"I'm not..." He broke off from his protest, unable to suppress the laugh. It was such an unanticipated, jovial sound, almost as if he'd entirely forgotten whatever feud existed between them prior to tonight. "I'm not overthinking. Nor am I drunk." He wasn't exactly sober either, but it felt necessary for some reason to state. Even though suggesting he was sober stripped him of any cover up he might use later to suggest this was only an intoxicated fervor.
[break][break]
Truthfully, he wasn't yet certain what this was. He was afraid to assume anything and it wasn't like this was the first time. They were always a bit sloppy with their friendship, slipping easily into something far more complicated. Yet, at the same time, the complication was minute the moment that Enzo cut it off. Even if for Kosei it had been far more confusing. That'd been his bad though, he'd been young and stupid and admittedly lonelier than he'd realized. This was the same thing now.
[break][break]
Even if Enzo was softer than he'd remembered him being. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe the other had changed far more than Kosei had realized. He couldn't be entirely certain anymore. Did they still even know one another like this? Was this just a cover up for something else? Kosei knew there were words he wished he could say, but he was a coward.
[break][break]
Enzo's words made him feel dizzy, even if he couldn't understand them. It was frustrating, how the other could wield those words against him and he'd never likely know the meaning. It was a good means of pretending and maybe that was Enzo's gift to him. Still, he couldn't help himself. "Tell me.." There was an edge of irritation and frustration. He wanted him to say something he could hang onto, but it was more likely that Enzo didn't mean anything by them at all. They were just pretty words. Even then, the sound of them was like music to his ears. They made him shiver and his breathing heavy. Lips pressed across his skin, soft and warm and lingering. Kosei felt himself go limp a little, sagging to the side under the contact. He didn't need a language to hide behind, even without words he was bared entirely too raw. At the other's mercy, as he'd always been.


[break][break]
vincenzo de luca

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

It felt like a sick game of chicken, waiting for someone to finally decide that this was a bad idea. It was a bad idea, it was a horrible idea. Kosei knew how messy they could be. Maybe it would be different under more sober circumstances, but part of him wondered if that was truly the case. In the past, alcohol needed no place between them to spark this tension between them. Then again, Kosei had been the one to feel like maybe he'd gone too far, wanted too much. Once bitten, twice shy — so the saying goes.
[break][break]
Always waiting for permission, terrified to be found wanting. To make a mistake. So, really, he hadn't changed much even in all this time of self-proclaimed growth. Enzo had never been the problem though, he knew that all along. The next kiss was soft and he nearly corrected himself, pressed into it until it could not be mistaken for anything but want. Yet then that touch was met with equal softness and, admittedly, it was a little confusing. He'd been led down this path before, just as he was then tugged along by eager fingers into the awaiting bedroom.
[break][break]
"Kos." Somehow, it felt even nicer to hear that little nickname. Not the usual "mutt" or even "puppy", just Kos. He felt weak with it and the little feelings of uncertainty slipped away. His fingers barely managed to twist the lock (for both of their goods), before he was entirely distracted. "Enzo." His hands arced around the lean curve of Enzo's back, dipping beneath his shirt to feel warm skin beneath. The curve of muscle and the ridge of his spine traced beneath his fingers, mapping it out. It felt like unbidden, but not entirely forgotten territory.
[break][break]
Kosei pressed until the backs of the other's legs met the bed and then he pushed. With a chuckle, he slid down after him.

[break][break]
vincenzo de luca

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Enzo could get under his skin like no one else. Though, really, he should have known better than to provoke the other. The bastard had no shame and no measure of restraint. He thought he could do whatever he wanted and... well Kosei didn't exactly make a good job of proving that the other couldn't do whatever he wanted. Like right then, as the other stepped closer and looked up at him in that way. Kosei scoffed lightly, looking away as if that would hide the embarrassment or the little tinge of rest that formed. "Forget about it, you have no shame." It likely wouldn't change anything anyways, he told himself. The other would just find another way to keep them from getting the job done.
[break][break]
He wanted to knock that smarmy fucking smile off his mouth, make him regret opening his mouth to mock him. Of course, he didn't do that either. SO maybe he really was all bark and no bite after all. "I was going to say you're a useless lazy pain in the ass, but stating the obvious isn't necessary, is it?" He could at least attempt to dig at him in return. Did it bother him though? Of course, it did, but he didn't start this lifestyle to be the exact same way as he'd been with his own family. He grimaced at the little prod, though didn't react. He wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing it affect him. "I don't whine. I just like efficiency, that's all." It could be done tomorrow, that was fine.
[break][break]
Once the space was given again, he felt like he could breathe again without the added restraint. He shook his head, sighing. "Okay, I guess." He'd never actually been to a hot springs before, so he'd be lying to say he wasn't slightly intrigued by the idea. Even if he was sure their ideas of fun were completely different.
[break][break]
This was going to be a long weekend.



[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | m: vacation time | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-riolu"]

Kosei felt guilty, even if he had no clue why. This was only the second time he'd met Nikita and yet there had been more truth spilled than he'd ever dare to with anyone else. Even if it didn't seem like much. It was still only half of the truth. It was the nice and tidy half.
[break][break]
It was the part he could hide behind so that she might not examine him for the mess he truly was. It wasn't fair though, after everything she'd shared with him. Sure, maybe that was a personal choice. Maybe he had simply a person to talk to and she'd taken the opportunity to do so, but... well, it was nice to talk to her. That felt like a rarity for him.
[break][break]
Maybe with time he could tell her that the person she'd met so far was the half his parents created (though maybe kinder). The rest of him, he wasn't sure if she'd ever want to meet him. It was strange how restricting himself always felt so unsatisfactory. How would it feel to tell the truth and mean it, he wondered.
[break][break]
Kosei paused then, not anticipating the invitation. After a split second of thought, he smiled. "I'd like that. I know a place not far from here, if you're interested."


[break][break]

+ @nikita | m: AUTUMN'S OMINOUS WIND (WW)

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Kosei exhaled, jaw rotating the tension from his teeth. Waiting, wasn't in his vocabulary. It made him nervous and he didn't enjoy feeling like he was putting things off. In his opinion, it would have been more efficient to see it done and then do what they wanted from there. It was less likely to bite them on the ass that way, but Enzo didn't know a thing about sensibility.
[break][break]
Kosei took a stride forward then, facing the other. Still at that healthy distance he left for everyone, though still enjoying the way he could stand over him (even if just a little bit). "If I search you, am I going to find it?" It was very likely that was exactly where it was hidden away. However, the effort of having to search him for it was a step or two beyond the boundary he was comfortable with, not that he was going share that insight with Enzo.
[break][break]
Instead, he scoffed, eyes averting to search out the vacant, sterile walls of the hotel room. "I swear you're so fucking..." Another heavy exhale, opting not to name call as it would do nothing but make the bastard a more obstinate pain in his ass. "Fine then, if we're not going to work... what are we going to do?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | m: vacation time | [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-riolu"]

Somehow, the space between them had diminished. The momentary peace that had hung between them felt twisted and knotted, but not in the usual way. Instead, it felt knife-thin, cutting away all the layers of his restraint. Enzo seemed to have this command over him, always had. It was strangely intoxicating, the ease in which it took to let go. His hands didn't shake under the effort of releasing control, for once. Too easy, annoyingly so.
[break][break]
Heat from the contact and the alcohol made him feel dizzy, heavy. A marionette feeling the weight of loose strings, with no idea what to do with itself once it had the leeway to do what it wanted. It was a strange situation to be in. The feeling of rough lips and the grip of fingers. Maybe it had been awhile, but even more so it had been awhile since he'd dealt with the tension that always came with Enzo De Luca.
[break][break]
Hungry eyes followed the other's movement, breath stifled by the sudden separation. Then the other's weight settled into his lap and his hands roamed a little too waywardly. Get control of yourself, the voice went unbidden and ignored. Maybe any other day, a far more sober day, he might have listened to his own conscience. Nothing good came with giving Enzo what he wanted. Kosei knew that better than anyone.
[break][break]
His head tilted slightly, looking up at the other's lips, tinged with the slightest red. For a moment, stupidly, he'd forgotten his own kid in the other room. Wow, father figure of the year... "Right, yeah... right." He fumbled, allowing the other to stand before standing himself. Maybe it should have been a wake up call. Miu was in the other room and he wasn't here for a hook up. That should've been enough, right? Instead, he leaned forward and kissed with a measure less intensity, an almost softer kiss than the hunger before. Stupid, what an idiot. The hell was he doing? "Lead the way, then."

[break][break]
vincenzo de luca

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Part of him already knew the answer to all of the questions, though his mind kept spawning more at will. The digging, needing sort of questions that he didn't want to answer honestly. He'd never been good at lying, even less so to himself and, somehow, entirely incapable of lying to Enzo. What he should've done right then was rip away, stand up and say he was going to bed. Yet he didn't. Maybe he really was a fool after all. No, there was no maybe to it.
[break][break]
Would it have truly been easier to run away or face this? Maybe he could distract them with other answers or even apologies. I'm sorry for leaving you behind, it had been wrong. He knew it had been wrong. Yet Enzo was a reflection of a life that frightened him to some extent. It was mirror in the events that happened tonight. He just killed a man for money, which was no reason at all. Justify it as he like though, he could hardly blame Enzo for his own actions. Sure, he behaved in way when he was near the other, but not all of those ways were bad.
[break][break]
So what was he supposed to do right then? What was he supposed to do with the other man's hands on his jaw or his mouth so close to his? All the while knowing they have always been so far from simply friends. It's weaved its way between them like a barely concealed threat. 
[break][break]
You. Enzo said and Kosei knew he was done for. At some point in time, his restraint had become a flimsy, paltry thing wherever the other was concerned. It was only further proven by just how carelessly he'd let himself go. It wasn't the alcohol, even if that kept the fear at bay a little more. It was really the only permission he needed. Just a little push. Enzo was always providing that little initiative to get him moving. A dog waiting for an order. It was where he was at his most comfortable. His greatest insecurity, but it felt good right then to be given permission to let go. To just lose a little control. He didn't have to be perfect, and he didn't have to try to be with Enzo.
[break][break]
One hand reached out then, fist closing around the front of the other's shirt, pulling with a sharp jerk. There was nothing soft about his movement, despite the slip of softness in their words. His mouth pressed against the other's like a needy thing.
[break][break]
vincenzo de luca

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Even through the haze of liquor on his brain, he could still sense unspoken… something. There had always been layers between them and, in the past, things were messy. It didn’t need to be messy, of course. In reality, the fault of making things more difficult than they needed to be usually fell on his shoulders. He was the stalwart pain in the ass that took things slow and proceeded with hyper-focused caution. It was Enzo that yanked him in head first with no care for the consequences.
[break][break]
For a moment, he sat there waiting for hell to break loose as it was always prone to do. Not that Kosei necessarily wished it upon them ever, but especially not then with Miu asleep in the other room. Yet all the things good, right, and reasonable were far from sensible for him right then. All the ‘I told you so’s didn’t come though, miraculously. Somehow, Enzo worked up the restraint not to push it. Not outwardly, at least. Though Kosei could feel it.
[break][break]
Things were confusing, always were. However, he should’ve known better having had a bad track record of horrible decisions when he drank. This was far from the first time he considered impulse decisions with liquor on his tongue. Maybe it was the exhaustion that made him feel boneless and not the weird sort of comfort he always found in being at Enzo’s whim. Maybe it was the blood he’d just spilled that made it easier to consider that it has been a long time since they were this close.
[break][break]
Fingers once again close on his jaw and, for the second time that night, he did nothing to stop it. He was slack under that contact, weightless as a scruffed dog. How fucking typical of him. He tilted his head and looked up at him. Tired eyes heavy, thoughts in his head he’d be better off without. “What do you want from me, Enzo?” It wasn’t a dismissive retort, though he wished it was. It felt like something more desperate. Kosei didn’t do anything unprovoked, that was his greatest fault perhaps. It was more of a ‘tell me what you want, so I can fix things.’


[break][break]
vincenzo de luca

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Maybe Enzo was right to feel betrayed. Kosei wasn't oblivious to it either, which somehow made him feel even more at fault for it. He'd been the one to turn his back on both of their dreams. Maybe it stopped making sense after everything that had changed. Though, in reality, he hadn't changed. Not at all. Maybe in being a father, he liked to think he'd changed in the ways that made sense for his daughter, but he was still a scumbag just like Enzo.
[break][break]
They likely only brought out the worse in one another, but there was a time their visions aligned. The reason that was no longer the case was mostly on Kosei and he was too tired right then to shrug it off as a necessity. Yet he could still play stupid about the strange feelings stirring up in him or the hairpin tension that had formed in his chest. "Don't know what you're talking about."
[break][break]
There was a safety in drink, a hope that anything he might do or say could be covered with the excuse that none of it was real. It was simply the actions and words of a cluelessly drunk man. Yet, he was no where near drunk enough to trick himself. Not yet, at least. He was still hyper-focused on the feeling of fingers through his hair or that strange softness in Enzo's voice.
[break][break]
mio cucciolo, it felt like a long time since he'd heard him call him that. Not that it meant anything. He waited for the other to drink and relinquish the bottle. A long weighted pause between question and answer. "No, you're not wrong, Enzo."


[break][break]
vincenzo de luca

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Kosei wasn't telling her things just to make her feel better, even if it was a skill earned after years of telling his daughter a clefairy would pick up her lost teeth and leave money. He didn't pretend the world was kinder than it actually was and one day he'd have to show Miu that things weren't rainbows and ponytas all the damn time. It did feel good though to be kind and mean it. Though he didn't know Nikita for longer than a few hours, he felt like he knew a part of her that she didn't often share. It was a wonder, that...
[break][break]
"I think everybody wishes for a family." Even when they weren't looking for one, he didn't add. It seemed like the people that weren't looking often were the ones that ended up finding what they hadn't realized they needed. It wasn't wisdom he gained through any inherent logic, he was still stupid when it came to those things. It just helped he was given a gift at some point and she turned into something extremely important to him.
[break][break]
Bringing attention to himself wasn't his favorite thing, and when the question was turned on him he rather wished to shrug it off. That wouldn't be fair though, considering she was baring parts of her soul to him. "I was an only child, but my parents are still around. They weren't exactly the parental types. Big military family, no time for kids. So, didn't really get to be one. I don't hate them, but we're not close." It was a quick summary to what felt far messier. He also wasn't going to admit he'd left in a huge emotional storm and joined rocket like an idiot. Or that he still continued to do work there because he was a hypocrite. "So, we got a thing or two in common it seems."


[break][break]

+ @nikita | m: AUTUMN'S OMINOUS WIND (WW)

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Kosei flopped back in the sand, having barely managed to pick himself up. Depression or lacking motivation wasn't a common affliction for him, though it usually came at the result of some personal failure of his. He didn't like doing things wrong, or messing up. Fuck up. Though, granted, Enzo always seemed so ready to pick out each and every flaw, knowing that it was the quickest way to upsetting him.
[break][break]
"I know, okay? I know." He groaned, pressing his hands against his eyes to blot out the light. Sleeping hadn't been that easy either, even with the rhythm of the thudding rain. At night, pokemon had tested their boundaries and during the day, the heat and humidity brought by the rain hadn't improved things either.
[break][break]
"I don't know," He grumbled, admittedly sulking a little bit. He was used to things not going perfect. That was the problem when the standards were too high, he could never quite reach them. Once again, in a matter of days, he was a stupid kid trying to beat an unwinnable race.
[break][break]
They both needed money, especially Enzo. Granted, Kosei wasn't exactly rolling in it anymore having been stupid enough to leave his fairly wealthy family. This could have easily been easy money, though he was still surprised that Enzo didn't want to call it off. There were easier means, sleazy as they could be, to get some dough. "So what? We stick it out?"

[break][break]

+ vincenzo de luca | deserted island

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"How you think everyone else felt listening to you complain?" Kosei grumbled, though he too was also happy to be out of the bus. He had hoped to nap some, but hadn't managed to. Closing the door of their room behind him, he laid his duffle on the unclaimed bed. It was a stark reminder to maybe invest in something that could fly.
[break][break]
They had a whole weekend to finish the job, but it seemed wholly unnecessary. They could easily have it done and be back on the bus in the morning. That was what Kosei had planned, but he already knew that Enzo had ideas of his own. They bickered enough about it, after all. The question then was whether or not there was even a point in removing his things. It was in his nature to utilize the space of the hotel, but why unpack when this job could be finished in no time at all?
[break][break]
Kosei unzipped the duffle and stared down into it. He was a tidy person, he liked things in order. Or, well... he had been rigorously taught to keep things tidy with the threat of a beating and those teachings had bled into the rest of his life. Some of his things were missing. Kosei frowned at that, just as Enzo was enlightening him that his communicators were "hidden". In all reality, it could be easily surmised that said things were mixed into Enzo's mess. "Okay, not funny. Give it back. We have a job to do, remember?"
[break][break]
Enzo wanted a "vacation", it was a little ludicrous because in Kosei's opinion the bastard barely worked. Vacations came at the result of acceptable accomplishment. They hadn't accomplished anything, in his opinion. "You really want me to throw your stuff around till I find them?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | m: vacation time | [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-riolu"]

Maybe if he was smarter, he'd figure out that his reactions were the only thing provoking Enzo's actions and attitude. If he simply didn't add fuel to the fire, there would be nothing for the other to grow bolder from. It was impossible to ignore the cheeky bastard though proven further then by the roll of his eyes, the clear attempt to hold himself from reacting. Luckily, he didn't need to react because Enzo was putting distance between them to escape his ill-temper.
[break][break]
Kosei had always had a temper, which hadn't made fatherhood easy. There were plenty of moments he wasn't particularly proud of when his fuse blew at Miu's provocation. She didn't mean it, she was a kid after all. Yet he'd always apologized. It wasn't anything more than a snappy shout, usually met with eager tears that made him feel like the worst person in the entire world. "I'm sorry.. honey, I'm just I'm tired, okay?" Miu usually stopped crying at once, the little devil. It was probably something trained in her by Enzo.
[break][break]
"Worst things in the world than a couple old ladies thinking you have a family." Before having a kid, he never would have uttered those words. Beforehand, he'd never imagined having a family and was okay with that sentiment. Now? He knew there would be a part of him that vacant and lonely without this. (Miu, of course, not that Enzo counted as family...)
[break][break]
"Alright, next house. Hurry up, else it'll get dark before we finish one neighborhood."

[break][break]

+ vincenzo de luca | m: tricking or treating

[attr="class","pokeclass"]