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[. . . 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?"

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

[STOP LOOKING SO CONFUSED HE IS GOING TO LOSE HIS NERVE]

. . . okay.

[he steels himself again with a deep breath, the pink on his cheeks flaring to a bright red. any further hesitation is going to give him time to change his mind, so. . . he shuts down the part of him that likes to overthink, and taps into his reckless impulsivity for a bit of momentary courage]

[then he tugs on Hien's collar at the same time that he dips forward]

[all so he can steal a li'l kiss. the very slightest brush of lips, nothing more than a brief, fleeting peck. he is gone in an instant, heart hammering wildly in his ears, but!! he still did it!!]

[ Hien truly is a man whose head is empty at most times. Of all things, for some reason, he didn't expect this. He looks mildly surprised, which is saying that Hien is actually very surprised on the inside.

But instead of looking like a dead fish out of the water, Hien leans back in to return the small peck without missing a beat despite his feelings. ]

"'Stupid', huh?"

[ah—]

[. . . despite his boldness, reciprocation is not at all what Edamura expected. he jolts a bit in surprise when Hien leans in with a peck of his own, so taken off guard by the counterattack that he doesn't have time to savor it. it leaves him blinking owlishly, mouth parted, eyes wide. a little dumbfounded!]

[. . .]

[his grip on Hien's collar tightens, then loosens as he ducks his head, letting his bags curtain his features. very bashful!!]

. . . you can decide if it's stupid or not.

[he is grinning a li'l bit. a bit lopsided, a bit goofy]

You asked if there was anything I wanted to do before I left. I guess. . . that was it.

[ Hien would usually tease, but he can't bring himself to do it. Edamura is so cute... ]

"No regrets?"

[ Hien leans in again to do a little eskimo kiss, which is rubbing their noses together for a bit. ]

[NO. . . THAT'S SO CUTE, TOO. . . Edamura tilts his head up to accept that li'l nose rub, eyes slipping shut as he basks in the small display of affection. it's encouraging, and although he isn't quite sure exactly how much he should be encouraged. . . he lifts a hand to brush knuckles across the apple of Hien's cheek, anyway]

Yeah.

[comes an easy reply, given with his next exhale]

No regrets.

[if there is anything he has learned in his five weeks stuck in Purgatory, it's that]

[ It really could have been anyone else, but no. Hien sighs and looks at Edamura. ]

"Good."

[ He reaches out to ruffle Edamura's hair.

we can end it here unless you want a few more tags in ]

[nope, he will just be pleased as punch for the rest of the day!]

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