' I want the K. '
forehead kiss
He wonders what she sees.
No woman had ever looked at him that way before — no, maybe that was wrong. He would catch admiring glances out of the corner of his eye, lips quirked in a fliratious smile before a friend would lean over and tap their arm (“That’s him, that’s the Beast of Ikebukuro!”) and they would quickly turn away. Ashamed that they had mistaken an animal for something more.
Shizuo had grown used to it. Complacent, almost safe in the knowledge that there would never be anyone for him. It made things easier, kept his eyes forward on what he had instead of what he would never. He had friends, that was a miracle of miracles in itself, and he never pushed for any more.
And then she had happened.
Shizuo could not say how, or why, he had begun to notice that look. It wasn’t the same as those girls, who only saw his face, or the looks of his friends who saw him but carefully pretended not to see the horrible beast lurking inside, she saw all of him. And for whatever reason, she didn’t turn away. Vorona stared at him as if she understood, and more than that, as if she accepted him for all he was and all he would never be.
Try as he might he couldn’t ignore it. He was happy enough to have an underclassman who wasn’t afraid of him, someone to guide and help in ways he was never able to do. They were co-workers, friends, and thinking this way was more dangerous than anything he’d ever faced. He would still catch her looking, catch himself looking, and slowly gravity would pull them closer until it was as useless to fight as falling.
When he kisses her, he’s gentle. One big hand gently cupping her face, loosely - allowing her the opportunity to escape if her better judgment should happen to tell her to. There would be no offense, no anger, not even hurt — he knows all too well what he is, what he could do, and that he is as unlovable as a plague.
But she doesn’t flinch. In the end, he does. Changing course with a reminder that he must be misreading things, that this sort of thing isn’t for creatures like him.
Instead of her lips he kisses her forehead. An apology.
"That was good work today."
