The First Page [2/5]
anonymous
August 12 2011, 06:29:59 UTC
Kiku felt the corners of his mouth tug up unconsciously, which took him by surprise as his earlier smiles had all been put on for Alfred's benefit. He forced his lips back into a blank expression and looked away from this stranger who didn't even know his name and yet was acting as if he already knew him from some place, but it didn't take long for his restless mind to point out that said stranger was still far more interesting to look at than the unchanging bottles at the back of the bar and wasn't it a mystery how this stranger had apparently singled him out from the tall, handsome men in this bar for attention?
Against his better reason, Kiku turned to examine the man again. A lock of the man's shoulder-length brown hair had fallen in front of his eyes; he brushed it away with one tanned hand, giving Kiku another full view of his eyes that sent his mind into another confused state because not only did this man somehow manage to look both sleepy and alert at the same time, but his gaze on him managed to be curious and even enticing without making Kiku feel as if he was a sheep being sized up by a hungry wolf. It actually unnerved him more than a wanton leer would have, as the leer would have left him with no hesitation to pointedly ignore him, whereas this more gently inquisitive look left him half-wanting to actually respond to it.
The man placed his hand on the empty chair next to him and said something that Kiku couldn't hear across the physical distance between them, but the cocking of his head towards the chair made the gist of his statement clear.
Kiku's face reddened. He was already far more fascinated with this man than he should be, and wasn't Alfred supposed to be...? He glanced to his right to see that Alfred was currently waggling his fingers in the air as if conducting Arthur's drunken rendition of the ballad of Eskimo Nell, and quickly looked back at the man in mortification.
The man, in response, merely glanced over his shoulder at his own friends who seemed to have similarly forgotten basic rules of decorum and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders as if to say well, that's two best drinking buddies for you, before giving Kiku a smile and getting up from his chair.
Kiku blinked. Is he really--? his mind managed to get out before it became clear that yes, the man was indeed walking directly over to him. His new upright position also made Kiku distinctly aware of just how tall and well-built he was, and the better lighting at Kiku's end of the bar meant that he saw more details and texture of the man's tousled chestnut hair and olive skin the closer he got.
The man slid onto the seat to the left of Kiku, his legs a respectable distance away from Kiku's but not nearly far away enough for Kiku to avoid noticing how long they were and had Kiku just shamelessly ogled a stranger?
Then the man introduced himself to Kiku, and he went from a complete stranger who Kiku had no business being so interested in to a new acquaintance with whom it would be unspeakably rude for Kiku not to show at least some interest in. His name was Heracles Karpusi and the two friends he had come with were Francis and Antonio who had talked him into taking the place of their normal third drinking buddy Gilbert just for tonight and he wanted to know if the man he just met had a similar story to tell, ending with an expectant look at Kiku.
Against his better reason, Kiku turned to examine the man again. A lock of the man's shoulder-length brown hair had fallen in front of his eyes; he brushed it away with one tanned hand, giving Kiku another full view of his eyes that sent his mind into another confused state because not only did this man somehow manage to look both sleepy and alert at the same time, but his gaze on him managed to be curious and even enticing without making Kiku feel as if he was a sheep being sized up by a hungry wolf. It actually unnerved him more than a wanton leer would have, as the leer would have left him with no hesitation to pointedly ignore him, whereas this more gently inquisitive look left him half-wanting to actually respond to it.
The man placed his hand on the empty chair next to him and said something that Kiku couldn't hear across the physical distance between them, but the cocking of his head towards the chair made the gist of his statement clear.
Kiku's face reddened. He was already far more fascinated with this man than he should be, and wasn't Alfred supposed to be...? He glanced to his right to see that Alfred was currently waggling his fingers in the air as if conducting Arthur's drunken rendition of the ballad of Eskimo Nell, and quickly looked back at the man in mortification.
The man, in response, merely glanced over his shoulder at his own friends who seemed to have similarly forgotten basic rules of decorum and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders as if to say well, that's two best drinking buddies for you, before giving Kiku a smile and getting up from his chair.
Kiku blinked. Is he really--? his mind managed to get out before it became clear that yes, the man was indeed walking directly over to him. His new upright position also made Kiku distinctly aware of just how tall and well-built he was, and the better lighting at Kiku's end of the bar meant that he saw more details and texture of the man's tousled chestnut hair and olive skin the closer he got.
The man slid onto the seat to the left of Kiku, his legs a respectable distance away from Kiku's but not nearly far away enough for Kiku to avoid noticing how long they were and had Kiku just shamelessly ogled a stranger?
Then the man introduced himself to Kiku, and he went from a complete stranger who Kiku had no business being so interested in to a new acquaintance with whom it would be unspeakably rude for Kiku not to show at least some interest in. His name was Heracles Karpusi and the two friends he had come with were Francis and Antonio who had talked him into taking the place of their normal third drinking buddy Gilbert just for tonight and he wanted to know if the man he just met had a similar story to tell, ending with an expectant look at Kiku.
Reply
Leave a comment