’s everything he wants, and he leans into that kiss without hesitation, letting that feeling blossom.
He loves this. He does... ]
This is the most relaxed I’ve been in years. [ For the record. It’s spoken between kisses, because he follows it with another, grabbing at Dextera’s arm, tugging him slightly closer. It’s... nice. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and he wants to be, so he leans into Dextera a little himself, wanting more. ]
[ there’s a little pride, at that. dextera was able to make guren relax for the first time in years? surely there’s a prize for such a feat, but then, dextera supposes that precisely this moment is the reward.
dextera yields easily to the kiss, letting guren slowly explore him, until he needs to part for air. his eyes are half-lidded, lips shiny with spit, and his cheeks are flushed an interested, splotchy red. ]
…
[ he signs quickly, but his eyes are focused on guren’s. ]
[ Ah, yes. The food he made with extra care and they barely touched before laying all over each other. He watches those eyes, drawn in and caught so thoroughly that he forgets how to breathe. He thumbs over his cheek, admiring the color, and leans closer. ]
What food?
[ That’s how he feels right now, closing the distance to kiss the corner of Dextera’s mouth, now, and then his jaw, tenderly. ]
dextera doesn’t mind, though. the food isn’t going to melt or burn or rot without them, if it’s already been waiting here long enough for them to come to this spot in the first place.
[ He smiles, and maybe he really should pull back and slow down. They have time... but he wants this time now. He kisses again, pushier, at his neck, and grins there, too. ]
Hmm. [ Like he has to think about it, but he does lean back, tilting his head. ]
[ wait, no—guren has kissed his neck, and that’s a new sensation all its own. guren pulls back after that, but dextera suddenly thinks he doesn’t want to eat if guren’s going to keep doing that.
dextera is capricious, in this way.
he touches his neck where guren kissed him, glancing back at the picnic basket still filled with guren’s probably painstakingly prepared lunch, and he even seems a little guilty for a moment. ]
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for those words, though, he’s glad he waited. ]
…
[ a small, quick kiss, just to acknowledge that he’s heard guren. he presses their fingers together as well, just enjoying the heat of guren’s palm. ]
I’d follow you anywhere.
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I know. [It's quiet, and he keeps their eye contact.] But you don't have to. As long as we meet back in the end... you can follow, or you can wait for me.
[He's not sure Dextera should always follow him, even if he loves his company. He already has that issue with loyalty, doesn't he? Where he's so intent on following someone else, someone like Ryo, like that Archangel.
Guren doesn't want to be that sort of force in his life. He wants to be something different.]
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he knows guren doesn’t like his devotion to the archangel, or his closest proxy in ryo. dextera doesn’t like it either, but that certainty that he can’t think for himself is so deeply ingrained that he can’t help it.
still, when guren says it—it somehow feels possible. ]
…okay.
[ he’s not acquiescing. he’s just trying to listen, truly. ]
Thank you.
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[Guren is relieved that Dextera doesn't argue him on this. The most worrying thing would have been the insistence that it was right to follow, even if it's ironic that going along and agreeing with him is the healthier choice. At least, that's how he views it.
Whatever. He leans in, kisses him once more, and then reaches to the side for the basket, pulling back just so he can pull it close. I don't fucking know what they could eat but Guren made something simple but just careful enough to be cute, so there it is, enjoy it.]
Here.
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…
[ there’s probably some berries and stuff in there, and dextera will immediately go for those because he’s predictable. it’s amazing enough that guren found this place—having something to eat alongside it is just extra special.
a date. ]
Smells nice—here.
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[Oh yeah, there are definitely berries, and Guren ends up holding one out near Dextera's mouth for him to take, if he wants.]
Lavender has a lot of uses, but I couldn't bring myself to pick any of it from here. There's actually plenty of it in Flavo, and around other parts of the forest near here. I guess this was just a lucky place where more of it grew.
I'm sure it wasn't here before, either, which means something made it appear. [He's thinking he's getting how this town works, little by little...]
The town keeps getting prettier.
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they’re together. everything is fine. flirting is fine, and dextera doesn’t have to be ashamed of his desire if guren wants it too. ]
Like the tulips.
[ there are a few of them growing around here, actually, but nothing as bright or well-tended as the ones in front of dextera’s home. ]
Our tulips.
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[Guren had seen those, and he was half tempted to pick one and give it to Dextera... but picking it means killing it, and in a town like this, he thought Dextera would appreciate the living ones more. Guren does, at least.
He shifts subtly on the blanket, making it so that his arm can brush against Dextera's from how close they are. The next berry is for himself, but he'll give Dextera one more, at least.]
They remind me of you. Not just the tulips. Flowers do.
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they’re together. ]
Why?
[ an honest question, without guile. ]
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Now, what's a not embarrassing way to say that Dextera blossoms with love and brightens everyone's day.]
They just do.
[Thanks, that's helpful. But Guren thinks on it a moment longer, and relents.]
They make people happy and relaxed. It's... something beautiful growing even in harsher conditions.
[He's looking away, now, trying to hide how gay that was.]
Plus, you cried over grass that one time.
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then guren reminds him that he cried over grass, and dextera huffs. ]
My first time!
[ let him defend himself, guren!! ]
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Haha, don't worry. It was cute.
[This may be the first time he's used cute in a sentence out loud and had it not be sarcastic.]
Besides, you're the one who asked why they reminded me of you, so I just gave you all of it at once. [And shamelessly used something to hide behind so he wouldn't be embarrassed himself!!]
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[ dextera likes that laugh.
guren isn’t prone to sounds like that—even when he’s amused, the best dextera ever expects is a handsome chuckle or something like a bark of amusement, but this feels like dextera has done something right.
if he had been angry, it immediately disappears, but he wasn’t truly angry to begin with. just flustered.
he takes guren’s hand, tracing the lines of his palm. writing something, slowly. ]
Jerk.
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That five year old that didn't have a clue what he'd have to deal with. Now, though, he knows everything... And even if there's still that determination, the anger, the desire to win everything he can and be on top, the desperation and the sadness— this hope is growing with every day. He thought that had died permanently. He's jaded, he's bitter, he's worried and not optimistic, but at the same time... he's here, experiencing this.
It should be impossible for someone like him. But Dextera came back from the dead. People didn't have to die for it. His chest is swelling with emotions by now, and his eyes spark as he looks down at him.]
Yeah, I'm a jerk. [He says it like he's proud and willing to admit it, tilting his head to one side, watching him curiously.] You still like me?
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how could he have ever gotten so lucky? guren likes him. he likes guren. every moment they spend together feels like heaven, and that’s hardly even hyperbole.
he’s touched god. this is nearly there. ]
A lot.
[ sincere to a fault! he adores guren with everything he has, and so he slowly moves his hand up guren’s arm, stretching to brush his fingers against guren’s face and then, he leans up enough that the expectation is there before he even says anything.
he wants a kiss. ]
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[There's so much warmth spreading between them as Guren tracks the fingers up his arm, aware of every touch, leaning into the one at his face. But then Dextera is leaning up, and he doesn't have to get very far, let alone sign a word.]
I'm lucky.
[His lips quirk up after he's said this, and he closes the last bit of distance, one hand sliding behind Dextera's head to help support him there as he kisses him. It's warm, but it's passionate, too, eager to share just how much he likes him.]
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if nothing else, this town brought them together. ]
My first date. [ he smiles, softly, and presses his fingers to guren’s lips just to feel his mouth from another angle.
it’s easy to forget the pain, out here. ]
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How do you like it so far? [ He laughs, because he just keeps asking the same thing. ]
It’s your first date, and I’m the one worried about screwing up.
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[ dextera can’t believe he’s the one saying that to guren, but the sentiment is important. guren has done all this for him, and he’s still worried that dextera doesn’t like it.
so dextera sits up, moving so that he’s kind of sitting half in guren’s lap, his legs under him in a way that’s sort of on the blanket and sort of not, but the point is that he’s close.
he cups guren’s face, brushing his thumbs over guren’s cheeks. ]
Guren.
[ spoken, whispered, whatever—just before he kisses guren again. ]
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He loves this. He does... ]
This is the most relaxed I’ve been in years. [ For the record. It’s spoken between kisses, because he follows it with another, grabbing at Dextera’s arm, tugging him slightly closer. It’s... nice. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and he wants to be, so he leans into Dextera a little himself, wanting more. ]
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dextera yields easily to the kiss, letting guren slowly explore him, until he needs to part for air. his eyes are half-lidded, lips shiny with spit, and his cheeks are flushed an interested, splotchy red. ]
…
[ he signs quickly, but his eyes are focused on guren’s. ]
The food.
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What food?
[ That’s how he feels right now, closing the distance to kiss the corner of Dextera’s mouth, now, and then his jaw, tenderly. ]
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dextera doesn’t mind, though. the food isn’t going to melt or burn or rot without them, if it’s already been waiting here long enough for them to come to this spot in the first place.
he breathes out a laugh. ]
Your food.
[ he can’t protest much, though. ]
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Hmm. [ Like he has to think about it, but he does lean back, tilting his head. ]
I guess I should let you eat first.
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dextera is capricious, in this way.
he touches his neck where guren kissed him, glancing back at the picnic basket still filled with guren’s probably painstakingly prepared lunch, and he even seems a little guilty for a moment. ]
…again.
[ but just a moment. ]
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