sticksandbones | Now Kiss!

Now Kiss!

Who: The Entire (Adult*) Population of the Grove
What: Spin the Bottle Round Three
When: Somewhere in Magic Month
Where: The Inn Lobby
Warnings: Magic will probably go haywire because what's funnier than your emotions spiking and making your windy magic go woosh

*Younger muses can set up their own Spin the Bottle behind the Inn or whatever. Be some punk little rebels I don't care, I'm not your dad.

After two months of terror, it's time for a little whimsy — or so Luca Aurelius says, at least. And since Ain is a perpetual bad influence on him, Luca defaults to the most menacing game he knows: spin the bottle.

The rules are simple, plop down in the middle of a circle and get comfortable. Or maybe you got roped into this by a friend and now you're trying to put on a brave face? Either way, it's time to wait: the bottle will land on you eventually, right?. At that point, the rules are simple: kiss!

You can be brave about it and lock lips, or something mildly more. Or if you're trying to play it cool, a kiss on the hand or cheek should suffice. Luca isn't really enforcing any strict rules. The bastard isn't even playing, what the hell.

(Or, to put it all simply and break the fourth wall: drop your character. Add a little description about their behavior/demeanor prior to the kiss, if you want. Then, wait for someone to tag you, while you do some tagging out of your own! Spinning the bottle is a mutual affair, after all. Just remember to take any escalations off comms and to your inboxes, you fucking menaces)

Hope you're ready to resolve some of that tension you've been ignoring!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Initially, Tengen feels much the same - Kyojuro had gotten a bright smile when he'd come in, Shinobu in tow, but, of course, reality always seems to have other plans for them. Things are tense - but they shouldn't have to be. He can't understand his choices, but was willing to ignore them - to a point - for the sake of peace, of getting to see his friend once more, taking precious time that was stolen from them...

By the metaphorical demon in the room.

Who is also a very, very literal demon in the room, right now. Ugh.

In the past, he might have taken full advantage of the storm the grove has given him to rig the spin the first chance he got. The fact he doesn't speaks volumes. The fact that when the bottle makes the decision for them Kyojuro is slow to join him also speaks volumes.]

I think I do~

[He doesn't. He might be dragging this out on purpose.]

[In matters of physical affection, Kyojuro is rarely one to balk. He is happy to wear his blazing heart on his sleeve, gladly clapping friends on the back, hugging loved ones, and generally doing anything to just have a little physical contact.

Where it became more complicated were when matters of the heart came into play. Kyojuro had raised himself on the idea of self-sacrifice and selflessness. To surrender to love — or any other emotion that might distract from duty — would be an abdication of his promises.

And so he was often content to downplay his own feelings for the sake of protecting others. Especially when those feelings would lead to confrontation. It was far easier to swallow the hurt, the resentment, the frustration for the sake of playing it cool.

But that was much harder to do in a game like this.]

Well. In that case - [He clears his throat, trying to focus on his words. This, in a way, was duty too, right? He had a responsibility as a veteran soul within this place to keep his friend in the loop.]

When someone spins the bottle, they are meant to kiss whoever it lands on! Mind you, it need not be all that involved. If you would give me your hand, we can make this quick!

[No need to drag things out, no need to tread on ground better left buried.]

[Similarly, Tengen is also rarely one to balk at affection. His bleeding heart rarely shows to those who don't know him well enough - or have enough of his affection - to spot it, but it's there all the same, all too easy to see for those that do.

He'd also been raised on the idea that matters of the heart have no place in the face of duty... and has staunchly, vehemently, rejected that idea. Surrendering to love can only strengthen your resolve in the face of the horrors.

So he lived and loved in his usual flashy style, but when it came to putting his own wants ahead of others', when it came to demanding concessions, he had a terrible habit of putting himself last. He's barely worthy of his wives' love, how could he ask it of anyone else? Especially those who had rejected his... methods.

The game, it would seem, had other plans.

Kyojuro, bright and earnest as always, explains the game as if Tengen hasn't been watching it unfold since he arrived, as if he couldn't possibly have understood the nature of it from observation. It's endearing. It sets him right on the edge of a laugh. It sends light little trills echoing in the air between them...

Which culminate in a discordant noise as their flame douses him in metaphorical ice.]

Is that all you want, Kyojuro?

[A hand kiss? Distant and formal and cold? He's making it clear the door is still wide open, and hoping the other man isn't too stubborn to see it.]

[Tengen leaves that question hanging in the air, and all Kyojuro can think is "Not here. Not now." He doesn't want to have this conversation, wishes that the bottle had slid one person further. Perhaps he simply never should have come to this place, or left the moment Tengen arrived.

The thoughts rattle round and round within Kyojuro's head, all while he stares dumbfounded at the man who dared to ask the question. "What does he want?" For everyone to trust him. To stop acting like his decisions were a personal affront.

And yes, he supposes he does want to kiss Tengen. He wants to do what he never felt brave enough for back home. To do the thing that felt wrong given the other man's commitments, and - ]

I was wrong, you know! [He blurts the words out, a distraction from the question.] About you and your wives.

[If not here, if not now, then where? When? It's a conversation that needs to happen, but wouldn't have without some shove to do so. Like a silly little kissing game that yanked all sorts of forcibly buried feelings to the surface, for instance.

If only Kyojuro could understand that his decisions were only a personal affront because they trusted him so deeply. If they didn't, they could ignore requests for peace. If they didn't, they could let the tension drive them apart entirely, and leave him alone with his choices.

That is a conversation better left for a private moment.

The blurted statement is... not nearly so much a distraction as it ought to be.]

I'd heard you'd made a hypocrite of yourself.

[Got the tea from the butterfly herself! But at least his tone is light, warm, teasing, in place of the bitter accusation it could have held.]

That doesn't tell me what you want.

I - Would not call it being a hypocrite! [He makes a face, but at least amusement seems to dance within his eyes. This, at least, is easier than anything else they could be talking about. Just as long as they stay focused on this subject and.

Ah.

Damn.]

What I want - would not be appropriate for the venue. [And then, upon realizing what he has said might actually imply, quickly finds himself stammering to add:] It is a lengthy discussion and -

[He scrubs a hand over his face. Normally, he is not so clumsy. Normally, he could blurt out what he was feeling. The disaster that had been Shinobu's arrival, however, has made him a little more gunshy. A remarkable thing, considering.]

I should have resigned from the game! I apologize for putting you in this position, Uzui! I can take my leave, if you wish it!

[As he speaks, he makes a face. These words are not like him. He would never back down from a challenge like this. It twists at him, leaves a sour taste on his lips.]

[He would! But there will be ample time to tease him on that note later, when they aren't caught in the oddly careful back and forth around this silly little kissing game.

What Kyojuro says, though, does briefly catch him off guard, eye widening, and is that a bit of a blush? Yes. Absolutely. He is not immune to those implications, actually, and can't quite hide the slight shade of disappointment at the stammered correction. Right. Right. A discussion. Not...]

Goddamn it, Kyojuro...

[This isn't like them. He hates how much this isn't like them. Hates this rift that could have been bridged all too easily with that admission about his wives, and yet...

Fine, then. If he's going to make him choose between sending him away entirely and what he wants, then let there be no regrets.]

You know that's not what I want. That's why I'm asking you!

[The fact that Tengen of all people is somehow flustered by his words is mildly overwhelming, or would be if not for their current predicament. Under better circumstances, Kyojuro might have made a note of the behavior and used it for his own purposes.

Now, it only makes him lament all the more.

He knows what he wants. He knows he would be selfish to ask for it. Surely Tengen knows that. He is many things, but he is not stupid. Certainly not in matters like these. Surely one with three wives had a halfway decent grasp on love and romance, right?

So if Tengen was seriously asking then -

Kyojuro doesn't put it into words. He'd only fumble them. Instead he surges forward to try and steal a kiss from Tengen. A quick one, fleeting and fast. And just as quick, he tries to scurry away.

... Unless? He is, after all, far from the fastest Hashira.]

BE MORE SELFISH YOU BEAUTIFUL DUMBASS.

[Under better circumstances - maybe future circumstances, even - he will still be able to use it for his own purposes. When they fall back into step. When things are less... odd.

That moment isn't now, surely, but maybe...

But he, too, knows what he wants. Fiercely, desperately. He might not have chosen his wives, but they've been together long enough he's gotten a capable grasp on love and romance - to the point where he knows how selfish asking for what he wants would be, too.

And here this was meant to be a silly game.

He steels his heart for Kyojuro to leave. When he doesn't, when he surges forward to steal a kiss, he's left stunned for a brief, lingering moment, flush returning to his cheeks in the time it takes Kyojuro to attempt to scurry away.

He might not be the fastest Hashira, but Tengen is, and he moves before his thoughts can catch up to him to stop him, grabbing Kyojuro by the collar to pull him back in for another kiss. Deeper, more desperate.

If the first kiss had been a crack in the dam, no one should really be surprised at what followed.]

[he was this || fucking close to snapping at kyojuro to just kiss the man already since they both clearly want it...

ope.

... jealousy? he doesn't know her. he's actually turning his head away very politely and trying not to overheat.]

[Someday, not today, he will realize you did not murder him for this and appreciate it-]

[In a raw contest of strength, Tengen could overpower Kyojuro. Still, the former flame hashira could put up a decent fight, at least long enough to duck away. All that is to say, if he did not want to be kissed again, he would not be.

And yet he goes with the jerk against his collar, allows himself to be reeled back in. His eyes are already closed by the time Tengen's lips meet his own. They part beneath that kiss, deepening it just as his partner had. A hand slides upward, laying against the shinobi's cheek to keep him close.

It's selfish. Kyojuro should hate himself for it. And yet he does not. In this moment, his soul trembles with a need that has gone unfulfilled for far too long. This dates back from before his arrival, before the training, before that final, fateful Hashira meeting.

Which is precisely why he kisses back with a level of untapped eagerness. His heart thunders within his chest, surely loud enough for the sound hashira to hear. He doesn't care. Why would he care in a moment like this?]

[If this - all this - had to come down to a raw contest of physical strength, if he had to hold an unwilling partner in place for a few more stolen moments, it wouldn't be worth it at all. If Kyojuro had put up even the slightest hint of a fight, Tengen would have let go, and a wall would have slammed down between them.

He doesn't fight. Doesn't protest. Doesn't shove away.

Kyojuro deepens the kiss, and there's still a lingering trill of uncertainty in the back of his mind - what if he'd been too shocked to react any other way? What if he's just giving him what he wants, shoving aside his own feelings? What if, what if-

The hand on his cheek speaks the volumes neither of them could put into words, and tension melts out of him in an instant as he allows himself to be selfish enough to lean into it, selfish enough to slide his hand up from where it had been clutching the swordsman's shirt to rest at the nape of his neck, fingers curling against his scalp.

He should have been more selfish earlier. He knows it would not have ended like this if he was. It's frustrating and liberating, terrible and wonderful, and so, so overdue.

He does hear Kyojuro's heart in his chest, of course he does, but he certainly cannot give him a hard time about it - not when his own heartbeat is loud enough to rival it.]

[So much precious time, wasted on a back and forth that was, in the end, not worth the pain. If not for this second chance, the desire would have gone unresolved. Kyojuro had once said that he had no regrets when he died. Maybe in that moment, it was true. But the more he thought about what had been left undone, perhaps those words were not as true as he once thought.

But it didn't matter. Not when he had this chance now. Not when Tengen's lips feel right against his, and when the entire world feels like it's going to slip away. Warmth floods up through him, elation blooming and then -

he realizes his palms are getting too hot. With magic as out of control as it is, it's little wonder it did not explode out of him when he was so worked up earlier. Or perhaps, somehow, this is worse.

It ends the moment far too quickly, leaving Kyojuro reeling even as he wants to savor the touch of skin against skin. Or maybe it's just on time, considering how he'd forgotten everyone else in the room. Either way, he leans back, smile apologetic even as smoke seems to curl off of him.]

Well - I suppose that is one way to resolve the matter!

[Soooo smooth.]

[Regret for a Hashira is a funny thing, isn't it? They all claim to end their legacy - whether that be life or career - with no regrets. No reason to look back with bitterness or sorrow. And yet, inevitably, regrets never fail to bubble to the surface.

It isn't often a second chance like this is given. Less often that a second chance, when offered, is taken.

Kyojuro is not the only one who has forgotten everyone else in the room - and of course heat would radiate off the Flame Hashira, of course emotions would rise to the surface in such a way. It's fine, he can handle heat, he can handle flame, he...

He is left reeling, too, when Kyojuro pulls away suddenly. The smoke curling off him mirrors the thunder rolling outside, and there's some small, dawning realization that it's the grove's unruly new magic forcing them to part.]

Should have said something earlier if you were that hot for me.

[They are both so incredibly smooth, you don't even know.

So smooth that their little corner of the circle seems to darken for just a moment before cold spring rain pelts down on them from the ceiling.]

...Wh- hey? Who?

[It's you, dumbass.]

[The rain all but sizzles against Kyojuro's skin, the sudden change in temperature enough to make him flinch. He looks up, only to be pelted directly in the eye. Pawing at it, he turns his head to look at Tengen, baffled for a handful of seconds before bursting into laughter.

(No, his ears aren't red from that come on, what are you talking about?)]

I wonder who it could be, my thunder breathing friend!

[Even as the rain douses Kyojuro, weighing his fluffy hair down into sopping strands, he feels lighter than ever. There is still more to be discussed, more to be done but - for now he shifts back toward Tengen, standing at his full height in order to hold his haori over the shinobi's head.]

Better?

[Maybe it was the unruly wild magic apologizing for forcing them apart. With how the rain sizzles and steams against Kyojuro's skin, surely contact would be fine. Bearable. Enjoyable, even, perhaps.

The laughter is contagious, though, as the rain soaks them both through, and as he takes particular note of how those ears redden.]

Sound breathing! Sound! [Huff huff!] ...But you're still stuck with just the flames~

[There is some dawning realization that being thrown back to the thunder breathing basics here also came with other stormy attributes. Interesting. He still has to tease Kyojuro for staying so on brand, though. It's cute.

Almost as cute as how he reaches up to shelter him under his haori. Tengen may be a strong man, but there's been a significant dent put in his willpower, to the point where he can't resist draping his arms over Kyojuro's shoulders as he leans down under that Haori and presses another quick, fleeting little kiss to the corner of the eye that got pelted with rain in some combination of apology and evening the score.]

Much better.

The rumbling outdoors claims otherwise! Perhaps your retirement is getting the better of you.

[The downside of their close proximity is that Tengen gets teh full force of Kyojuro's booming laugh. It's hard to say if that's made better or worse by Tengen's sound based inclinations. Regardless, the thought doesn't really stick within Kyojuro's mind long — there are far more pressing matters. Matters of his pride, thank you!]

As for my own breathing, I should be grateful to maintain its mastery! Now I can drive myself even higher! Perhaps I will yet create a new form! [Which is a thrilling idea to consider, given that Kyojuro had to teach himself from a mere book at one point. Now he may yet be the one to write it.

And yet just as the thought flits into his mind, the brush of Tengen's lips beneath his skin scatters it away.]

Ah, well! That - that is good, then! I am glad to hear it! Yes!

[He is a babbling, stumbling fool.]

Not a chance!

[He won't admit to Kyojuro that his retirement got the better of him almost immediately. That he'd been left with a slew of regrets and unfinished business... and Obanai's words echoing in his mind about the worrisome dip in quality of the newest slayers.

But that was then. That was before Muzan was defeated. Before he'd been thrown here. Before he was given a second chance to even hear that booming laughter. Normally, he might protest the volume. Tonight, he basks in the noise.]

You'll have to show me when you do! [He has no doubt in his mind that Kyojuro could manage it if he put his mind to it - new magic amplifying the forms or no.]

You've become easy to fluster tonight!

[No mercy for the babbling this time. Press the advantage when you have it, and all-

Un(?)fortunately, that also manifests in several more fleeting kisses to his face while they're still hidden away like this.]

[Tengen's protests only net more laughter, laughter that rises in volume before rapidly cutting off. There is, apparently, one way to shut him up, and that is to fluster him so entirely that he does not know how to respond. Really, Tengen makes it look so easy. He's spent the last handful of months putting the moves on others that it's almost dizzying to have it turned around on him.

Not that he complains. Though his skin continues to warm, he could just as easily turn away, or drape the fabric over Tengen's face to stop him. Instead, he steals a few kisses where he can in return.

(In the back of his mind, he knows they should talk. There, a lingering ember of frustration burns. Tonight he can ignore it. It was as Shinobu said, nothing was official).]

You know - I - [The laughter comes back, albeit a bit more flustered now.] Believe it may be cheating, to be the one kissing me! Especially so many times! I only landed on you once!

[That, if nowhere else, is where his experience can't help but shine. He's been flustered into silence by quick flurries of gentle kisses, and from how Kyojuro had reacted to one, well. It was obvious what he had to do.

(Because they should talk. Because they shouldn't go careening down this path without a care in the world when there are still lingering resentments on both sides. Pain and concern left to fester in the face of gentle affection.)]

Have I stopped you? Or do you freeze under affection, Kyojuro?

[Because that would actually be kind of surprising, if so.]

Certainly not! I am only mindful of our venue! Were I to unleash the full power of my passion, it would be most uncomfortable for our companions!

[Which is both a bit of bluster and a fair warning. Kyojuro could get truly exuberant when the case called for it. And so long as he's ignoring the wriggling desire to express the less than positive feelings within his chest, they are at a terrible risk for something different bubbling forth.

Still, he will not be accused of just being talk. It's why he takes both of Tengen's cheeks into his hands, carelessly gliding a thumb over the scar beneath where his eye used to be. He leans in, catching the other Hashira in a slow, but deep kiss.]

[O h.

It's uncertain whether or not Kyojuro realizes what he's implied with that statement, and Tengen honestly finds himself unwilling to let this moment slip through his fingers by questioning it - or by simply suggesting they leave. His room is just upstairs and while their absence would certainly be noticed - they have been making quite the flashy spectacle of themselves - it probably wouldn't be entirely unexpected.

It's striking, how not that long ago he would have pressed the matter, would have teased and flirted, would have surely been rebuffed with a laugh as though even the idea that he could be serious in his pursuit of the other hashira was ridiculous. Yet here, now, when the possibility is something close to real... he's the one to shy away, as though unwilling to be burnt. If he doesn't there's no reason for ugly feelings and unpleasant words to come to light. Just one more stolen moment. One more stolen kiss.

So he lets go of any words that threaten to spill out in response, replaced with a quiet laugh from deep in his chest as he drops his arm down around his waist instead of leaving it draped over his shoulder - the good one, so he can pull him closer with an open palm at the small of his back.

This time, the warmth under Kyojuro's hands isn't from his powers flaring - at least not entirely, anyway. There's no point in trying to hide how he flushes at the kiss, not when he leans into it, returns it, gives as much as he takes from it.]

[Some part of Kyojuro does wish he might insist. It would mean a return to normalcy, and maybe a chance to seize on an opportunity once thought lost. Even here and now, with everything almost as it should be, he cannot help but worry. After all, it's felt like he's been held at arms length across the board and -

He pushes the thoughts from his head even as he pushes further into the kiss. Despite his own warnings about not being too forward, he finds himself dangerously close to clambering into Tengen's lap, especially when urged on by the palm at his back.

It would be so easy. It wouldn't even be that bag considering Flamebringer's whole... everything.

And yet, just as Kyojuro finds himself enjoying their kiss just a little too much, he pulls back instead. A shy smile is given to Tengen, one bordering on sheepishness, before he averts his gaze.]

Much better!

[Even his volume seems a bit... tempered after all of that.]

Now Kiss!

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y'all told me i could be annoying so here. some flavor

Flavor for any voyeurs out here with future sight-

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