AND that's a wrap! Gotta go pick up my kiddo now, but all of what I did for OC Kiss Week! Happy Valentine's everyone I am kissing you all gently on the forehead!
Homebody
Part of the @ockissweek event from Feb. 12-18th, featuring the titular couple from Pride & Justice.
Tips are appreciated!
It was dark in the kitchen, but Pride didn’t need a light. Sitting on the floor with his back against the counter, he scooped another spoonful of dry cereal into his mouth. The crunch in his ears was so fucking loud. It was annoying, yet it fascinated him every time. Did humans live like this? Hearing all their weird little mouth noises constantly? No wonder so many of them went insane.
Pride swallowed, sighed, and put his head back against the cabinets. What the fuck was he doing?
A silhouette moved against the dark, too close. Something kicked his leg and they both yelped. Pride scrunched his knees into his chest, light clicking on a second later. He squinted into the sudden sting of fluorescents, and Justice stared back.
“Why are you on the floor?” he asked.
“Bored,” Pride answered. He put his bowl down, and Justice gawked at that next.
“Are you eating cereal in the dark because you’re bored, too?”
“Are you interrogating me because you’re bored?”
Justice backed off, literally, taking a step farther into the kitchen. Pride glowered as he went, but his heart wasn’t in it. This was too dumb an argument, even for him. His false anger melted away when he saw what Justice was wearing—shoes, and his shoulder bag.
“Where are you going this late?” Pride asked, shocked that he would dare leave past nine.
“To a movie,” Justice replied, cheerily missing the implication as he retrieved a glass of water. “Emelia and some other book club members and I are seeing a midnight showing, but we’re going to get something to eat first.”
“Oh.” The fake irritation started to become a little real.
“What about you?”
“What about me what?”
“You usually have something planned.”
“Not tonight.” Pride slouched against the counter, picking up his bowl. The little wheat circles held no charm for him anymore. He sulked into them.
“Why… not?”
It was an annoying, tentative question, as grating at the chewing sound. “Everyone’s busy.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Pride didn’t choose to sit on the floor with a bowl of cereal in the dark, alone, because it was what he wanted to be doing on a Friday night. But Ollie had the late shift, Dante was behind on school work, and Sofía was visiting family. There was nothing for Pride to do when his friends weren’t around. Going out by himself wasn’t as fun. Even generating hordes of new sinners sounded like a chore tonight. So he did nothing.
Justice sat down and startled him. In his brooding silence, Pride assumed he had slipped away to go have his fun with his friends. Instead, he crossed his legs right next to Pride, wearing a bright and encouraging smile.
“You can come with us, if you want,” Justice offered.
Pride blinked owlishly. “What?”
“I’m sure nobody would mind. And you like movies, right?”
It was a… normal suggestion. A very Justice thing to do. A weird pit clenched in Pride’s stomach when he thought about going, tagging along at his side. He leaned away slightly.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it would be too awkward. Nobody knows me and I don’t even like books.”
“We’re seeing a movie.”
“But you’re gonna talk about books.”
“Not during the movie.”
He waved his spoon around. “Good point, I love talking during movies.”
“You can just eat with us and go home.”
“But that’s when you’ll talk about books.” He waggled the spoon in his face.
Justice rolled his eyes. “Pride, we talk about other things. This isn’t an official club meeting.”
“They wouldn’t like me anyway! Your friends are—”
“That’s not true.” Justice scooted closer, face determined. “You don’t have to be identical to my friends for them to like you.”
Pride gesticulated with his spoon in even wider motions. “Look, you’re all a bunch of book nerds, and my favorite thing to do is laugh at nerds so—”
“Can you stop with this thing?” Justice grabbed for his spoon mid-gesture. He caught Pride’s wrist instead. The rest of his sentence died in his throat, but Justice pushed on. “I wouldn’t invite you if I thought they would hate you automatically.” Gently, he lowered Pride’s arm to the floor, palm resting over his fist. “I wouldn’t invite you if I didn’t want you to come.”
It suddenly occurred to Pride how close they were. More than anything Justice said, that simple fact struck him like a bolt of lightning. And his palm was warm, folded over his hand that he gripped the spoon in, so tight it could have warped the metal. Because they were close enough to breathe on each other. Close enough that Pride wondered…
Justice came to his same conclusion a second later, realization blooming in his eyes. He reeled back like he’d been shocked. “But you don’t have to,” he sputtered, eyes spinning all over the room. “I-I mean, it would be okay if you didn’t, but if you do want to—”
“I’m staying home,” Pride said, waving him off with the spoon. “Go be a nerd somewhere else.”
He pursed his lips, but didn’t retort. Justice stood up, wished him a goodnight, and hurried out the door. Pride slouched against the counter when he was gone, staring at the kitchen tile next to him. He didn’t want to go to the movie, not really, but Justice… did want him there. His stomach clenched again.
Shoving the thoughts out of his mind, he dug in for another scoop of cereal. The crunch was almost loud enough to drown out the feeling of Justice’s hand over his.
"why must you betray me with a kiss"
Adrigo and Raphael for @transprincecaspian for OC kiss week 24' !
It's noooot exactly a kiss but yea. Same vibe.
Lawful Good Inquisitor and Lawful Evil Antipaladin, what could go wrong ?
