KISSED (ÊÆȘ Ë ÂłË)(ÊÆȘ Ë ÂłË) â„
NUMBER: 29
WHILE THE YOUNG LORD COULD ADMIT that he excelled in kindness, he undoubtedly lacked in trust; it hadnât troubled him until recentlyâ the topic of his right eye arose in conversation and there was a certain amount of discomfort that promptly followed with it. Needless to say, the discomfort was blatant enough in his visage at the time, so the subject had been quickly switched over to something of lesser value; however, it still weighed heavy on his mindâ in a sense, he almost felt guilty for not being comfortable enough to share this with his partner. Something akin to embarrassment riddled him at the very notion of removing his eye patch for Iris to see; despite this, he certainly couldnât understand why he was so painfully conflicted about it. Having harbored a missing eye for so long, Date could only assume that there was little left for the imagination; it was simply a missing socket surrounded and littered in bright scarsâ nothing more and nothing less. Looking back, however, the daimyo found that he would even be ashamed to show Kojuro at this rate; he could only muse that this was the reason why he chose to even sleep with it on every nightâ he was already convinced that Iris would consider it repulsive. After all, the other had scarce reason to think of it otherwise; where he originated from, it appeared as if it were almost abnormal for someone to walk around with an absent eye.
Trepidation, an emotion scarcely felt by the white haired youth, had suddenly overcome him; opting on showing the other was only fairâ after what they have been through, it should almost be considered an injustice to keep it veiled any longer. In addition to that, there was a part of him that simply wanted to show the other; being able to share something so private to him felt as if it were immensely important to him. Therefore, he sought Iris out due to mere impulse; it was best he did it this wayâ even if he was always advised against making decisions in such a manner. Of course, he didnât have to look far, they typically were inseparable at this rateâ at least, thatâs what it felt like to Date; it hardly reduced any anxiety, though. If anything, he only became more anxious with every second he spent dwelling on the matter and not acting to simply end this moment quickly⊠It should be like⊠Ripping off a band-aid! That was the modern saying nowadays, he supposed. Regardless, it felt like his words had been trapped in his throat, but if anything, he was perfect at forcing things into motion; taking the otherâs hand into his, he chose to briefly mention that he had something important to talk to Iris about prior to taking them both somewhere that could be considered private in the rather rundown Seedling Town.
Once the both of them were sitting down, he found scarce that he could say without sounding completely ridiculous; needless to sayâ being who he wasâ that wasnât going to sit well with him, but he only chose to accept it at this point. Apertures tugging downward as uncertainty floods his pallid visage, his eyebrows furrowed prior to his spindly fingers trailing upwards to remove the article covering what was left of his right eye; while performing this, he breathed out a sharp exhale and opted on explaining why heâs even bothering to waste their time with this anyway.â I know we talked about it a couple days ago⊠and it might seem really stupid to bring it up now, but I just want to get it over with before I lose my nerve again. â
Despite the constant fumbling he experienced while removing this small piece of black cloth, it was finally removed from his face and both thin and thick scars shown brightly where his patch had preciously concealed it. Compelled, he turned his face away and found himself unable to incessantly babble or lighten the heavy atmosphere he felt he was the cause of; this is only due to the fact that he simply couldnât bring himself toâ not when all he could muster to feel was a cocktail of apprehension and regret. Before he could interrupt the silence shared between the two by apologizing and excusing himself, he felt hands gently lifting his head and lips lightly ghosting at his scars; it was an extremely rare instance of intimacy in Irisâ case and, given the situation, it was  unbearably overwhelmingâ entirely too impossible for him to currently cope with on his own. It felt completely foreign to have someone touch him so carefully; there were constant doubts when it came to whether or not Irisâ feelings were mutual, so this not only was an acceptance for himâ it was a confirmation.
Moving forward, his arms were quick to find themselves tightly coiling around the otherâs small frame; with his chin atop Irisâ shoulder, he fought his own shoulders to refrain from shaking. Holding his breath to keep himself from crying was, without a doubt, a poor decision; as soon as he ran out of air, he abruptly released a choked sob and felt his fingers tightly grasping onto the back of his jacket. Any further attempts to cease himself from crying were immediately stopped once he realized that they were just making this situation worse, but despite the almost humiliating situation he placed himself in, he found that he was happy.Â
