selfconcept | purgastory >> inbox

"... Mm."

[ He doesn't care about the callout since he knows that he's crying. Hien has no pride about this... but he feels a little soothed at the hair ruffle and shakily breathes out. ]

"It's just one of those things... where you have to do something, whether you like it or not."

[. . .]

[it's reluctant, but Edamura eventually draws back from the hug. he doesn't go far, of course. . . he hovers close enough that their foreheads just barely touch, head tilted slightly so he can get a better look at Hien's expression, bangs falling tousled across his own. he keeps his hands pressed against Hien's shoulders, grip tight]

. . . is there literally anything I can say to convince you not to?

[literally anything at all. a heartfelt plea. a flicker hope for another option. a selfish request]

[ His eyes are a little red from crying, even though it wasn't much in the first place. He sniffles again when their foreheads almost touch, his gaze down as if the ground is the most interesting thing right now. But he feels the grip on his shoulders and tries not to think about how the tear mark down his cheek is drying and making his face uncomfortable to move. ]

"... No, but you can hope that the shard plan is a failure."

[. . . he wants to. he wants to hope for that so badly, no matter how guilty it might make him. but who is he, to selfishly wish for Hien's efforts to rid himself of his destructive future to fail?]

Do. . . you want it to be? A failure, I mean.

[he asks, though the question is tentative. given as he frowns at the red rims of Hien's eyes and the damp tracks that decorate his cheeks. with a huff, Edmaura lifts a hand and presses his knuckles against those tear marks, trying to (gently!) scrub them away]

[ Hien closes his eyes when Edamura tries to scrub them away, albeit gently. Mrngh. ]

"I have mixed feelings."

[ He's said as much already, but he'll say it again. ]

[he'd think that cute if he weren't so distracted by the solemnity of the moment. scrub scrub scrub. he's so doting]

I had a feeling you'd say that. . .

[part of him hoped Hien would say yes. he isn't surprised that he doesn't]

. . . but if it works, then-- presuming Yosuke is right, there's only one maze left.

[which is not a lot of time. is it. . . ?]

"Yeah..."

[ Despite everything, Hien is glad that he could finally be honest with Edamura about this, even though he knew that it would upset him. He knows it could upset many others too, which is why he doesn't usually talk about his shard. ]

"Did you want to do something here before you leave?"

[ is his ear licking curse still active LMAO ]

[IT COULD BE. . . do you really want him to lick Hien's ear in this emotionally charged thread. do you]

[as for the question. . .]

[it gives him pause. causes him to hesitate with palm still hovering near Hien's cheek, fingertips gently grazing the fringes of his bangs. so focused on Hien's lack of time that he hadn't even considered his own. is there anything he wants to do in Purgatory before he leaves. . .? something that must be done before he parts from the realm that upended his entire worldview? that introduced him to so many new people, all whom have helped him trudge his way through maze after maze, propping him up on his journey through self-discovery?]

[. . .]

. . . I don't know.

[he gets the vague sensation that there is. he simply cannot figure out what]

What about you?

[ I WONT FORCE YOU but he can fafo if he does

I will say that I was being serious about ear licking preventing the crashout because hien would be so ?????? over it that he just forgets ]

"Me? I like to live in the present, even with my future looming over me all the time, so... wherever my whimsy takes me is where I'll go."

[okay well]

[I guess going for it]

Your whimsy, huh.

[a very light touch of amusement as he repeats those words, hand dropping from Hien's cheek to his collar, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt]

. . . I suppose that's not a bad way to do things. [Edamura is not a whimsy kind of guy, but he is slowly learning how to live in the moment. that's what his world travels are for] If it makes you happy, then--

[we interrupt this tender moment with a curse. because Edamura suddenly cuts himself off, yanks on Hien's collar, and tries to pull him forward so he can lick his ear]

[WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO HIM]

[ ?!?!?!?!?!?!? ]

[ He wouldn't have seen this coming from miles and miles away. His collar is yanked and when he's pulled forward, he thought he would have gotten something but not this. If his collar wasn't pulled, he would immediately scrunch his neck into his cloak like how a turtle retreats into its shell. But he can't.

So he squeaks in response, which sounds weird with the distortion and static and immediately turns red in the face. ]

[WELL THAT MAKES TWO OF THEM, because Edamura's features are lit up like a tomato. he presses his free hand against his face to hide his blush, head bowed, bangs falling haphazard across his fingers]

Dude.

[a strangled li'l noise]

I'm so sorry, I think I got cursed earlier and I think it's still lingering--

[KILL HIM HE IS SO EMBARRASSED]

[ Hien shuts his eyes tight and just shudders in place as if to release the tension he feels right now. Looks like the ear is pretty sensitive............. more things for Edamura to know that he didn't really need to. Congratulations on your info. ]

"It's--fine..."

[ hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhghghghghghghh

You know what Hien does. He gets a pillow and shoves it into his own face. ]

[. . . peeking up at Hien between his fingers when he feels that little shiver. just in time to watch the poor guy shove a pillow into his face]

[. . .]

[cute. . . . . .]

H-- hey. . . come on, you don't have to do that.

[attempts to tug the pillow away. . .]

[ He needs a second to cool down... He can usually do it very easily, but sometimes things happen when something like this happens when you're emotionally vulnerable.

But the pillow is tugged away and Hien is still red in the face. ]

[oh]

[this is. . .]

[it's actually kind of. . .]

[. . . despite the heavy subject matter, the moment Edamura sees that flush cascading across Hien's features, he actually. . . smiles. lips curving up from cheek to cheek, bright and fond and very endeared. and when he ducks his head to laugh, the sound light and airy and filled with open, unbridled affection, he realizes--]

[yeah. maybe there is one thing he wants to do before he leaves. just. . . one more thing]

. . . I don't think I've ever seen you this embarrassed before.

[ It's nice to hear Edamura laugh. It sounds like it's full of affection. For some reason, it gets to Hien more than he expected. ]

"... I'm not usually embarrassed about things unless they affect me directly."

[ He can talk and joke about kinks, or look at someone in a scandalous outfit and not think much on it. But stuff like this? Kills him on the inside. ]

[a very, very light tease]

Your ears must be extra sensitive, then. Especially because that wasn't very--

[sexy?? it was like the least sensual ear lick that has ever occurred, actually!! Edamura doesn't finish that statement, his gaze flickering away, a little bit of pink reappearing on his cheeks]

[. . .]

[it returns to Hien moments later]

. . . a-- anyway! It's cute. That's what I. . . was getting at.

[ Edanura doesn't finish that sentence, but Hien will just tell him— ]

"I can't even handle normal whispers, so it's pretty bad."

[ He looks at Edamura though. ]

"... 'm not cute."

[CAN'T EVEN HANDLE NORMAL WHISPERS. . . moe. don't know why it is but it is]

I think you are. [he says so matter-of-factly, without any sign of his usual bluster. a pause] Unless you really don't want to be? Then I could say "good-looking" or even "handsome". . .

[ The way Hien has to pull someone off to the side whenever they want to whisper so that they can be out of hearing range from everybody else and just speak quietly instead of whispering it to his ear... Hien would have made a face if he saw Edamura rank Hien as cute in one of the returnee questions. ]

"... I'm just me. Not any of those."

[ He quietly huffs as the red gradually recedes from his face. ]

[HE DEFINITELY MEANT TO RANK HIEN AS NUMBER ONE I JUST FORGOT THE RULES—]

Yeah. At the end of the day, I guess you are "just Hien."

[he likes that the most, he thinks. just Hien]

[. . .]

[it's a little bold, but he reaches out to skim fingers across Hien's collar again, before gripping it lightly]

. . . I'm going to do something really stupid, okay?

[what kind of warning is that. . . though after a beat, he clarifies]

It's not your ear again, I promise.

[ It's really funny how Hien associates collar gripping as a sign of instigating violence instead of anything else, but it obviously doesn't match with Edamura, so he's looking at him in confusion despite what he literally just did two minutes ago. ]

"... Okay?"

[ ????????????????? ]

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