bakerstreet | the blanket burrito meme (gen or shipping).

[ …ah! This position is suddenly flawed! Aoba just kissed him and Clear didn’t get to see it coming!

Which…upon a second thought, admittedly made the surprise of it all the more pleasant, even if now Aoba similarly cannot witness the little look of bliss that warms Clear’s expression. He closes his eyes, letting his temporarily-useless sense of vision take a rest so that all his other senses will be emphasized, and gently tugs Aoba’s encircling arm higher up his chest.

Once it is in range, Clear presses a return kiss to Aoba’s protruding knuckles. Afterwards, he settles Aoba’s hand back in place over his chest, rather than his waist. He may not have a steady rhythm drumming away inside his metal ribcage, but there’s a strong warmth in there still. ]

Is it really selfish if hearing you say it makes me happy, too? [ And now he just can’t help it; he turns his head and peeks back from the corner of his eye as much as is possible, even if that only affords him a glimpse of blue. ]

I don’t think I could ever get tired of hearing you say that you’re happy. I want…for ‘happy’ to be your normal. Our normal.

[Awww, Clear kissed his fingers..! Aoba's heart soars, and when his hand is placed on Clear's chest afterwards, he lets his fingertips brush against Clear there as much as they can without breaking the rather one-sides hold Clear's hand has on his.]

I think... it already is.

[He's just having a hard time accepting that, for some reason. Well, maybe that's not so strange, after all... He's hurt so much for so long when Clear was broken, it's a little scary, thinking of something like that happening again. Maybe that's the only reason why he can't - doesn't dare - take this happiness for granted.

Still, if it keeps him in this silly puppy love phase a little longer, is that so bad? With Clear trying to peek at him over his shoulder, Aoba decides to make it a little easier for him, pushing himself up just enough that he can lean in and kiss Clear... somewhere in the general cheek/jaw area. Look, they just got comfortable; he doesn't want to ruin his own lazy moment! Not that it would be so terrible if he did...]

[ Okay but kissing the side of his jaw like that is still super cute and has Clear grinning all the wider, even if he’s also having second (third?) thoughts about this particular position again. It has its pros, it has its cons…

…but Aoba did say they had to find which position worked best, right? ]

Then, don’t ever stop telling me how happy you are, Aoba-san, [ Clear says, still peeking backwards. ] With happy as our normal, as long as you’re telling me that, then I know everything’s still alright.

[ And he doesn’t say that in a worrisome way. He’s not insecure, he’s not in need of that as a form of constant reassurance. It’s nothing more than the fact that it really does make him happy to hear.

…and it’s cute.

But…. ]

However, Aoba-san…if you’re going to keep kissing me by surprise, I don’t think this position is going to work. If you keep that up too much, I’m only going to want to turn around!

[By coincidence and/or luck, Aoba doesn't take Clear's words as a need for reassurance. On the contrary: the wish to hear Aoba is happy makes sense, in a Clear sort of way. Even two humans can't read each others' minds, and with Aoba and Clear in particular, there's always been a need for good communication. Aoba has to keep that in mind - so the reminder is welcome, really.

But not as welcome as the chance to tease the hell out of Clear.]

Oh, really~? [Clear is going to want to turn around if Aoba keeps kissing him, huh? Well then, let's see how long he lasts! Moving impulsively and without much finesse, Aoba plants a kiss halfway across Clear's ear.] That would be a shame~!

[Not that Aoba really cares, but it's fun to provoke Clear a little. Another kiss soon follows, and another; on Clear's neck, his cheek, his hair...]

[ Let it be known that because Aoba suddenly got so playful about it, Clear made an honest attempt at staying in place, just holding Aoba’s hand in place at his chest and laughing for the delightful surprise of his boyfriend being silly. It made his heart-feelings feel swollen with joy, backlit by only the faintest subconscious comparison to how things had been when they’d first met.

(Was this really the same Aoba that had roundhouse kicked him for going hadaka apron, or the same one that had kicked him in the back in front of Heibon?)

But Clear hadn’t been giving a hollow warning and it didn’t take more than maybe half a dozen kisses like that before he couldn’t stand not reciprocating. ]

Aoba-saaan! [ is his good-humored warning, before squirming away just enough to make room to roll over and wrap an arm right back around the other man, pulling him in tight.

That silliness may be worth continuing in a moment, but to start, Clear just catches that teasing mouth with his own, giving Aoba something to really be occupied by. ]

[It's too easy to tease Clear, really, and that's why it's not always in good taste: a comparison to kicking puppies comes to mind. But, however fortunate things have turned out, Aoba's taste has never been exclusively good - so yes, he can definitely be silly. Apart from anything else, he doesn't have another outlet for this overload of happiness he's feeling!]

W-Wai-...

[Half-successfully trying to resist the urge to burst out laughing, he's about to offer some weak protest for the sake of it when Clear turns around, but he barely manages to get a single syllable out, weakly and between gasps for air, when it's already too late. Clear kisses him, and Aoba is surprised at the audacity of the move, briefly freezing in shock while that single syllable dies as a muffled grunt against Clear's lips.

With that, Aoba's thoughts of protesting vanish, too. His whole body feels like it's melting in Clear's arms, and he gives in to the sensation, every muscle relaxing... except for his lips and tongue, anyway. Those alone are kept functional, and he slowly starts kissing Clear back. Suddenly, his cheeks feel like they're burning up. That sure took a turn for the sexy... but Aoba is not complaining.

Fine, Clear. You win this round.]

[ Payback is a sweet, sweet thing, like the taste of Aoba’s kiss. Feeling triumphant, Clear holds the kiss while Aoba absorbs his surprise and forms a proper reaction. That said reaction ends up being returning the kiss, well…that’s not an opportunity Clear can just let pass by.

No, it deserves indulging. With a sound in his throat that starts out vaguely like a laugh before fading into a hum, Clear moves his hand to Aoba’s cheek in gentle support as he works that kiss for a while. He doesn’t get too deeply hungry about it, but his lips are often parted in their movements, his tongue making gentle brushes of Aoba’s own as they pass the same bit of breath back and forth.

And then he backs off enough to break it. Clear finishes with a press of closed lips and a distinct muah~!, turning the thorough kissing into a playful smooch.

Clear doesn’t pull very far away, though. Aoba will just have to feel, more than see, that Clear’s lips are smiling against the corner of his own mouth, the android gently nuzzling one of his flushed cheeks. ]

I warned you, Aoba-san….

Edited 2017-02-01 00:46 (UTC)

[It's easy to get lost in that kiss, enjoying that lazy pleasure while it lasts and lasts and lasts. For the longest time, Aoba doesn't think of anything. It's just him and Clear and that kiss, and somehow it feels like a perfect crystallization of their feelings, this particular happiness. Eventually, though, he's starting to feel a little more than that, the very beginnings of arousal trickling down his spine -

right when Clear ends the kiss that stupid ~~cute~~, playful way, and Aoba tastes nothing but defeat. When did he ever become so absurdly weak?]

Yes, yes, you warned me.

[He can't really stay mad, though. It's not Clear he's mad at in the first place - and "mad" isn't the right word, anyway. If it means they can be together like this, he doesn't mind feeling a little weak for wanting things to stay that way.

With a soft sigh, he nuzzles closer, himself.]

... I think this position is a little too distracting...

[But he's not suggesting they change it. Not yet, at least.]

[ That prompts another laugh from Clear, even as he's still brushing his lips along Aoba's face, whatever comfortable places that can still be reached with only a little movement. Oh, this is much better... though Aoba's reaction to it does leave one wondering. ]

Distracting...? Distracting from what...?

[ It's not like he was doing anything but napping, right? And now the only thing here is Clear, right...? ]

[That's exactly the problem, you stupid robutt!! Ugh. Be a little less adorable already.]

From getting rest.

[Half-mumbling into the bed, Aoba can at least hide his face a little. Not that he has anything much to hide, but it's the principle of the thing! His life is suffering.]

Sleeping's the last thing I wanna do.

[Admittedly he wasn't planning to sleep now, anyway - but this was a practice round for nighttime, right? He'll get way too distracted by sexy thoughts to ever sleep again.]

[ And guess who honestly forgot that this whole thing was a practice for a sleeping position? This robot, right here. Practicing cuddling in the same close space, sure, but…oh, right, sleep.

Count Aoba not the only one distracted by that nice bit of kissing.

So cue a puzzled slow-blink from Clear before he rewinds and puts two and two together, and laughs yet again afterwards. That is definitely not an apologetic laugh.

Aoba turning his face away exposes a bit more of him on the other side—meaning Clear can’t help but brush his lips along his boyfriend’s jawline, following it back to that sensitive spot under the corner where his pulse can be felt fluttering away.

Really, Aoba, this is not how you stop Clear from being sexycute. ]

Then what’s the first thing…?

[To be fair, the "sleeping practice" had been half a pretext - but only half of one! And now it feels like the wrong half...

Or is it frustratingly right? When Clear reaches that sensitive spot, Aoba breaks out in goosebumps all over. Augh, he can't take this anymore! With a huff, he looks at Clear again, and only the fact that Clear's not getting kicked off the bed is any indication of how affected Aoba really is.]

You know what, you... sex machine!

[Is there an award for best insults? Because this boy needs to be nominated.]

[ Hoo boy. Well now, that’s a perfectly valid, what, idiom? And one that gets the double whammy of being pretty literal when directed where it is, too.

But…that’s the thing, too. And speaking of halves, it’s one half over the other that gives Clear a jolt like he did just get kicked. He pulls his head back with a wide-eyed stare, honestly too bewildered to be anything else. Aoba’s huffing tone there is a more than familiar one, but did he really just…snap at Clear for being a machine? ]

Ah….

[ He looks to the side, as if an answer might be magically found in the corner of his vision somewhere, then returns his gaze to Aoba with another, almost theatrically deliberate blink.

And then…he actually succeeds in setting it aside. For one, he’s better at metaphors, and for two (and more importantly) he really can’t see Aoba hitting him with that word as a derogatory. At all. Which is why his reaction was confusion, rather than hurt.

So Clear laughs again, softer this time as he resolves that little ‘problem’ on his own and relaxes. Why, a little thought more, and he even has a retort. Brace yourself for this one, he might need a nomination on comebacks, himself. ]

I guess that’s what happens when you turn a robot on.

[It's only when he sees Clear's reaction that Aoba realizes what a poor choice of words that was. Of course he didn't mean it as an insult. He's never once thought of Clear as being in any way less for being a robot, and that's exactly why he used such a description lightly. Maybe they're different from each other in nature, but they still love each other. That's why such things don't matter.

Still, he can't expect Clear to feel the same way, especially when Clear is, in a manner of speaking, the odd one out. If Clear was more confused than hurt, Aoba sure hurt himself, guilt stabbing him like a knife the moment Clear looks away. Shit... What can he do to fix this?! He desperately tries to find an apology that explains his words without excusing them - but Clear beats him to it with that comeback, and Aoba doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.]

That's terrible! [he says, but laughs all the same, before throwing both an arm and a leg around Clear, trying to push him onto his back even if that will put them dangerously close to the edge of the bed. Aoba doesn't care. He buries his face in Clear's neck, desperate to hide it for a completely different reason, this time.]

... I'm sorry. I said a stupid thing.

[ Aoba rolls Clear over (of course Clear accommodates the movement) and he meets the man’s laugh with another of his own, throwing his arms around Aoba and cuddling him tight to his chest. And well now, this is a nice position too, come to think of it. Two bodies fit together in a narrow space much better when arranged vertical than horizontal….

But Aoba tucked into his neck puts that apology very close to his ear. Clear turns his head to rest his cheek against Aoba’s hair (gently, always gently) and smooths one hand up and down the man’s back. ]

I forgive you, [ he says, though he was never truly offended. Even so, Aoba offers an apology so Clear naturally accepts it, and the feelings that go with it. ]

Saying it like that did surprise me, but…Aoba-san, you’re the one person in the world that’s believed in me more than any other. [ He nuzzles towards Aoba’s ear as best he can, speaking softly into it. ] As soon as I thought about it, I knew you wouldn’t say that kind of thing meaning to hurt me.

[Maybe it shouldn't make a difference, being forgiven - doing a bad thing is doing a bad thing, and forgiveness doesn't undo it - but Aoba feels overwhelming relief all the same. This is the one aspect of their occasional communication issues that he can't stand. Of course he'll work on understanding Clear, and on making himself understood - but accidentally hurting Clear? It's just too cruel! After everything Clear's been through, he deserves nothing but happiness.]

Of course not. I didn't mean it that way at all. [Sighing softly, he relaxes on top of Clear, flattening as if Clear stroking his back irons out his body.] It's just that... I never thought of your being a machine as a bad thing. Maybe it was a little strange at first, but... I knew something about you was different. So when I found out you were a robot, I just thought: "Ah, that's it. That's the part of Clear I was missing."

[All things considered, Aoba would probably be better off shutting up, but he has something to set right, and he's giving it his best try.]

Maybe it's complicated, being an android, but being a human is complicated, too. It's what you are, even if it's not who you are. And I think, if you weren't an android... if you hadn't been developed the way you were, we might never have met. We wouldn't have gone to Platinum Jail, we wouldn't have faced Toue...

[And so, so much more, but Aoba would honestly rather forget about the time Clear was broken, thank you very much. The bottom line is what's important.]

... you wouldn't have become my Clear. [Rather than possessive, it comes out as a very fragile thing. For better or worse, Aoba will never take Clear's presence for granted again.]

[ Whether Aoba opens his mouth to give a solid, thoughtful answer, or just to stick his foot in it, Clear listens. That’s always been what Aoba has done for him too, hasn’t it? When it’s really mattered, Aoba has listened to him. He’s answered his questions, listened to his thoughts, and let him express himself even as he fumbles to learn just who he really is.

Maybe they still run into snags like this one, and maybe they’ve run into larger and more serious snags overall than a “more normal” couple would have—but they’re both still trying, and neither one of them is about to give up on the other.

Clear’s surge in playfulness recedes as the tone in conversation shifts, but tenderness is still there to take its place. He feels Aoba physically relaxing and keeps his hand moving, and honestly enjoys the feeling of an Aoba-blanket. It’s a warm and reassuring weight…maybe Aoba could fall asleep like this?

But Aoba’s words softly find a target, Clear’s hand slowing a little as he absorbs them. His circuits go skittering at my Clear. It may not be possessively meant, but Clear still finds a reassuring sense of belonging in them. ]

I wonder. You were made to have a certain power in your voice, and I was made to hear that voice as ‘Master’. I may have gotten it “wrong” for what I was programmed for…but I got it right for everything else.

…Do you believe in the thing called ‘fate’, Aoba-san?

["Right for everything else", indeed. It's not that Aoba ever doubted Clear's feelings, but it still feels good to hear them. They feel the same way. When they hit snags like this, that simple fact works miracles in making Aoba stop sweating the small stuff (or even the big stuff, for that matter).

Clear's body may not be soft, but it's comfortable just for being there and being Clear, and Aoba doesn't think he ever wants to move from this position. No - maybe he just doesn't want this moment to end.]

I believe that there are things we can't be sure exist. We can't know for sure that they're real - but that doesn't mean they're not. Sometimes not knowing for sure is exactly what makes them so important.

But...

We were both made with a specific goal in mind, and we both managed to escape that destiny. So I think... our love is bigger than fate.

[They've found each other, and Aoba has never once doubted that Clear's love is real, even with his programming regarding Aoba's voice. Maybe, in this case if no other, the fact that they ended up like this makes the details of how it happened unimportant.]

[ They’re just passing the reassurances back and forth right now. Or maybe it’s less reassurance, more confirmation? Hearing our love does more than make Clear’s circuits race, it makes his cheeks flush with pleasure and tuck his face even closer into Aoba’s hair.

Aoba’s answers to things are never uninteresting. He might not know the real answer but he always tells Clear what he honestly thinks, and it’s always thought-provoking.

His hand drifts to stillness, arm wrapping over Aoba again just to hold it. It is a good moment, and if fate—or chance—is kind, it won’t end any time soon. ]

That’s a beautiful way to look at it, Aoba-san. I might even like that better than what I was wondering about.

Toue had plans for us, and with as powerful as he was…isn’t it amazing that we were able to do what we did? It wasn’t easy, or without pain, but…we’re here now. What if this was fate?

[ Aoba’s way of looking at it may really be the better one, though Clear asks the question anyway. If this is fate, then so was all the suffering, and that’s…not a happy thought. But if that was the price that had to be paid for escaping fate? Maybe that’s a more palatable way to think of it….]

[Aoba realized that that was what Clear meant, but... that is exactly the problem: what he went through was just too painful to consider it fate. Was it worth it? Since it was the only way: yes, yes of course. But it's left its mark on him, especially that long, long time of trying to come to grips with the fact that Clear was probably broken for good, and Aoba might never see him again. On the whole, Clear has grown the most, and sacrificed the most (though not without gaining just as much), during their anti-Toue adventure. But maybe in that one respect - the loss and endless mourning - Aoba has suffered considerably more, if only for suffering longer. Even now that he's got Clear back, there's a tiny part of him that just can't seem to get rid of that pain completely. It really does feel like an emotional scar that way.

He doesn't want to dwell on that, though. It's his own weakness, and his own dumbness, and if Clear doesn't know how stupid Aoba is that way, Aoba doesn't care to enlighten him. Wouldn't it only make Clear feel guilty, or something ridiculous like that?

So he takes a moment to sort out his thoughts, makes himself let go of the negativity. It is all in the past, and he should leave it there.]

I don't know... but, I don't really care. [Rather than overly dismissive, the words are calm and sincere.] Whether this is fate or not doesn't matter to me. What's important is that I'm happy this way.

[Still halfway flattened on top of Clear, Aoba moves his foot to lightly stroke Clear's leg.]

Mm…yes, I agree, [ Clear decides, with a little chuckle for the stroke of that foot he feels. Kissing Aoba’s hair, he confides: ] No matter how strange the question I ask is, Aoba-san always has a good answer for it.

[ His hand goes roaming until he finds one of Aoba’s own, gently tugging it out so that he can thread their fingers together, palm to palm. Letting his head sag back against the pillow, Clear holds their hands out where he can casually gaze at their interlocked fingers and be contented with the sight (and, of course, where he’s not bending Aoba’s arm at an uncomfortable angle for the man himself). ]

I feel happy and lucky. Every day, I look forward to the future.

[ And not backwards, to the past. It surfaces in his thoughts from time to time, as one’s past must certainly always do, but isn’t that only human? The future is so much brighter in comparison, and so much better to dwell in. ]

[Unseen, Aoba smiles, half amusement and half pure happiness spilling over. He doesn't know if his answers are any good, but they're his. All he does is try to give his honest opinion. Isn't that all anyone can do in the end?

Aoba shifts a little when Clear takes his hand, his fingers finding their place between Clear's as if by natural instinct. Sometimes it still feels a little strange that they ended up this way... They beat Toue, but the real victory wasn't until Aoba got Clear back. Maybe that's why Aoba's emotions are such a mess about that one thing: what should have been their victory... really wasn't.

But they still got it. And that's what's important.

He pushes himself up a little - just enough that he can look at Clear's face.]

Me, too. I'm so happy, and then I get even happier because you're happy, and it's like there's so much happiness, I don't know what to do with it.

Weeeeell... Except the obvious.

[The teasing tone he attempts falls flat almost immediately: his happiness right now is of a different sort. As long as he's in a better position for it, he moves that much more so he can kiss Clear, just something simple and sweet and lingering.

Sure, the future's nice, but the present is where it's at.]

the blanket burrito meme (gen or shipping).

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