3 or 18 for kaito and kiyomi? ❤❤
3. a tired kisscan also be read on ao3 here!
18. holding handscan also be read on ao3 here!
these were absolutely too cute!!!! i took this opportunity to explore the differences in kaito and kiyomi’s relationship in its later stages versus how it all began, and i hope you are able to see their development, both as individuals and as a couple!!~ ♡
send me a sweet affectionate moment and a pairing!prompt list can be found here~
3. a tired kiss - ‘Without You’
“… Can’t sleep?”
The voice that mews next to him is small,soft, and the lightness of it weighs heavy in the air. If he does not move,Kaito thinks to himself, perhaps she will assume he was merely stirring in hissleep. Perhaps she will not realize that his conscious is plagued with a myriadof intrusive images that replay over, and over, and over…
Over, and over, and over.
A shuffling of cotton sheets; a gentlesigh. Suddenly, Kiyomi is facing him, her cheek pressed against the plush pillow.His eyes meet hers directly; the russet of her irises reaching deep into himand untangling him, strand by knotted strand. She is gentle with him, shealways has been. Just her stare is enough to undress his shielded heart, and hecan feel himself settle into her gaze.
Her brows draw in concern.
“Hey… It’s okay. It’s only me.” She whispers,her voice laden with an emotion Kaito cannot decipher. It was almost as if shecannot decide whether to scold him, embrace him, or cry. “Don’t give me such alook, Kaito-kun…”
His eyes have become sunken with stress,with exhaustion. He is so, so tired, yet Kiyomi can tell by the way he wasbreathing that he cannot not sleep. Something is on his mind that he has nottold her. She is frustrated with herself that she had not understood his painsooner.
She brings a delicate, porcelain hand upfrom under the covers, and cups it lightly against his cheek. Instantly, he letsout a breath he did not know he was holding, and it leaves him unsteadily.
“I-I’m sorry…” he replies honestly, closinghis eyes as she runs a thumb over his left eyelid affectionately, “I just don’tfeel good.”
“I know.” Kiyomi verifies sweetly, reachingup to caress the unkempt strands of his hair. “You don’t have to justifyyourself to me.” A dry smile tugs at his mouth at this, and he feels some ofhis burden lift. Delicately, Kiyomi lifts her body weight, and her hair fallsover her shoulders, trickling down the line of her chest, framing her. “I knowthere’s something you’re not telling me.”
He turns his head away from her. Just asshe was beginning to untangle his heart, it knots tighter. There is aparticularly delicate part of it that refuses to budge, and she has begun topick at its seams…
“… I can’t.”
“Why?” she enquires, and there is not asingle trace of accusation in her tone.
“Because I’m scared that if I do, it’llhurt you, Kiyomi.”
The silence pulsates in the room, resonateswithin the bed. It fills her and disconcerts him. Perhaps he has said the wrongthing.
“If it’s you, I want you to hurt me.”Kiyomi justifies, her eyes never leaving him once, “I’m stronger than what youtake me for. I can withstand the pain you give me, Kaito-kun.” Kaito fixes backonto her. When did she learn to become so phlegmatic? His heart skips a heavybeat.
He swears it flourishes within the confinedspace of only them. It makes him falter.
“Please, never disappear again.” he admits,the words initially becoming stuck. Yet he pries them slowly, dexterously,until they seemingly roll of his tongue.
“I’m right here, always. I promise.” Kiyomireplies gently, knowing how sensitive this topic is. It is something that Kaitotends to avoid. It is something that makes him doubt himself more than he doubtsher. It reminds Kiyomi that he knows more about her than she does, that heknows a version of herself that seems like a stranger.
She understands how his heart longs for herand aches for her, even when she is right in front of him.
Kiyomi leans down over Kaito, and wraps ahand around the side of his head before gingerly, yet entirely purposefully,pressing her lips against his.
How she yearns to be able to heal him. Shewishes she could take all his burdens and make them her own. She is desperateto see her promise through.
She refuses to hurt him again.
Kaito reaches a hand under the blanket ofKiyomi’s hair, delicately touching the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck.He can feel his anxiety seep from his heart, drawn out like a toxin. If onlythey could stay in that moment, in the intimacy that exists only in thatmoment.
Just as his fear leaves like the tide,relief and fatigue wash into him, lapping against the rocks of his mind. Kiyomihas this way of merely being that soothes him.
“You remembered our promise…” He murmurstiredly, feeling himself sink into the pillow below.
“Of course.” She affirms, her voicevelvety, “Even if there is nothing left, our promise will always remain. Thatis the one thing I absolutely refuse to forget.”
18. hand holding - ‘Train Station’
The summer sun, even in the cooler parts ofthe day, still manages to pulsate almost unbearable warmth in the air, and hangslarge in the sky. Everyone feels the heat. Students hang around lazily at theshoe lockers, trying to find one last ounce of energy to make the trek home.
Kiyomi steps out from under the shadow ofthe school building, beginning to head towards the road. It was not a particularlylong walk to reach the train station, but she was dreading the stuffy, compactpress of bodies that always accompanies the ride back to her neighborhood.Really, there should be a more convenient way to commute.
Just as she was becoming lost in her ownconcerns, she hears something not too distant from her.
“Oi, Shimizu-san!” a voice calls out intothe school yard, and Kiyomi turns around warily. Who would be trying to get herattention at this time of the day? Yet when she sees who it is, her eyesbrighten, and a soft smile lines her lips.
“Ah, Takahashi-kun.” She replies, stoppingin her tracks. Kaito pauses in front of her, and a breath hitches in his throatas he habitually brings a hand to the nape of his neck. It is a sign that he isnervous. Kiyomi tilts her head in confusion, if not slight fasciation as to whyhe was feeling this way. “What is it?”
“W-What do you mean?” he stammers, and thisbrightens Kiyomi’s expression even more. She laughs airily. The fact that hewas trying to hide his nerves from her is amusing in the least, and indisputablycute at most.
“I mean, you’re nervous.” She states,bringing her school bag closer to her shoulder, “You can tell me.”
“Oh.” Kaito falters. He did not expect herto sense his excitement so easily. His hand glides from his neck to his hair,and his gaze drops to the ground, “Well, I was just wandering… Which way do youhead home?”
Heat rushes to her cheeks.
“I-I usually take the train.”
“Yeah? I see.” With his free hand, Kaitotugs and plays with the seams of his pants. He seems to be awfully fidgety.
“Why? Is something happening?” Kiyomi asksinnocently, and the sun reflects off her eyes beautifully in that moment. Theyshine, liquid and honeyed, and for the slightest second, Kaito forgets hisnerves long enough to blurt out.
“Can I come?”
Kiyomi’s heart skips a beat, and Kaito realizesthat without context, the utterance sounds forceful.
“I-I mean, would I be able to accompany youhome? Make sure you’re safe, and all that.”
The lazy haze of cicada calls ricochets fromthe trees, and the invasiveness of it all makes Kiyomi aware of her ownheartbeat. It drums in her chest.
“If that’s what you would like to do, I-Iwon’t say no…” she hesitates, yet the rosy smile on her cheeks is enough to revealher true feelings.
She is pleased he had asked. She truly is.
Kiyomi begins to turn back around and headtowards the station. Yet when she does not sense any movement behind her aftertaking a couple of steps, she peers over her shoulder.
Kaito cannot seem to get his legs to move.He stares after her, lost in the way her hair glides with the movement of herbody, how it shines, candied like liquorish. He wonders if she knows howadorable she is.
Realizing she is staring at him with agentle smile, he lets out an anticipatory, shaky breath, before steppingforward to catch up to her.
They walk side by side, initially in asilence as pregnant as the humid air around them, but which soon becomes filledwith idle chatter. They laugh with each other as they walk, and it isindisputable that they are able to create a space that consists of only them.Kaito occasionally bumps lightly into Kiyomi, which he rides it off asaccidental, yet they both know it is entirely intentional.
He is attempting to build up courage.
Finally, whilst Kiyomi is explaining somethingthat had recently been covered in English class, something brushes against heridle hand, and instantly she understands that it is his own. It takes every ounceof restraint in her to not pause the conversation, to not look up at him as shesubtly seeks out his hand. The tips of his fingers are slightly rough, yet thepalm is soft as she meshes her fingers with his.
Her voice stutters.
He falters.
The conversation fizzles to a stop, untilKiyomi finally questions,
“I-Is this okay?”
It takes Kaito a second to regain histhoughts into a fashion orderly enough to reply.
“Your hand is cold to touch.”
That was one of the last things sheexpected him to say. It placed her heart off balance.
“Is that bad?”
He looks down at her with a smile.
“It’s refreshing.”
Kiyomi cannot hide her smile at that, andit sits giddily on her cheeks.
“I-I’m glad…”
They continue to walk, hand-in-hand, insilence. Just being able to feel each other is enough as they make their waytowards the station. Now that he has mentioned her own, she cannot help butbecome aware that Kaito’s hand truly is warm. It makes her heart pliable.
“By the way, which way do you live?” Kiyomiasks nonchalantly, repositioning her fingers in his clasp.
“…The opposite direction.” Kaito admits.
“Eh?!” Kiyomi exclaims, halting in theirwalk.
“But it’s okay! It’s fine. I don’t need tobe anywhere.” Kaito assures her, squeezing her hand. “I prefer to be with youthan at home, anyway. Thank you, for letting me come along.”
“Thank you for accompanying me, then…”Kiyomi replies sweetly, beginning once again to walk, yet she is now pangedwith a tinge of culpability. She recognizes such guilt, and morphs it intogratitude. The fact that he would do this for her… It sets her heart alight,and it is a feeling she would not change for the world.
She squeezes his hand back. She can nolonger imagine it not intertwined in hers. It feels like a part of her, and sheonly hopes he feels the same way.
