[ the apprehension doesn't leave him immediately — he holds himself as if braced for a blow, biting his lip until junpei finally flips to the right page, eyes trained on him until it becomes clear that he's not, in fact, mad at all —
all the tension leaves him with an entirely unnecessary exhale, bleeds away from his shoulders, and gives way to a small smile, almost as if to mirror the drawing. and then, staring at junpei as he is, he notices the red on his face, spreading all the way to his ears, and it's — god, well, it's a little more than endearing, and for a heartbeat charles wonders if he would be able to feel the warmth of his face if he were to touch it.
... and wow, well, that's a totally normal thought to have, innit, he's just, you know, not going to think about that anymore. instead, he says, ] It's not weird, is it? Drawing you without asking. Just, I thought, it's been pretty shitty couple of weeks, yeah? So I wanted to remember the good parts.
[ he's steadily ignoring the implications of the good parts, as he puts it, being two very specific occasions (scott, angry at the world at large and showing his good character; and richard, not out of his mind with murder impulses but confused by modern food) and then, quite simply, junpei's smile. ]
god i hope not no one should subscribe to this absolute trainwreck
all the tension leaves him with an entirely unnecessary exhale, bleeds away from his shoulders, and gives way to a small smile, almost as if to mirror the drawing. and then, staring at junpei as he is, he notices the red on his face, spreading all the way to his ears, and it's — god, well, it's a little more than endearing, and for a heartbeat charles wonders if he would be able to feel the warmth of his face if he were to touch it.
... and wow, well, that's a totally normal thought to have, innit, he's just, you know, not going to think about that anymore. instead, he says, ] It's not weird, is it? Drawing you without asking. Just, I thought, it's been pretty shitty couple of weeks, yeah? So I wanted to remember the good parts.
[ he's steadily ignoring the implications of the good parts, as he puts it, being two very specific occasions (scott, angry at the world at large and showing his good character; and richard, not out of his mind with murder impulses but confused by modern food) and then, quite simply, junpei's smile. ]