“Hm, agree to disagree,” he hummed back, violet eyes rolling toward Kosei. “You’ll continue to be a stick in the mud if I don’t.” He found that Kosei wasn’t nearly as apt or quick to step out of bounds without the goading– so how else would Enzo manage? Was he meant to ask politely? No, no. That wouldn’t do. Maybe Kosei found it snide, or annoying to be provoked, but it was effective whether he agreed with the method or not.[break][break]

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Or something or other to that effect.[break][break]

Kosei needed the push, however. It was clear as day that even considering doing something outside of the parameters of strict routine set him off with some greater sense of impending doom. And to Enzo, that was probably the lamest thing ever. Yes, he knew how to maintain a schedule. Yes, he could be dutiful and perfunctory when the moment called for it. But compartmentalizing was a skill all of its own. Perhaps he seemed slapdash or spontaneous, but the fact of the matter was that Enzo simply knew how to prioritize himself in a non-detrimental manner.[break][break]

Maybe the younger man thought he was sloppy or lazy (it grated on him, more than Enzo would like to admit, because he detested being considered lazy,) but it was a far cry from the truth. Perhaps the puppy simply needed to learn that it was possible to have a good time and get their job done in the span of one weekend, for that mindset to be accessible to his stringent little brain.[break][break]

“You sound like I’m gonna yank your teeth out with pliers, mutt. It’s an onsen, the point is to relax.” Enzo snorted as he walked down the hall to a second, connecting hall. “No one's gonna jump out and reprimand us, so just enjoy it.” The look he tossed Kosei then was at least a little more earnest as he pulled open the door to the changing area.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | m: vacation time | ~10 yrs ago[break]


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

“Mm, I’m not certain that I’m all that kind.” Still, he smiles lightly as their hands clasp in a firm shake.[break][break]

It will do him some good to regain a thread of steel in his resolve. Enzo can sense it, but there’s something in him that wavers with nerves, too. He supposes that would be the consequence of loss. The weight of a company and a legacy abruptly dropped on his shoulders.[break][break]

It would be a shame if jayden cross crumbles under that pressure.[break][break]

But whatever rises to the surface, he seems to swallow back down. Enzo finds himself a smidge impressed by this– so Atlas manages to support the tilt of the earth a bit longer.[break][break]

He muses over the question asked of him, and fishes into the inside of his suit jacket for a tin of neatly rolled cigarettes. Followed by a zippo that lights the end. “Stipulations? Are you meaning to bribe me?” It’s not an accusation so much as a joke, as evidenced by the lightness in his tone and the raise of one brow as he takes a drag from his cigarette.[break][break]

“I’m sure I can’t skirt the initiation phases, that would be too easy. Proving oneself dedicated to the glory of Rocket, and all that, yes?” There’s a crooked twist to his grin, heavy-lidded as he twirls his cigarette-hand in the air lazily. There’s a curl of thin silver smoke that follows the trail of his wrist.[break][break]

Enzo’s head tilts, continually intrigued by the younger man. And really, he wasn’t that much younger than Enzo, was he? Maybe a handful of years, give or take. “I appreciate the earnestness, but what exactly have I done for you to earn it?”

[break][break]

jayden cross   | m: recruitment act i. | you got a mobile order for him, starbo boy??

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“You could stand to benefit from some temperance.” That was the only point he had to make. He’d been like this at one point. Angry and feral. Irreverent for any sense of social etiquette.[break][break]

Through careful measures of practice and restraint, he’s twisted himself. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, rather than the wolf, plain as is.[break][break]

This iteration of Rocket is different from the old–the smart move was to adapt. It is odd to see newer members not cater to this notion. Or maybe it’s the familiarity he senses that rankles him more.[break][break]

“Yes. You have none.” His words were flat as he turned a slow look of distaste toward her.[break][break]

He barks out a laugh, head tilting backward with the sound. “I get none, so why should they?” Enzo is not nearly as superstitious as she seemingly is. Spirits have never harmed or helped him, so why should he pay them any sort of mind?[break][break]

The amused timbre of his laughter fades, though, in wake of her command. The stupid spoink that they are meant to be procuring are temporarily forgotten.[break][break]

Violet eyes flit up to hers, pale blue and hostile. The flicker in his own might mirror that same sentiment. “You do not direct my actions.” His lip curls for a passing second, the beginnings of a snarl.

[break][break]

+ margot mori    | pearls before swine

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

At the question, Enzo made an I dunno sort of sound. “Just not the puppy. You’re too good at it.” A snicker chased his words though it was a good natured sound. “Didn’t say you were trying to trick me in anything. Just that you were faking.” He let his own eyes fall shut comfortably for a moment. “Does that mean you were trying?” He was pretty sure he could parse out the logic behind it.[break][break]

“Mm.” It was the only confirmation provided before his lips found Kosei’s. The smile threatening to break loose across his face made Enzo feel stupid levels of weak. All gooey soft in the chest, and he was sure that there was no way it didn’t reflect in his gaze as he watched him from under the heavy hang of his eyelids. The fact that Kosei didn’t withdraw or attempt to question him felt like an amendment to his prior wrongs—even if in small measure.[break][break]

His fingers dragged down, cutting a path from his chin to his neck, an a quiet sigh slipped free as a hand tangled in his own hair—ruffled and floppy, and a far cry from its typically neat styling. “Hm?” A huff of laughter pressed against the other’s mouth, “that so? Always knew you liked it, even never agreed.” He’d cut it to make a statement about himself, in order to be taken much more seriously than the feral creature he once had been. But in all truth, he often missed it.[break][break]

“‘Sides, you’ve got the long hair now.” It worked for Kosei, too. A pleased noise hummed in the back of his throat, and he was content to just lay there tangled together. Swapped spit like a couple of dumb twenty-something’s until the mood settled and he felt functional enough to rise from the mattress again to go about the rest of his day. Eyes closed to everything and sinking heavy in the sensation of touch and sound and feel. Nipping teeth and rascally tongue.[break][break]

But they were due for an interruption, of course. He wasn’t sure how long they laid there like that, but it had been enough to make him feel disoriented and frazzled as the rattling of his doorknob cut through the soft sounds and haze. The jolt of it jostled his nerves as much as it might anyone’s. Then he remembered that Kosei had locked it the night prior, and that it could only be one person on the other side. His eyes cut to Kosei’s moments before the wail sounded.

[break][break]
Kosei Kiryu | xoxo

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Despite the protest of burning in his retinas, Enzo’s eyes cracked open again at the sound of Kosei’s voice, thick with sleep and stupidly attractive. “You are always the puppy,” he rumbled back, teasingly. His own voice was gravelly and slow, dazed as he reluctantly dragged himself more and more out of slumber.[break][break]

It was likely expected that he would move. That he'd be the one to pull away first because he always was. Enzo made no great effort to do so, however. A smile crossed his expression, comfort settling in him like a cat basking in a sunny patch by the window. “So you were feigning sleep,” he said, a froggy laugh humming in his throat.[break][break]

Enzo felt pride in his accomplishments. He felt confidence and egotism at their higher levels. He allowed himself pleasure, and satisfaction, but it wasn’t often that he actually permitted that pestilence called happiness to filter into his system. Because once it was there, it spread like an invasive plant. Stubborn and difficult to be rid of. Right then, though, he found it had rooted itself there inside of him, all because of the way Kosei didn’t retreat to his own safe distance. Instead, planting affection against his skin as he knew what sowing those seeds would do to Enzo.[break][break]

But of course he didn’t know, how could he when Enzo had never made that simple for him?[break][break]

As much as he liked to (and often did) blame Miu’s birth-mother for some lingering issues, he knew that it was fault that belonged to only him that prompted the apology that followed the gentle press of lips against his neck. Enzo wasn’t often in the business of feeling guilty for his choices, but he felt it right then—a sharp pang in his gut that reminded him that it was his past-self who’d nurtured that uncertainty in Kosei. So he supposed it was up to him to correct it, then.[break][break]

The hand at his back moved, shifting to tuck under Kosei’s chin as he was apparently fond of doing. “Perfectly warranted,” he murmured, then gave a lazy, drawn kiss of his own. That time to his mouth, the edges of his own stubbornly curling upward as he did so.
[break][break]
Kosei Kiryu | xoxo

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Even if he’d consumed far less whiskey than Kosei the night prior, it didn’t mean that Enzo had escaped the after effects. Light burned through his eyelids when he eventually stirred the next morning, though he fought against it to remain in a partial dose. The thud in his temples informed him that he would be likely spending the day relegating management to his more trusted overseers while he nursed his aching head his cottonmouth, and his wounded sensitivities.[break][break]

But slowly, even in a state of semi-alertness, it began to sink back in. The way he’d acted, the gentleness he’d treated Kosei with. Perhaps later he’d be mad with himself for being so vulnerable with such little work applied. Right then, though, the pleasant ache under the hangover kept him lulled and content. A continued reminder of what he’d missed and refused to admit until last night. Maybe they weren’t good for one another. Or maybe they’d hadn’t been before. But how could this right now, not be honey-lacquered goodness at its pinnacle?[break][break]

Enzo didn’t want to shove him away again. Not really. But that likely wouldn’t stop Kosei from walking out the door as he had before. So then, self-preservation demanded that he beat the other to the punch first so that the sting felt less severe.[break][break]

Not that he intended to act just yet. The rustle of movement finally pulled him further out of slumber. Apparently in his own sleep, Kosei had drawn closer and Enzo’s chin tilted upward to better accommodate the face that had burrowed itself against his neck. One violet eye slivered open lazily before falling shut again. It was much too bright. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to wake alongside the other after having stumbled into a dalliance. And normally he didn’t allow himself the opportunity to linger in the warmth of it.[break][break]

But there were remnants of the affection from the night prior still embedded in his system. Maybe due to his grogginess, or perhaps because that was how he actually wished to be. Either way, he found himself curling closer to the heat Kosei kicked off, guided by the arm that had draped itself around him. Enzo inhaled soft and slow as he turned his face just enough to nestle against the top of his head, even if the long, loose strands of his hair tickled at his face. Pressing a kiss to the same spot, he allowed his own hand to move and hang over Kosei so that Enzo might trace shapes with his fingers along the other’s spine.[break][break]

The peacefulness of the moment was something he didn’t yet wish to shatter.

[break][break]
Kosei Kiryu | xoxo

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“Hm, guess I can’t argue with that.” Or maybe it was the smile that had fixed itself on Kosei’s lips that kept him from insisting. And really, Enzo was only somewhat inebriated himself. It certainly wasn’t enough for him to excuse what they were doing as a drunken slip-up. Maybe that had been what he was initially hoping for. The frantic loss of composure at the start had certainly implied that would be the case. But all too quickly, it had morphed into something else entirely. Something weak and vulnerable and undeniably tender.[break][break]

It deviated from what they had fallen into when they were younger. Maybe because Enzo, for once, was tired of keeping him at an arm’s length. He could blame it on his exhaustion of running the Nimbus or on the chaos of watching Miu, but he understood the truth of it underneath the excuses that he fabricated so easily. Serious, by-the-book Kosei– an affection that had unnerved Enzo when he was younger and determined to get somewhere. But he’d reached that destination, and it had been bitter and lonely to stay there without the other.[break][break]

He wouldn’t say that his ambition had slowed with age, not by a long shot. But he could recognize where some of his wants had deviated and shifted from the original course. He hadn’t needed anyone, until he did. At first it had been loathsome, and then it had become a persisting, empty ache. Enzo wasn’t so foolish as to think that Kosei wasn’t waiting for some rug to be pulled out from underneath him. He remembered how Kosei had behaved years ago in the wake of the messiness they’d devolved into, and how he’d unfairly reacted to affection he’d not known how to handle or hold.[break][break]

But there was no place for that old coldness here, right now.[break][break]

Palms dragged upward along his torso and his back arched up into the solidity of that touch. When the fabric of his t-shirt bunched up, he reached down to tug it up over his head and toss it away. Even those few seconds disconnected were too long. Both hands finding Kosei’s face again, he pulled him back down to him, teeth nipping at a bottom lip.[break][break]

A thrum of longing curled through him in the wake of those words turned back on him. His head settled back against the bedding again as he stared up at Kosei, hazy-eyed as something pleased (but still a touch smug,) made his smile a languid thing. “More than I know?” His arms wound around him, fingers trailing along his spine. “Then show me, cucciolo, so I know.”

[break][break]
Kosei Kiryu | xoxo

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A bark of laughter followed the rebuttal. “Yes, you do.” It was funny that Kosei even tried to deny that fact. It was woven into the bulk of their interactions with one another. Though, he supposed he vaguely understood that Kosei couldn’t always help that knee-jerk response when it was all he’d known for a long time. But that was the point of leaving, right? So Enzo wasn’t going to enable it.[break][break]

Particularly not when it could potentially disrupt his own personal air of apathy.[break][break]

Kosei’s shoulder nudged up against his and the corners of his mouth twitched upward for a few seconds before returning to well-placed neutrality. He rolled with the grumble and secondary nudge, a soft scoff slipping loose from his lips. “We’ll see about that.” There was a comfort that existed on the fringes of their association now. Enzo didn’t often indulge the feeling when it rose up, but he supposed it wasn’t so bad, tucked side by side if it got Kosei to simmer down a bit.[break][break]

And really, it was a feat that It was Kosei, not him, who broached that contact, subtle as it was. But Enzo found him to be more puppy-like in that regard than Kosei was probably willing to admit.[break][break]

Admittedly, the steady patter of rain had begun to make him drowsy. His eyes had fallen shut at some point, despite carrying on the conversation. “That’s not so bad, I guess,” he mused, marveling at the closeness of the other’s voice. Close enough to reduce their volume to mumbles and still be heard.[break][break]

Enzo’s eyes slivered open to look at him then, a tiny gleam of violet before they shut again. “Yeah, kind of a waste if we didn’t.” Funds were funds. Eventually the conversation drifted, and so did his consciousness. Somewhere along the line, he shifted inward in his slumber– curled toward better warmth.
[break][break]

+ Kosei Kiryu | deserted island | 8 years ago!!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

It was easy to tell when he’d successfully struck nerves. Kosei shut up real quick, jaw tight and tense. Maybe a little too much so, but Enzo enjoyed seeing just how much he could push before reaching that breaking point. The snap of the tethers of his resolve. It was almost a dare in and of itself. Aren't you so angry? he wanted to ask, don’t you want to just let go? If that meant taking some hits, it was fine. Enzo didn’t have the favor of a soft upbringing, even before he left home. He could hold his own.[break][break]

He only ever flirted with that edge, though. Exceedingly careful to pull back at the right moments. “mm, maybe not yet. But never say never, Kosei. Burnout is a powerful inhibitor.” Clearly, he thought himself immune to imperfect execution of tasks. He’d learn that the hard way if he didn’t smarten up fast in an organization like Rocket.[break][break]

”Touchy,” he retorted, eyebrows shooting upward as he pulled a look, cheeks puffing with an exhaled breath. “I was just pointing out something you wanted, cool your jets, mutt. Yeesh.” With great struggle, Enzo rolled to his stomach then pushed himself back up. “You have no idea how to have any sort of good time, do you?” Again, an observation rather than an attack, but knowing Kosei it would be taken as one still.[break][break]

He really and truly looked like he was at a loss. It was sorta sad, honestly. Enzo only knew how to run wild and make his choices as he himself dictated them. What kinda life was that? Having parents who kept you so in line, you didn’t dare even toe them when those parents were nowhere near. Enzo sighed and shrugged off the jacket he’d been wearing. Phone and comms device still buried in the pockets, but they weren’t needed. His hands slid through his hair, twisting it and gathering it to one side over his shoulder as he finger-combed the strands. Fidgety habit.[break][break]

“Ach, come on then, let’s go.” He made the executive decision to move rather than linger there awkwardly. Snagging the key card for the room, he stuffed it in his back pocket and moved for the door. “I can make sound decisions, you know. Picked this hotel because it’s connected to one of the saunas. Saved fees on having to pay for both.” Same with the cruddy economy tickets on a low rate bus. A quietly huffed tch followed as he rolled his eyes and brushed by on the way into the hall. Yeah. So lazy and useless, obviously.


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | m: vacation time | ~10 yrs ago[break]


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

A forlorn sigh fell from his lips as his shoulders sagged in false sadness. “Alas. Maybe you’ll shake me down some other day.” And yes, Enzo twisted those words suggestively—it was impossible to let be. He couldn’t be expected to ease off when Kosei tried to sass him while poorly hiding the flare of color on his face. He provoked it so easily from the younger man. It was a little irresistible, no matter how annoyed he got.[break][break_2

Enzo laughed, head tipping back as the sound broke loose. “Is that the best you can do? I know you like to insist, but unfortunately I am neither useless or lazy, no matter how much you say so.” He just knew how to sort his tasks in a way that was conducive to his wants and needs. And what he needed right then was to take a load off before diving to their assigned job. “It’s cute to see you try to be insulting, though.” he said then, with another added poke. A cutesy tone of voice used like talking to a baby animal.[break][break]

“You sound so pained saying that, it almost feels like you’re whining in the middle of claiming you don’t whine,” he stared up at the ceiling as he said this, laughter still tingeing the edge of his tone. “Consider this angle, if you must: sometimes in rushing to do work as soon as possible, it is not always the best work done. No one likes a sloppy bitch, Kosei.” His head popped up to look at him, smirk wide and set in place.[break][break]

He pushed himself up to his elbows. “Don’t be so sullen, puppy. Thought you didn’t want to do things the way your family did anymore.” That bit wasn’t even truly a real dig or attempt to get under Kosei’s skin. Simple observation. Shouldn’t any nineteen year-old want to go out and have a good time instead of work himself to the bone?

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | m: vacation time | ~10 yrs ago[break]


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

“Are you sure about that? Absolutely certain?” Amusement lingered in his tone, warming the syllables. There was something in the sound of that laughter that only intensified the ache in his chest. Weak, he felt weak at how open and uninhibited it was. When was the last time he’d heard it? When was the last time he’d laughed so easily? Even then, he knew the answer was that it had been with Kosei. And that had been a long time ago. Nothing about them was simple—all blurred edges and loose boundaries. He’d been the one to ruin that with his own pride, his own fear. Even if Kosei thought it was himself, Enzo knew the truth. He hadn’t been too much; Enzo just hadn’t been willing to hold it in his hands back then.[break][break]

After everything that had followed, he’d felt stupid for it. Of course he had.[break][break]

Kosei tilted to the side and Enzo rolled with the movement. Propping himself up on one elbow, he hovered close as he leaned over him. A small smile played across his lips, playful but not lacking the softness that had settled over him. Normally, he might’ve responded with something vague— that’s a secret. Something to keep himself at a distance rather than free fall into the uncertainty that surrounded the everything of this. Or perhaps he’d coax a plea from Kosei. Tease him with a ask nicely and I might, puppy. That would likely be the expected response based on previous moments such as this one.[break][break]

Never quite giving away everything he could. Playful, all touch and response and reaction. No leeway for what might’ve been felt, was felt under the surface. But Kosei had always been good at presenting an image of himself while knowing the truth that lurked under every guise, and even in this he could never wholly lie to himself. That was why the barrier of emotional distance had worked. And when Kosei responded to that by pulling back as well, he’d let that space continue to grow. Better for himself, he’d remind himself whenever that newfound sense of loneliness crept in to insist that he wasn’t better off alone.[break][break]

He could choose either option and continue that trend. And tomorrow regardless of what he did, the twilight zone they’d descended into would have faded away and they’d go back to existing on the fringes of one another’s periphery. Right then, that didn’t feel like an enticing option. Not while his fingers traced Kosei’s jaw and drew down the slope of his neck. Not when he looked at Enzo the way he did, or spoke with that slight grate to his voice. So when he leaned close again, dipping down to let lips ghost together again—barely there, shaky breath, only the truth tumbled out. “I miss you, Kosei.” The heavier, slower press of his mouth came between words. “So often, it’s frustrating.”[break][break]

Enzo leaned back again and let his fingers lift and slide through dark hair. Tucking away messy strands that had fallen around his face. “And I don’t admit that lightly, you know.”

[break][break]
Kosei Kiryu | xoxo

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