Ten minutes? Fifteen? As long as it takes for the chicken to be proper cooked.
[ soooo no. no, there's not a real timer. but he is visibly thrilled that junpei is actually taking his time to consider the taste, and gives him feedback — this way he can be sure he'll like the end result. granted, he's... well, confident is perhaps the wrong word, given that he's not made this particular dish in decades, but relatively sure that whatever he makes is edible. it's just that he wants it to be better than that. ]
Sure. Whatever you want.
[ literally whatever... except the canned tomatoes. that's where he draws the line. anyway, he minces some more garlic and mixes it into the curry, and then places the lid on it, turning the heat down so it can just bubble away on its own for a while.
then he just walks round the stove to where junpei is sitting, and wraps his arms around him from behind him, ducking his head to kiss his cheek — partly because he really, really wants to, and partly because it's still a bit surreal to him that he's actually allowed to do this, now. ]
[His boyfriend the fancy chef, wowza. He could watch Charles cook anything; it's almost a shame the glitches seem to have come to an end, if only because of that one day Charles could eat again. Is eating his cooking the next best thing? Maybe! He'll give glowing reviews, he's already decided.
When Charles comes around to hug him Junpei leans back into him automatically with a little laugh. He turns his head to catch Charles in another kiss before he straightens back up, abandoning the bag of chips entirely in favor of doling out more affection. Just catch him if he leans too far back and falls—]
I didn't know I was being graded... Now I've got to fill fifteen minutes, huh?
[Oh no, whatever shall he do.
...Well, what he wants to do is simply lean back cozily in Charles' arms, and since he can, that's what he's doing. It's still new enough to feel too good to be true, an unbelievable turn of events; he actually got the guy? The guy sees something in him worth putting time and effort into? Imagine that.
So maybe,] Stay right there?
[For fifteen whole minutes? Maybe. The whole thing's been a whirlwind, maybe they've earned fifteen minutes of uninterrupted tenderness.]
[ the laugh makes his heart execute a perfect backflip — apparently the change in their relationship status has done nothing to help the way junpei's laughter affects him, every single time. the kiss is a sweet little thing, and charles tightens his arms around junpei a tad, then, to support his weight so he can actually lean against him properly.
he hums in assent at the request, because turns out this is exactly where he wants to be, too; he crouches and tilts his head forward to tuck his face against the crook of junpei's neck, then, breathing in and out for a moment before pressing a light kiss there, before brushing his nose against the line of his neck, up and down again.
as he straightens up, he drops another kiss to junpei's temple, still cradling him in his arms as he says, with a soft kind of awe, ] I don't think I've ever been this happy.
[ it's his turn to laugh lightly, more of a chuckle than anything else — because, really, in hindsight it's somewhat hilarious that it took him so long to understand what he was feeling, especially when he thinks he's been drawn to junpei from the first moment of meeting him. and every single moment they've spent together, no matter the situation, junpei's never once failed to make him feel happy just by being there. ]
Not for nothing, but... you know I've been in love with you since that week, yeah?
[Oh, and he's kind of overwhelming when he squeezes in close again like that, although in the best possible way. Junpei chuckles again and turns his head to give Charles an affectionate nuzzle - and it is definitely a nuzzle this time - then tilts his head back to look up at him, openly besotted. It surprises him a bit how easy and comfortable it is to just be like this, without second-guessing himself or talking himself out of it. Charles makes it easy, has the whole time they've known each other - so Junpei can give him these heart eyes without shame.
But hm, what-]
Wait, which week?
[Charles was one of the first people he met here, so that's a lot of weeks to choose from, although he has a guess. But surely not that week...]
Uh, I definitely had no idea, so... oops?
[Well, he might have wondered, but then all those pesky personal problems and second guesses came back, so essentially he had no idea.]
[ the look junpei gives him makes charles feel almost warm, or as close to it as he can — and it, too, fills him with that same kind of awe, that junpei looks at him with so much love and tenderness, like he's somehow precious. and really, the only thing to do is to drop another kiss on top of his head, then, coupled with a warm smile.
and uh, yeah, actually, ]
You know what week. [ so yes, it is in fact that week. ] I know it's weird, seeing how you weren't exactly in your right mind for half of it, but the half that you were... [ well. it's shit like that that really shows what people are like, and what he saw of junpei, then — isolating himself to avoid hurting anyone, talking about his own sort-of-deaths like he didn't really matter, somehow managing to find levity in the entire situation despite it all... how could he not have loved him with his whole damn soul since then?
he tries to encompass all of this in one soft smile and a shrug. ]
It's okay, [ he says then, wryly, ] Not like I realised it either, not until after the festival. [ which is a whole another thing, and he sounds distinctly embarrassed about this. not about the fact that it took him so long to figure out his own feelings, but more that he had to have someone spell it out for him... ]
[Ah, that week after all. Junpei can't help but raise his eyebrows, surprised and a little wry; he was definitely... weird company that week, at best, so he wouldn't blame Charles for picking, like, a different week, if he wanted? But he isn't about to question it past the brief look.]
You're cute, [he says, for that week and the festival both. And just because it's true, all things considered.]
Is it my turn...?
[To put himself so on blast about taking forever to get to his dorky confession, that is. He thinks about it; honestly, he isn't entirely sure of the precise moment - he loves Charles so much and so deeply, feeling this way about him is so comfortable and real and right, he might as well have been in love since the day they met.
But let him think about it. He furrows his brow, putting on a Very Thoughtful Look for the bit of it. Hmm.]
Definitely when I got you alone in that dressing room. [hahaha-- but no, actually,] Nah, it was before that. I mean, not that you didn't look good...
I think it was probably my "birthday," [fingerquotes included,] Or at least, that's when I figured it out.
Not as cute as you, [ he fires back immediately, with a pointed yet soft smile, and god, are they going to be the i love you more kind of couple? entirely possible. gab will get cavities.
and he hadn't meant for there to be turns taken, at all, but he's not about to object, especially not as junpei seems to genuinely give it a moment of thought, even if he's playing it up a bit. and the joke gets him to laugh, even as he shakes his head, remembering the whole moment... and yeah, he can't believe he still needed someone to spell it all out for him even after that. ]
So what I'm getting is I should dress down more often. [ which he's not averse to, really, he hangs out plenty at the office in just his tank top... but right, back to the actual conversation at hand. and what he's really getting is — ]
You mean we could've been doing this all this time? [ he's maybe half serious, his tone just a little too playful for him to actually be upset that they'd danced around each other for so long, especially as... well. he squeezes his arms around junpei, hugging him closer to his chest. ]
Think it took me so long to be willing to see it 'cause I didn't believe you'd ever love me back. [ he doesn't even sound self-deprecating for this; it's just a fact. ] And when I did see it, well, didn't want to say anything, did I? But the longer time went on, it also felt right terrible that you might not know how much I love you... so I sort of figured I'd just keep showing it, and not talk about it.
[ he tips his head and presses a kiss to junpei's forehead. ] Sorry to have left it all up to you.
[Ah, they're definitely going to be that couple, that's... something. Junpei can't say he's ever expected to be that couple, and yet he's completely prepared to annoy any and all passerby about it.
In any case: he does not even bother trying to resist giving Charles a suggestive eyebrow wiggle—yes, please do dress down, he's going to snap those suspenders if it kills him—then leans his head back onto Charles' shoulder. They really could have been doing this the whole time, huh... but then, would it have been the same? Was it not just today that he himself made half of a speech about how they get one shot and there's no point in trying to change what's already happened?
So, that's fine. He shrugs.]
Was it really up to me? I mean, when you kissed me back there, I was pretty sure you knew what you were doing. [Haha. But really, this was definitely a mutual experience, in his opinion. That Charles didn't think his feelings could be reciprocated is both heartbreaking and all too relatable, just like the other thing...
Well, it's worked out so far. No complaints.]
I'm pretty much going to ride this high for, you know, forever, so... You did good.
[ the eyebrow wiggle gets him to chuckle — right, he gets the message, and will act accordingly... eventually. right now he's far too comfortable, here like this, to alter his appearance.
and really, he doesn't mind too much that it took them this long to get here; none of that time they spent together was wasted in any way, after all, not when it's all that time that brought them to this point, allowed them each to fall in love and then grow to accept it, grow used to it to the degree it became just a part of them... and he wouldn't change that even if he could. ]
Yours was the hardest part, [ he says back with a tender look, because if it had been up to him? well, he's already said as much — he would've been happy to simply keep showing his love in various ways while not saying anything about it.
somehow, incredibly, the you did good and the accompanying thumbs up just makes charles beam, his smile both sun-bright and sort of softly pleased at the same time. he turns his head and ducks down to this time press a kiss to junpei's cheek, and while there are surely many other words he could say, only three play inside his head as if on repeat. ]
I love you. [ is he ever going to get tired of just being able to say it out loud? no, absolutely not. it's still its own unique thrill, to know he can think it and doesn't have to keep it to himself. ]
[Junpei scoffs and rolls his eyes, mostly unserious given how he can't help but grin through it at the same time; he did a jazz hand, Charles, in public. People saw. That and only that he will allow the title of "hardest part," actually. Sure, in the moment it was stressful, and he still had to worry if Charles might finally think Hm, no, that's enough of this weirdo and his bullshit, but now? A whole hour later? Telling Charles how he feels is the easiest thing in the world. He'd go to the ends of the earth (or, like, C drive or whatever this place technically is?) to keep that dazzling smile, so...
Well, it's easy now. That's what counts. He twists in his seat, leaning away from Charles only enough to turn around in his arms and slide his own around Charles' waist.]
Love you, too. [See, so easy, and privately he remembers all the other things that were just as easy to say back when he promised them - to stay together, to carry each other's burdens - and feels a fresh rush of all those desires now, looking up at Charles in his dinky little kitchen.
If he looks, briefly, kind of intense about it, well! He'll probably reiterate all those other things out loud again at some point. For now he leans up into a kiss like a perfect punctuation mark on this decision he's made.
Then, looking back towards the stove,] Soooo... lunch?
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Ten minutes? Fifteen? As long as it takes for the chicken to be proper cooked.
[ soooo no. no, there's not a real timer. but he is visibly thrilled that junpei is actually taking his time to consider the taste, and gives him feedback — this way he can be sure he'll like the end result. granted, he's... well, confident is perhaps the wrong word, given that he's not made this particular dish in decades, but relatively sure that whatever he makes is edible. it's just that he wants it to be better than that. ]
Sure. Whatever you want.
[ literally whatever... except the canned tomatoes. that's where he draws the line. anyway, he minces some more garlic and mixes it into the curry, and then places the lid on it, turning the heat down so it can just bubble away on its own for a while.
then he just walks round the stove to where junpei is sitting, and wraps his arms around him from behind him, ducking his head to kiss his cheek — partly because he really, really wants to, and partly because it's still a bit surreal to him that he's actually allowed to do this, now. ]
Excellent company so far. Ten out of ten.
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[His boyfriend the fancy chef, wowza. He could watch Charles cook anything; it's almost a shame the glitches seem to have come to an end, if only because of that one day Charles could eat again. Is eating his cooking the next best thing? Maybe! He'll give glowing reviews, he's already decided.
When Charles comes around to hug him Junpei leans back into him automatically with a little laugh. He turns his head to catch Charles in another kiss before he straightens back up, abandoning the bag of chips entirely in favor of doling out more affection. Just catch him if he leans too far back and falls—]
I didn't know I was being graded... Now I've got to fill fifteen minutes, huh?
[Oh no, whatever shall he do.
...Well, what he wants to do is simply lean back cozily in Charles' arms, and since he can, that's what he's doing. It's still new enough to feel too good to be true, an unbelievable turn of events; he actually got the guy? The guy sees something in him worth putting time and effort into? Imagine that.
So maybe,] Stay right there?
[For fifteen whole minutes? Maybe. The whole thing's been a whirlwind, maybe they've earned fifteen minutes of uninterrupted tenderness.]
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he hums in assent at the request, because turns out this is exactly where he wants to be, too; he crouches and tilts his head forward to tuck his face against the crook of junpei's neck, then, breathing in and out for a moment before pressing a light kiss there, before brushing his nose against the line of his neck, up and down again.
as he straightens up, he drops another kiss to junpei's temple, still cradling him in his arms as he says, with a soft kind of awe, ] I don't think I've ever been this happy.
[ it's his turn to laugh lightly, more of a chuckle than anything else — because, really, in hindsight it's somewhat hilarious that it took him so long to understand what he was feeling, especially when he thinks he's been drawn to junpei from the first moment of meeting him. and every single moment they've spent together, no matter the situation, junpei's never once failed to make him feel happy just by being there. ]
Not for nothing, but... you know I've been in love with you since that week, yeah?
no subject
But hm, what-]
Wait, which week?
[Charles was one of the first people he met here, so that's a lot of weeks to choose from, although he has a guess. But surely not that week...]
Uh, I definitely had no idea, so... oops?
[Well, he might have wondered, but then all those pesky personal problems and second guesses came back, so essentially he had no idea.]
no subject
and uh, yeah, actually, ]
You know what week. [ so yes, it is in fact that week. ] I know it's weird, seeing how you weren't exactly in your right mind for half of it, but the half that you were... [ well. it's shit like that that really shows what people are like, and what he saw of junpei, then — isolating himself to avoid hurting anyone, talking about his own sort-of-deaths like he didn't really matter, somehow managing to find levity in the entire situation despite it all... how could he not have loved him with his whole damn soul since then?
he tries to encompass all of this in one soft smile and a shrug. ]
It's okay, [ he says then, wryly, ] Not like I realised it either, not until after the festival. [ which is a whole another thing, and he sounds distinctly embarrassed about this. not about the fact that it took him so long to figure out his own feelings, but more that he had to have someone spell it out for him... ]
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You're cute, [he says, for that week and the festival both. And just because it's true, all things considered.]
Is it my turn...?
[To put himself so on blast about taking forever to get to his dorky confession, that is. He thinks about it; honestly, he isn't entirely sure of the precise moment - he loves Charles so much and so deeply, feeling this way about him is so comfortable and real and right, he might as well have been in love since the day they met.
But let him think about it. He furrows his brow, putting on a Very Thoughtful Look for the bit of it. Hmm.]
Definitely when I got you alone in that dressing room. [hahaha-- but no, actually,] Nah, it was before that. I mean, not that you didn't look good...
I think it was probably my "birthday," [fingerquotes included,] Or at least, that's when I figured it out.
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and he hadn't meant for there to be turns taken, at all, but he's not about to object, especially not as junpei seems to genuinely give it a moment of thought, even if he's playing it up a bit. and the joke gets him to laugh, even as he shakes his head, remembering the whole moment... and yeah, he can't believe he still needed someone to spell it all out for him even after that. ]
So what I'm getting is I should dress down more often. [ which he's not averse to, really, he hangs out plenty at the office in just his tank top... but right, back to the actual conversation at hand. and what he's really getting is — ]
You mean we could've been doing this all this time? [ he's maybe half serious, his tone just a little too playful for him to actually be upset that they'd danced around each other for so long, especially as... well. he squeezes his arms around junpei, hugging him closer to his chest. ]
Think it took me so long to be willing to see it 'cause I didn't believe you'd ever love me back. [ he doesn't even sound self-deprecating for this; it's just a fact. ] And when I did see it, well, didn't want to say anything, did I? But the longer time went on, it also felt right terrible that you might not know how much I love you... so I sort of figured I'd just keep showing it, and not talk about it.
[ he tips his head and presses a kiss to junpei's forehead. ] Sorry to have left it all up to you.
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In any case: he does not even bother trying to resist giving Charles a suggestive eyebrow wiggle—yes, please do dress down, he's going to snap those suspenders if it kills him—then leans his head back onto Charles' shoulder. They really could have been doing this the whole time, huh... but then, would it have been the same? Was it not just today that he himself made half of a speech about how they get one shot and there's no point in trying to change what's already happened?
So, that's fine. He shrugs.]
Was it really up to me? I mean, when you kissed me back there, I was pretty sure you knew what you were doing. [Haha. But really, this was definitely a mutual experience, in his opinion. That Charles didn't think his feelings could be reciprocated is both heartbreaking and all too relatable, just like the other thing...
Well, it's worked out so far. No complaints.]
I'm pretty much going to ride this high for, you know, forever, so... You did good.
[........he throws in a thumbs up, for emphasis.]
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and really, he doesn't mind too much that it took them this long to get here; none of that time they spent together was wasted in any way, after all, not when it's all that time that brought them to this point, allowed them each to fall in love and then grow to accept it, grow used to it to the degree it became just a part of them... and he wouldn't change that even if he could. ]
Yours was the hardest part, [ he says back with a tender look, because if it had been up to him? well, he's already said as much — he would've been happy to simply keep showing his love in various ways while not saying anything about it.
somehow, incredibly, the you did good and the accompanying thumbs up just makes charles beam, his smile both sun-bright and sort of softly pleased at the same time. he turns his head and ducks down to this time press a kiss to junpei's cheek, and while there are surely many other words he could say, only three play inside his head as if on repeat. ]
I love you. [ is he ever going to get tired of just being able to say it out loud? no, absolutely not. it's still its own unique thrill, to know he can think it and doesn't have to keep it to himself. ]
🎀
Well, it's easy now. That's what counts. He twists in his seat, leaning away from Charles only enough to turn around in his arms and slide his own around Charles' waist.]
Love you, too. [See, so easy, and privately he remembers all the other things that were just as easy to say back when he promised them - to stay together, to carry each other's burdens - and feels a fresh rush of all those desires now, looking up at Charles in his dinky little kitchen.
If he looks, briefly, kind of intense about it, well! He'll probably reiterate all those other things out loud again at some point. For now he leans up into a kiss like a perfect punctuation mark on this decision he's made.
Then, looking back towards the stove,] Soooo... lunch?
[And So It Was Lunch]