90s sadness and gay???

[dtective]

[By this point, Leon has lost track of how long he's been searching for Count D. It became an obsession that only grew with time, and now he couldn't keep to one spot anymore. Not while D was still out there. Across cities, across countries, he probably looked insane to everyone around him. But they didn't know the half of it! Sometimes even Leon wasn't sure he understood what he was doing.

Right now wasn't the time to doubt himself, though. He'd hoped that this lead would get him even an inch closer to his goal, but he hadn't counted on spotting him in the streets. It had to be him. He'd seen him turn and look at him, and those eyes—]

Wait! Stop right there!

[He doesn't hold back, shoving his way through the crowded streets and keeping his eyes locked on him. It doesn't work, because of course it doesn't, and his steps slow in his confusion. His heart is beating way too fast, his stomach sinks, and for a moment he's sure he's lost his one chance.

But something catches the corner of his eye, and his instinct tells him to turn. He reaches out, grabbing the first wrist he can and meeting D's eyes with his own.]

...Found you.

Comments

[dtective]

Whoa, are you actually embarrassed saying something like that?

[He can't help it... He's never noticed the Count avoiding his gaze so much, and now he'd struggled to say even that? Leon laughs, pretty pleased by this. He even wraps his fingers a little more around D's wrists, as loose as the grip actually is.]

So that just means I have to bug you all the time! Guess you're really not getting rid of me, huh!

[pruning]

[sTOP good god, he can't take this. This vice grip keeping him here against his will!! It clearly isn't his own choice that he's standing here frowning off to the side and not trying to pull his hands away at all.]

Your habits haven't been excused yet! [The BOTHERING... don't bother him on purpose!!] I am not—embarrassed. Don't flatter yourself.

[dtective]

Are you sure about that? You can't even look at me!

[He's teasing, he has the nerve to tease after the Hand Holding Incident. Thankfully, he stops staring at D after that, sitting back up and releasing his wrists to point at his shoulders instead.]

Anyway, since you're comforted and all, that means you can keep going.

[He likes it, thx]

[pruning]

[He can look at Leon!! He's look at Leon right now, frowning more pointedly to prove it. But Leon has already stopped looking at him, making this all useless...

It takes him a moment to slide his hands back into place and keep massaging, but he's doing it! And it takes only another moment after that for him to lean down to speak in a low voice next to his ear.]

Your hands are still clammy from earlier. Was it such a shock to you?

[This is the best course of action to take, he can feel it.]

[dtective]

[Well that sure makes him tense up again immediately. Immediately, he presses his palms flat on his pants to try and wipe away any clammy-ness...]

What?! They're not clammy! You're imagining things!

[pruning]

[Successfully distracted from his own teenage behavior, great. He squeezes his shoulders again, leaning a little more to witness this obsessive hand-wiping. Ha...]

Am I? I had quite a while to think about it while you were making wrong turns on the way home.

[dtective]

S-shut up! I got us back, didn't I?!

[Ugh, no, his shame... The leaning just makes it worse. He leans forward a little to try and escape him, but not his hands— damn it, D, cut it out!!]

It's weird we were holding hands in the first place...

[pruning]

[No, come back here, there is no escape.]

You didn't think so at the time. [Or did he... probably, but he didn't complain about it, so D is in the clear.]

[dtective]

I said it was weird, not that I minded it.

[Don't even start this with him!! They'll embarrass each other all day, even with D giving him a massage? This is also weird.]

[pruning]

[Gay semantics!! This isn't weird at all.

D leaning so far over the back of the couch is a little weird, but more in the sense that it's physically uncomfortable.]

In that case, I haven't the slightest idea why you would bother complaining.

[dtective]

I wasn't complaining...

[He kind of was, a little, but actually he just wants to know WHY!! It's there, in his own heart, but it's too difficult for him to just out and say it, or realize it, or anything. Also, at this point it feels like D's about to fall over the couch if he leans anymore, so Leon gives up with a sigh.]

I thought you had more of a personal bubble than that.

[pruning]

[He won't fall, he'll just hover there vaguely before he straightens back up again. But he's not pulling his hands away yet...

Leon seems to have forgotten the times D tried to keep him overnight. Hmm. That's fine.]

You've been wrong before.

[dtective]

[He thought that was a joke.........]

...So are you gonna wanna do that again? [Smooth, he's smooth, don't look at him just massage him.]

[pruning]

[Was it though.... was it?? How can he massage him when he's faced with that kind of bumbling idiot question? Somehow he's managing while processing that.]

I would not mind it. [understatement....]

[dtective]

[Would not mind it... Leon wouldn't mind it either. So he just stares down at his hands in his lap again pondering this.]

What does that mean...?

[He mumbles that pretty quietly because actually he didn't mean to say it aloud at all... What an idiot.]

[pruning]

[This is ridiculous, and yet D is still part of the problem. Using adult words is so hard!!]

Would you like to, on occasion, hold hands?

[Spare him.]

[dtective]

Sure.

[ WAIT ] Hang on! When you ask it like that, it sounds...!

[ no mater how you look at it, isn't this kind of like asking him out?? He doesn't know how to react to that, he just answered without thinking! ]

[pruning]

[Too late, he said sure, D wins!! The only thing making him seem like he's not about to panic right now is the fact that Leon is already panicking. Thanks for making him look good in comparison.]

It sounds how, exactly...?

[dtective]

Normally, that's the kind of thing you'd ask a cute girl...

[He's soooo no homo about this it's ridiculous. Even when he says that, though, it's with more reluctance than usual. It's not like he'd mind holding hands with D... He thinks this, and then he flips out inwardly over how he thinks this. This isn't some sort of magic right?? Has he lost his mind...

Or has it always been like this. Er...]

[pruning]

If that's what you've been asking women, it's no wonder you have such terrible luck with them.

[Occasionally hold hands?? That's dumb, even D knows that's a dumb way to do this. Or anything. He's not doing anything.

He doesn't even have a no homo counter... it's too gay. Hold his hand sometimes.]

[dtective]

Hey, shut up!

[Leave him alone, he tries really hard... Ugh. But alright... Holding hands sometimes sounds okay, somehow? He doesn't want to say no. His hand already feels empty thanks to earlier. He'll just keep tensely gripping his knees like that helps things.

Who is he kidding. This is definitely not heterosexual. This is... D doesn't like him, right? Does he like D? He's not going to get any sleep tonight.]

You're just being weird about it. Fine, we can hold hands sometimes. [Kill him...]

[pruning]

[This hasn't been heterosexual for two days, but okay. D's... satisfied, with this result? They can hold hands sometimes and that's somewhat exciting, which he supposes makes him about ten years old.

Thank goodness Leon isn't looking at him right now, or he would definitely have to stare off obviously at a wall again.]

There, you see? That wasn't so hard. Although I could have done without the insult...

[dtective]

[Then next time don't TALK IN HIS EAR it's very distracting. He could have done without acknowledging these gay feelings, and yet here he is.]

Your hands aren't tired? [Like, he doesn't want to complain, but at the same time, he may die.]

[pruning]

[His hands...? Well, no, not particularly, but he can take a hint and quit his strangely persistent massage.]

I suppose they are. [......] How do you feel?

[He was not only doing that for an excuse to put his hands on Leon, after all!! Amazingly.]

[dtective]

Pretty relaxed, actually. Thanks.

[Like, his shoulders are, but he also feels like his head or chest might explode. Which will come first? He'll just stretch out his arms now...]

I don't mind you doing that, occasionally, either. [He wanted it to be light, small talk but now that he's said it, his stomach feels sick too. He's ruining everything.]