11. gripping the others jaw and tilting their face up wordlessly. ( kirogataaaa )
sexual tension | accepting
hyakunosuke feels like a problem kiroranke is trying to solve, yet it doesn’t feel the same as tsurumi’s attempts to win him over. he can clearly see why the ainu would want his trust and loyalty — what he’s done and what he will do requires more than a wildcat willing to flip on its companions for a good deal. hyakunosuke cannot fault him for the actions he takes to obtain a goal. that would make him a hypocrite.
but where tsurumi offered him everything he’d wanted, kiroranke does not. he offers a fair share. where the lieutenant placed an unfeeling hand upon his knee, trying to fill a hole that would always be gapingly empty, kiroranke does not. he places a warm hand upon his shoulder, squeezes, and keeps him company instead of leaving the sniper’s side. asirpa and even shiraishi must be better company to him. but he stays.
that’s new. or not new, but rare. it’s welcome if not just as confusing as his brother’s persistent existence at his hip had been.
what is more deeply confusing is kiroranke’s reaction to his fever. he was unconscious for most of it, haunted by memory, but there the tiger sat when clarity would visit for minutes at a time. there he sat when he woke. and now he stands before ogata, grasping his scarred jaw with a gentleness that disarms. when was the last time anyone touched him like this and meant it? memories of his mother flutter by.
he doesn’t like this. the only fathomable reason he can imagine kiroranke would do this is to gain loyalty hyakunosuke has never given anyone, but it feels like the wrong answer. impossible as it is, the truth is just as simple.
the realization makes him lightheaded, though maybe that’s the fatigue. yeah. that’s it.
“ what? ” kiroranke tilts hyakunosuke’s head, and his grip tightens on the strap of his gun as the ainu’s thumb brushes over his scar. the smirk hyakunosuke wears is softer around the edges than it should be. “ are you worried or trying to kiss me? ”
