the13tharcana | IC contact post for Adstringendum

[Full of surprises, indeed.

Though truth to be told, the biggest surprise of it all - this small confession aside - was probably the fact that Josh had called him out here in the first place. Because that alone showed that Ryoji wasn't... indifferent to him? That Joshua cared about him, at least to some extent? That thought alone...

And putting a stop to it? You could if you wanted to, and you knew it, Josh. They both knew it. If leaving you alone would make you happy, then... But it wouldn't, would it? Not anymore, at least... huh.

Ryoji closed his eyes, a small satisfied smile lingering on his lips.]

I guess you're stuck with me, then.

[Oh, he was quite aware that he could put a stop to it. But, over the last several months, he'd come to enjoy Ryoji's company. There wasn't anyone in Adstringendum quite like Ryoji, nor anyone that understood his views on... well, pretty much everything.

No, it wouldn't make him happy to not have Ryoji to talk to. Not at all.]

I suppose so~

[Joshua hummed softly, managing to sound slightly amused as he did so. For a moment, he glanced up to the sky, pondering... but while Ryoji's eyes were still closed... hm.

Carefully, he leaned down, a mischievous little smile spreading across his face. He moved in until his lips were inches from Ryoji's, and whispered softly:]

Stop worrying so much, or you'll end up having a heart attack~

[And to top it all off, he pressed a brief kiss to Ryoji's cheek before quickly pulling back, smiling like he were holding back laughter.]

[Well... Josh was apparently careful enough for Ryoji not to notice him getting so close at first. Not until the other boy spoke, anyway. So it probably wasn't much of a surprise that when that whisper reached his ears, Ryoji was taken a bit off-guard.

--And then, he was taken totally off guard.]

[For a moment there, Ryoji just... stared. At Josh. Wide-eyed. And blinked. And then blinked some more, as if trying to figure out what the hell just happened.]

[...No, really. What. ..........What?!]

[...Josh, you-- didn't. You just didn't--]

[Okay, okay. He was calm. Perfectly calm! Life was beautiful and nothing hurt! And he totally wasn't a confused puddle of goo right now. These kind of things--

--shouldn't be affecting him this much.

...Yeah, they probably wouldn't. If this was anyone else but Josh. Haha... ha...]

[--But no, no, there needed to be a logical explanation for all of this.

Either Joshua has done it just to cheer him up. For which... he should be thankful, he supposed. Even if... he'd be on the verge of telling the other not to do that ever again, if this was the case.

Then there was the possibility that Josh was simply trying to tease him. ...For which he should probably punch him in the face right now. ...Only that-- you know, he'd never do that.

And the last option?

Well...]

[Oh hey, Josh. Ryoji was kind of staring at you now. And he was kind of, sort of... smirking.]

...Joshua-senpai?

[The way he's called out the name had a both questioning and teasing tone to it. As if Ryoji were to just ask something by the lines of 'did something change?' or 'what was that just now?' and 'how am I to interpret this?']

Edited 2012-07-04 16:15 (UTC)

[Honestly, it was growing increasingly more difficult to hold the laughter in, watching Ryoji go through that myriad of faces. It wasn't hard to predict Ryoji's reaction at all, really. Of course he'd expected Ryoji to panic a little.

But he hadn't quite expected that little smirk at the end.

No matter! Joshua didn't falter one bit. Instead, he slid his hands into his pockets, amusement settling into a smug little smile. He could hear the silent questioning in Ryoji's tone of voice, but for now... he wasn't going to answer.]

You worry too much, Ryoji-kun.

[Avoiding his question now, Josh, were we? Now Ryoji had even more reason to get suspicious. And the way you were smiling at him? Did you actually want for him to get confused by this, Josh?

Just what kind of game were they playing here? ...Because - okay, basically? From what Ryoji understood, at least? Josh just showed that he didn't mind his advances anymore. And instead of finding them disturbing, he even started to bite back himself. Now if this wasn't supposed to give him ideas...

Yeah, all in all, maybe the other boy did have some kind of point with the whole 'worrying too much' thing. And Ryoji couldn't help but chuckle, amused by all of it all of a sudden.]

Do I?

[Hey, this actually managed to put a smile back on his lips. Well, Josh, if getting Ryoji's mood back on track was your intention all along, you could definitely consider yourself victorious.]

Thank you for calling me out here today.

Edited 2012-07-04 22:42 (UTC)

[In all reality, Ryoji, it was just a hurdle that had been passed. When presented with an unfamiliar situation... well, it's only a matter of time before Joshua gets over his aversion and starts playing back. And that seemed to be the case here.

But, his intention had been to cheer Ryoji up a bit, so there was a success in that, at least! Joshua tilted his head, the smile not fading in the slightest.]

Hopefully I won't need a reason to do it again, hm?

Hopefully not!

[As in, no, Ryoji didn't think so. But, yeah, well... Enjoy digging your own grave now, Josh.]

Then again, we could always meet like this without any kind of reason, couldn't we?~

[... he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.]

Oh, I suppose. I did enjoy our walk in the rain.

[...Josh, you were making him blush again, and this time Ryoji wasn't even sure why. Just by saying something like that...]

Really? [There was genuine surprise in his voice.]

...All this time, I thought you didn't have very pleasant memories in regards to that.

[Oh, he's only telling you the truth, Ryoji. It isn't his fault if you blush.]

Mm... I suppose you could say I've gotten over that.

[Ryoji knew it was his fault for bringing it up out of the blue like that back then. But sometimes, it made him wonder...]

Was it really that much of a shock for you?

I have to say, I wasn't really expecting it.

[He can admit that much.]

[Hmm...]

Well, speaking of unexpected things... May I ask you something?

[... stop making him nervous, Ryoji.]

What sort of something?

[Feel Ryoji's pain a bit, Josh.]

It somehow hasn't even crossed my mind to ask back then...

[Or maybe he simply took it for granted. But lately, after having talked to a bunch of people... he supposed had a hard time overlooking that kind of possibility.]

I won't ask further if you say 'yes,' just... I simply wanted to know.

[He pauses for a short moment, staring at Josh.]

Is there someone else? ...That you're interested in in that kind of way, I mean?

[... and here Joshua stands in silence for a moment. Hm. So that's... what has Ryoji worried? He tilts his head, considering.]

... unless a city counts toward that.

[And now... Ryoji is a bit confused.]

A city?

It's nothing.

[A smile. He wouldn't expect Ryoji to understand anyway.]

No, there isn't anyone.

[Well, Ryoji would lie if he said that he wasn't relieved to hear that. Although... the way Josh shook off the city thing just now? It made him wonder all the more.]

...Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?

[You could always try him, Josh. You already knew that Ryoji had a very vague understanding of what was normal and what was not. Chances were, something like this wouldn't really surprise him that much.]

I wouldn't mind listening.

[And hey, everybody had their kinks, right?]

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[offline] 1/7 ...because of reasons |D

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[offline] ...and done xD

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