[ something about the raw, undeniable honesty in his words makes him swallow hard. this man, this person who should, for all intents and purposes, be a stranger to him, is baring his soul to him -- and he can feel it, the earnestness, the connection that flows richly between them. he can sense more than he should, as if they've connected before, as if this is the most natural thing in the world.
he takes a breath, reaching out to gently wipe those silver streaks of tears with calloused thumbs. how strange it is to have someone cry because of him, especially someone as handsome, as striking as he is, with golden eyes he's known so intimately a lifetime ago.
perhaps it's recklessness, perhaps it's sheer instinct, perhaps it's something a part of him had wanted to do for a long time, but kogami's hand comes to cup his jaw as he leans in to press a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. gentle, tentative. it feels right, like his heart had been yearning for this all along. ]
...I'm here.
[ he says softly. he cannot promise more; he might break them all, and ryuu deserves better. ]
[ a kiss as soft and halting as that somehow pounds through the hollows of his body with a heat that grips to all the spaces ryuu remembers kogami occupying. the nerves of his teeth, the tract of his throat. in his belly, behind his eyes, curled beneath his sternum where all the signs of life are. strong lungs, a steady heart. his body feels... occupied by him, like he belongs there. he'd invited him, after all. tooth and nail, steel and smoke. knowing he was dangerous and accepting him anyway.
yet it's with a quiet laugh that ryuu pulls himself away from his lips. instead, his hand rises to cover kogami's where it lays over his jaw. he presses his damp, hot cheek into his palm, lulling. he shakes his head, half a nuzzle. ]
It's okay. I don't need anymore than that.
[ it would be too unfair of him. he already can't stop the rush of manna from betraying what his body remembers about this man. but he can make the decision to not take it too far. ]
[ kogami has never met a man like him before, ridiculously handsome and soft, the vast well of his emotions pressing up against his own thoughts as the synchrony deepens between them inexplicably. he can feel all of it, the heartache and the yearning, the strength and that unconditional acceptance.
kogami's heart skips a beat, and for a few moments he regrets not knowing him. the other version of him in another world had been a lucky bastard, he supposes. he presses his forehead to his, reluctant to be too far away when his proximity is almost like a drug, gentle but intoxicating, drawing him to him like a magnet. ]
[ that singular touch to the angle of his brow both soothes him and makes his chest feel weak. so much that it longs to give in at the slightest push against it, the emotions that break across him like waves. the regret, the disconnect, the reaching across the void where familiarity would be. lulling against him, ryuu allows kogami to brush against the shape of what's being held so firmly in his heart. not something ryuu means to keep away from him, but something ryuu wouldn't force on him.
the words that follow in the wake of it make him smile, sniffling back his tears. he's had his moment of weakness for the past, and now in front of him is - a future, still. ]
Of course. You can... feel that, right?
[ that shared space brimming with magic, with synchrony, waiting to pour over. ]
[ he can feel all of it, the surging warmth, ryuu's tender, soft willingness, the way he keeps himself in check -- he can sense all of it just beyond his own psyche, across the unfamiliar space. the emotions are roiling, and he senses just how close ryuu wants to be.
it's kogami that reaches across now, a hand gently cradling the back of his head as he gently moves to kiss him again. this time it's assuring, warm; even if kogami doesn't know what ryuu knows, there is a future for them. it is shared magic that takes his breath away, the overwhelming feeling of connecting with another that makes his grip tighten just a little. ]
...Yes. I can feel you. Everything that you're feeling --
[ he is unused to having another occupy his space, the warmth and acceptance that ryuu brings with him. he kisses that smile, leans into those tears, and takes them all for himself. ]
[ it's so hard to turn him away. his constitution isn't a fairweather thing, but his recognition of this man undoes him, letting the light of his advance scatter across the angles of his body. he remembers every moment. every touch, every word. a second kiss sends his heart pounding in his chest, simple and raw. ryuu should tread carefully through this physicality, the conduit through which those emotions reach. that nothingness is tumultuous and frustrating, but the way kogami reaches for him, hands and thoughts in tandem, brushes away the hesitation.
breathing against him, ryuu finally eases into kogami's grip. a man of his strength could have easily forced his way in, but he didn't. he never has - ryuu has just always been drawn to him. eyes fluttering shut, ryuu parts his lips to finally accept him in unconditionally, soothing at his need to know.
ryuu's arms lower to let him in closer, reaching to wrap around his waist and pull him in.
[ kogami can feel him yield, when he eases into his grip willingly, and something important loosens in his chest, something kogami hasn't yet noticed until it dissipates. he can feel the heat of ryuu's emotions, warm and overwhelming, pressing up against his own pysche with a gentleness that he allows in.
how strange, how very strange. he deepens the kiss again, gently pinning him to his kitchen counter, exploring his mouth as if they would reveal the secrets hidden from him. ryuu is familiar and new both, and he breathes between his lips, wondering if ryuu had said it or if it's simply his imagination -- ]
[ he couldn't have imagined it. even hoping for it felt wrong. to be let in so soon, the rush of his emotions swell into the spaces kogami affords him. this time, it's not confusion or sorrow, but the sensation of comfort, protection - that of trust. all the best parts of him that remember how kogami had made him feel even in the throes of the blood moon flood through the spaces where he once fit. chest, arms, heart. if it's still that way, he has no idea. but given the chance, he can't help but reach out with both hands and all of his soul to grasp it.
hearing him speak an answer aloud to something he hadn't actually voiced makes ryuu tremble. one arm loops around the small of his and the other pushes up between them. thoughtfully, ryuu parts from kogami with glazed eyes and wet lips... his fingertips draw gently over the divot in his chest, searching for his heartbeat. soft yet searing, honesty unfettered. ]
I'm not sure how yet.
[ all he has is his manna, the depth of it reflected in the next kiss he slides into, capturing his lips and laving his way in with a deep, slow stroke of tongue.
he kisses him with the relief of someone who thought their lover gone forever. or worse. ]
[ the depth of ryuu's courage and his sweet willingness is startling. he can practically feel the other man warm up despite that little tremble -- this other man, who should, for all intents and purposes, be a stranger to him but isn't, who makes him ache like he's known him all his life. manna surges between them, putting truth to ryuu's words, his sentiment.
kogami shallows hard as he looks down at those fingertips over his chest, as if ryuu can divine just how his heart is pounding just from that. kogami's face gives nothing away, but the heat in gunmetal grey eyes speaks volumes.
the softness of his lips is endlessly tempting, and he eagerly meets him halfway for another taste and another, his tongue slipping up against his smoothly. they fit perfectly together, a truth that still baffles him. he can taste the relief, the yearning, and through their connection he can feel himself mirroring it despite the spaces in his memory.
how strange, how wonderful, and his breath catches as his hands come now to cup his face, his gaze sharp and searching, single-minded and intense. ]
You're overwhelming. I can feel everything you're feeling.
[ and kogami's own roiling emotion in response to his own, muted and controlled but very much present. his acceptance, his wonder, his curiosity, and the unmistakable embers of familiar want. ]
[ a look like that pins his soul to the corners of his body before it goes under in the flood of his own thoughts as they rise in him, the warmth honed in kogami's steely gaze all he needs to see to keep himself upright. his fingertips graze over the thunderous pulse in his chest, palm joining them until the entirety of his grip lays gentle and flat on him, thumb drawing shaken, tentative circles on him through his clothing. it had never been a thing so easily given, yet it's right there for him to reach out and touch, to prove to himself that it exists, and it's longing to remember him.
he has to stop kissing him at some point, attempting to navigate the spaces where memories should be rather than flood them, fill them in with selfish desires for him to know. instead, he carefully bridges, latticing his memories over the hollows of the soul he feels like he can see into, they're so close. ]
If it's too much, you can tell me.
[ kogami had asked to know, but he still wonders. sighing, he rests against him, arm looped at his waist and brows together, the minimal space between them like that of the air between a warm hearth and an open door at night. ]
I'm still getting used to it too... synchrony. Manna should feel more familiar, I think. [ that mingling of their energies to produce something powerful and new. ] It's similar to what happened in the last place we met in.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
he takes a breath, reaching out to gently wipe those silver streaks of tears with calloused thumbs. how strange it is to have someone cry because of him, especially someone as handsome, as striking as he is, with golden eyes he's known so intimately a lifetime ago.
perhaps it's recklessness, perhaps it's sheer instinct, perhaps it's something a part of him had wanted to do for a long time, but kogami's hand comes to cup his jaw as he leans in to press a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. gentle, tentative. it feels right, like his heart had been yearning for this all along. ]
...I'm here.
[ he says softly. he cannot promise more; he might break them all, and ryuu deserves better. ]
You're really...
[ you do such strange things to me. ]
no subject
yet it's with a quiet laugh that ryuu pulls himself away from his lips. instead, his hand rises to cover kogami's where it lays over his jaw. he presses his damp, hot cheek into his palm, lulling. he shakes his head, half a nuzzle. ]
It's okay. I don't need anymore than that.
[ it would be too unfair of him. he already can't stop the rush of manna from betraying what his body remembers about this man. but he can make the decision to not take it too far. ]
I'm glad you're here.
[ that's what matters. ]
no subject
kogami's heart skips a beat, and for a few moments he regrets not knowing him. the other version of him in another world had been a lucky bastard, he supposes. he presses his forehead to his, reluctant to be too far away when his proximity is almost like a drug, gentle but intoxicating, drawing him to him like a magnet. ]
I want to know more of you. Will you show me?
no subject
the words that follow in the wake of it make him smile, sniffling back his tears. he's had his moment of weakness for the past, and now in front of him is - a future, still. ]
Of course. You can... feel that, right?
[ that shared space brimming with magic, with synchrony, waiting to pour over. ]
no subject
it's kogami that reaches across now, a hand gently cradling the back of his head as he gently moves to kiss him again. this time it's assuring, warm; even if kogami doesn't know what ryuu knows, there is a future for them. it is shared magic that takes his breath away, the overwhelming feeling of connecting with another that makes his grip tighten just a little. ]
...Yes. I can feel you. Everything that you're feeling --
[ he is unused to having another occupy his space, the warmth and acceptance that ryuu brings with him. he kisses that smile, leans into those tears, and takes them all for himself. ]
no subject
breathing against him, ryuu finally eases into kogami's grip. a man of his strength could have easily forced his way in, but he didn't. he never has - ryuu has just always been drawn to him. eyes fluttering shut, ryuu parts his lips to finally accept him in unconditionally, soothing at his need to know.
ryuu's arms lower to let him in closer, reaching to wrap around his waist and pull him in.
There's so much that I have to tell you. ]
no subject
how strange, how very strange. he deepens the kiss again, gently pinning him to his kitchen counter, exploring his mouth as if they would reveal the secrets hidden from him. ryuu is familiar and new both, and he breathes between his lips, wondering if ryuu had said it or if it's simply his imagination -- ]
Then tell me. Show me.
no subject
hearing him speak an answer aloud to something he hadn't actually voiced makes ryuu tremble. one arm loops around the small of his and the other pushes up between them. thoughtfully, ryuu parts from kogami with glazed eyes and wet lips... his fingertips draw gently over the divot in his chest, searching for his heartbeat. soft yet searing, honesty unfettered. ]
I'm not sure how yet.
[ all he has is his manna, the depth of it reflected in the next kiss he slides into, capturing his lips and laving his way in with a deep, slow stroke of tongue.
he kisses him with the relief of someone who thought their lover gone forever. or worse. ]
no subject
kogami shallows hard as he looks down at those fingertips over his chest, as if ryuu can divine just how his heart is pounding just from that. kogami's face gives nothing away, but the heat in gunmetal grey eyes speaks volumes.
the softness of his lips is endlessly tempting, and he eagerly meets him halfway for another taste and another, his tongue slipping up against his smoothly. they fit perfectly together, a truth that still baffles him. he can taste the relief, the yearning, and through their connection he can feel himself mirroring it despite the spaces in his memory.
how strange, how wonderful, and his breath catches as his hands come now to cup his face, his gaze sharp and searching, single-minded and intense. ]
You're overwhelming. I can feel everything you're feeling.
[ and kogami's own roiling emotion in response to his own, muted and controlled but very much present. his acceptance, his wonder, his curiosity, and the unmistakable embers of familiar want. ]
no subject
he has to stop kissing him at some point, attempting to navigate the spaces where memories should be rather than flood them, fill them in with selfish desires for him to know. instead, he carefully bridges, latticing his memories over the hollows of the soul he feels like he can see into, they're so close. ]
If it's too much, you can tell me.
[ kogami had asked to know, but he still wonders. sighing, he rests against him, arm looped at his waist and brows together, the minimal space between them like that of the air between a warm hearth and an open door at night. ]
I'm still getting used to it too... synchrony. Manna should feel more familiar, I think. [ that mingling of their energies to produce something powerful and new. ] It's similar to what happened in the last place we met in.