Nightshift 27: M12

[bond_off_lame]

If anyone had been waiting outside M12’s door they would’ve been sorely disappointed to find out that the entire room was unoccupied. However, there seemed to be several slips of paper poking from underneath the door, all conveying the same message just in case someone decided to take one for any reason. If they choose to pull one of the slips out

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[part1of3]

For all it was worth, Ashton was still rather in shock. He still couldn't believe that he'd been the one to close the distance (though Dias had leaned in first,) and he was preparing to wake up any minute now as if this most recent experience, in its entirety, was a simple dream.

It felt like a stray Thunderbolt spell had hit him that moment that he'd pulled away - Dias' eyes, his lips, everything about him was electric. And he was finding himself utterly disappointed when Dias shifted his gaze.

But Ashton's triumphant, awed look fell right back into his usual embarrassment at Dias' words. Was this something Dias regretted? And.. blushing? This was way too unusual - had Ashton done something wrong? He wanted to kiss him again, but until he had a definite sign that Dias liked it.. he'd.. he'd hold off. He didn't want to be like Xigbar.

"I.. um. I couldn't tell. I mean, it wasn't that noticeable. Not that I wasn't paying attention, because I was, definitely, and it was great, but, um, I mean - I'd never - wait, you never..?" He wasn't sure whether or not this surprised him. He'd already learned that Dias had never been on a date, which already seemed weird for someone who looked like that, so it shouldn't really have surprised him to hear that someone who'd never dated had never kissed someone, but..

"Uh, well. I mean, I guess it's, uh, something that takes practice, so neither of us - I.. uh.." he murmured. If Ashton was any more forward of a man, this would have been an obvious proposition, but he was so earnest in his words - he'd find a way to get better for Dias. If Dias even wanted to repeat that experience, anyway.

[heavens_too_far]

Ashton's stammering was so disjointed that Dias could scarcely make sense of it at first. The most he could glean from it was a general sense that Ashton had approved of the kiss - however awkward Dias might have been at it - and that he was taken aback by the fact that it had been Dias' first. Everything else was just the white noise of the younger man's anxiety that the mercenary had, over time, become accustomed to.

Ashton's second attempt at a statement, however, was much clearer, and Dias raised an eyebrow. "You think we should practice on each other?" he asked, bluntly. Honestly, it wasn't such a bad idea...certainly not one he minded terribly.

[part1of3]

Dias' words made Ashton pause as he wondered exactly what Dias was saying. It wasn't as if the words weren't entirely obvious, really, and rather devoid of insinuation, but what if Dias was being too obvious? Ashton certainly didn't think that Dias would say such a thing to make fun of him, but something like this was almost too good to be true.

Still - Ashton wasn't like Claude. He wasn't the type to play this situation cool. So - he stuttered, "I- it- ah- w-well, Dias, you and I- we-" He finally spit it out. "Yes, ah, I think.. that would be.. tops." He finished off with a gentle nod, but didn't move any closer. He didn't honestly have the energy to do so again without a struggle.

That hand in Dias' blue hair, though, was ever-so-gently working its way to the back of his friend's head.

[heavens_too_far]

"I assumed you did," Dias replied, not quite as wryly as he would have had he been talking to anyone else. "Since it was basically your idea." It was odd how nice Ashton's hand in his hair felt; it had been years since anyone had run fingers through his hair. Hell, probably no one had done it since Cecille had died; she'd always liked to play with his hair sometimes with disastrous results. So had Rena, but Rena hadn't really had the chance since then. It was a sensation Dias had always associated with comfort and security and being with the people he loved.

Experiencing it with Ashton felt...less awkward than perhaps it should have. Could he have been deluding himself that much as to the extent of his feelings for the other man, or was there just something in particular about his friend that made it seem somehow natural?

After a pause, he nodded slightly. "...I don't mind. It was - nice." Dias wasn't exactly effusive in his descriptions, but given how desperately and how long Ashton had been waiting to hear something exactly like that, the younger man probably couldn't have cared less how he said it, so long as he did. And now he had.

This time, when Dias leaned in, it actually was to kiss Ashton. And it was a little less of a fumbling attempt than last time; learning fast had always been one of Dias' particular talents.

[part1of3]

Basically his idea? But.. wait, hadn't Dias leaned in first..? The thought made Ashton's eyes widen. It was entirely possible that Dias hadn't wanted it at all at first. But then.. he had, so it didn't really matter that much, did it..? ..Did it?

But then Dias called it 'nice.' Kissing him.. Dias had called the kiss .. nice. Nice. Like.. nice nice. Not nice as in 'I'm going to go out to a steakhouse and order a nice salad' nice, but nice as in the kind of nice that Ashton was feeling, like I wouldn't mind doing it again nice. Like-

Like oh Tria oh Tria here's Dias kissing me again nice.

If there had been any doubt at all remaining in Ashton's mind as to how Dias felt about kissing him, it was completely erased now. And it was more.. assertive than it had been, on both of their accounts. Each kiss looked like it was going to get progressively better, more skilled..

Sure, practice was supposed to make perfect, but things didn't look like they could possibly get much better right now. Ashton was pulling Dias' head closer and leaning into the kiss, and everything seemed so eternal. Like everything was in the right place.

Dias was kissing him tenderly, and all was one hundred percent right with the world.