[TST] Snapshots of Chance (Part II)
Posted for archiving purposes.
snapshots of chance
iii. turn and face the stranger
He found Hijikata falling asleep on his desk that night.
There had been a great rush of paperwork, loads of things to take care of because the ship was receiving new recruits again while losing a bunch of old ones due to von Karma’s orders and the entirety of the day was nothing but a hectic rush of paperwork, shouting, more paperwork and even more shouting. There hadn’t been a single moment for either of them to take a break ever since the orders came right after breakfast until now, when it was almost midnight. Edgeworth hadn’t even had the time to grab either lunch or dinner, and he was quite sure the same could be said for Hijikata-Adrian did mention about her needing to send dinner to the boatswain’s quarters as well when she came to bring in his.
It was probably a good thing that Hijikata’s quarters was along a corridor that few passed by at this time of the night or otherwise they might have been rather caught unawares of the dozing dark-haired man. The kitten and puppy (considerably larger then when the boatswain first got him) were both asleep as well-Chi on the bed, and Lucied nearby at the floor; the rappig was also snorting quietly in its sleep at the corner. Edgeworth glanced at them for a brief moment (momentarily amused at how such a person like Hijikata could have owned pets like those) before turning back to look at the boatswain fast asleep on the surface of his desk.
His head was on the surface, left arm tucked under his cheek as something of a cushion as he dozed lightly, right arm draped over the unfinished papers. A pen was near his right hand, possibly the one he had been using prior to dozing off. His breaths were deep and heavy in the calmness that sleep gave, empty ashtray signaling the lack of smokes the other was having lately-either that, or someone had been kind enough to help clear it of the cigarette butts.
Drawing his attention back to the boatswain, Edgeworth looked at the sleeping other for a while before a small smile came onto his lips-it was so rare to see the younger officer like this, sleeping so peacefully without the usual frown on his face; the day’s activities must have had a toll on him. He couldn’t sleep here forever though, if Hijikata wanted to end up with a cramped arm for the whole day tomorrow. The first mate reached out towards the boatswain, one hand going into messy black hair and ruffling it, mussing it up in a gentle caress.
The touch was more than enough for Hijikata to arouse from consciousness, his brows furrowing and his head shifting under the hand ever so slightly while a soft groan escaped his lips. Edgeworth took back his hand before the other could be too aware of what was going on, tucking it back into his pocket discreetly just as the boatswain lifted up his head, one side of his face decorated with imprinted lines of purple-red upon his skin from the pressure of skin against folded clothing. Dazed blue eyes stared blankly for a few moments before blinking, trying to rid the sleep from his eyes.
“Evening, Hijikata,” greeted the silver-haired man neutrally, the smile on his face gone as if it had never been there.
The younger man groaned as he shook his head to clear the fog in his mind, his right hand coming up to rub his temples “…what time is it?” he mumbled out, voice slightly hoarse from the dryness of his throat.
“Nearly midnight,” came the response.
Hijikata balked at that, jerking upright as his eyes widened in surprise. “M-M-Midnight?!” he echoed, clearly caught off-guard by the answer. Edgeworth nodded, and the boatswain slumped back down, hands on his head as he swore under his breath. “Fuck.”
“Well, the day was rather exhausting,” the first mate remarked with a rather sympathetic look towards the other officer. “It’s only natural.”
The boatswain wasn’t convinced though. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that…” he muttered, still obviously quite angry with himself for this. Looking like this, with that half-sleepy half-irritated look on his face and unruly hair more messed up than usual due to having falling asleep on his own desk, Edgeworth decided that Hijikata actually looked kind of, well… it was a word he never imagine himself saying-especially in a situation like this and describing him, of all things and of all people-but the dark-haired man was rather… cute. He hadn’t really realized that he was staring at the other until Hijikata caught back his attention back in reality with a rather annoyed-sounding inquiry. “Is there something on my face?”
“Oh. Um.” Edgeworth turned away coughed awkwardly, composing himself and mentally rebuking himself for that slip. “You just looked a little paler than usual. Could be just my eyes though.”
Hijikata grunted at that. “At least you aren’t talking about the mayonnaise,” he remarked in an undertone as he rolled his eyes while searching for a cigarette in his desk drawers. It didn’t take long before he scowled and cursed under his breath, muttering about a certain annoying doctor.
Despite everything, the first mate couldn’t really bring himself to sympathize with the boatswain. “Problems, Major?” he asked, the tone of his voice clearly amused.
The younger man only scowled and shut the drawer loudly. “Shut up,” he growled, eyes glaring daggers towards the other and a vein pulsing on the side of his temple.
Edgeworth was unrelenting, unfortunately, and only smirked at the dark-haired man while speaking. “But if I do, how else can we continue this conversation now, hrm?”
“Like this,” the boatswain said and before the first mate knew what was happening, Hijikata had reached out over the table towards him, grabbed hold of his cravat (good thing he was wearing a clip on one today, since otherwise the silk would be ruined) and the next thing he knew their lips were smashed together in a kiss. There were only a few moments of pause from the silver-haired man before he responded, tongue prodding to pry open lips and slipping then though the cage of teeth, eyelids sliding shut as his hands came to tangle in unruly, mussed hair.
The kiss only lasted for a short while, but it felt almost like eternity before they had to break for air, both parties panting slightly when they did. Hijikata wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his coat, the annoyance from earlier not quite gone yet.
“Bastard,” came the usual snarl from the dark-haired man.
“I think you’ve made that point clear to me more than enough,” Edgeworth replied mildly, hardly fazed as he glanced at the other and cast his gaze onto the hand that was still clenched onto his neckpiece. “Now could you please kindly remove your hand from my cravat before you strangle me?”
snapshots of chance
iii. turn and face the stranger
He found Hijikata falling asleep on his desk that night.
There had been a great rush of paperwork, loads of things to take care of because the ship was receiving new recruits again while losing a bunch of old ones due to von Karma’s orders and the entirety of the day was nothing but a hectic rush of paperwork, shouting, more paperwork and even more shouting. There hadn’t been a single moment for either of them to take a break ever since the orders came right after breakfast until now, when it was almost midnight. Edgeworth hadn’t even had the time to grab either lunch or dinner, and he was quite sure the same could be said for Hijikata-Adrian did mention about her needing to send dinner to the boatswain’s quarters as well when she came to bring in his.
It was probably a good thing that Hijikata’s quarters was along a corridor that few passed by at this time of the night or otherwise they might have been rather caught unawares of the dozing dark-haired man. The kitten and puppy (considerably larger then when the boatswain first got him) were both asleep as well-Chi on the bed, and Lucied nearby at the floor; the rappig was also snorting quietly in its sleep at the corner. Edgeworth glanced at them for a brief moment (momentarily amused at how such a person like Hijikata could have owned pets like those) before turning back to look at the boatswain fast asleep on the surface of his desk.
His head was on the surface, left arm tucked under his cheek as something of a cushion as he dozed lightly, right arm draped over the unfinished papers. A pen was near his right hand, possibly the one he had been using prior to dozing off. His breaths were deep and heavy in the calmness that sleep gave, empty ashtray signaling the lack of smokes the other was having lately-either that, or someone had been kind enough to help clear it of the cigarette butts.
Drawing his attention back to the boatswain, Edgeworth looked at the sleeping other for a while before a small smile came onto his lips-it was so rare to see the younger officer like this, sleeping so peacefully without the usual frown on his face; the day’s activities must have had a toll on him. He couldn’t sleep here forever though, if Hijikata wanted to end up with a cramped arm for the whole day tomorrow. The first mate reached out towards the boatswain, one hand going into messy black hair and ruffling it, mussing it up in a gentle caress.
The touch was more than enough for Hijikata to arouse from consciousness, his brows furrowing and his head shifting under the hand ever so slightly while a soft groan escaped his lips. Edgeworth took back his hand before the other could be too aware of what was going on, tucking it back into his pocket discreetly just as the boatswain lifted up his head, one side of his face decorated with imprinted lines of purple-red upon his skin from the pressure of skin against folded clothing. Dazed blue eyes stared blankly for a few moments before blinking, trying to rid the sleep from his eyes.
“Evening, Hijikata,” greeted the silver-haired man neutrally, the smile on his face gone as if it had never been there.
The younger man groaned as he shook his head to clear the fog in his mind, his right hand coming up to rub his temples “…what time is it?” he mumbled out, voice slightly hoarse from the dryness of his throat.
“Nearly midnight,” came the response.
Hijikata balked at that, jerking upright as his eyes widened in surprise. “M-M-Midnight?!” he echoed, clearly caught off-guard by the answer. Edgeworth nodded, and the boatswain slumped back down, hands on his head as he swore under his breath. “Fuck.”
“Well, the day was rather exhausting,” the first mate remarked with a rather sympathetic look towards the other officer. “It’s only natural.”
The boatswain wasn’t convinced though. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that…” he muttered, still obviously quite angry with himself for this. Looking like this, with that half-sleepy half-irritated look on his face and unruly hair more messed up than usual due to having falling asleep on his own desk, Edgeworth decided that Hijikata actually looked kind of, well… it was a word he never imagine himself saying-especially in a situation like this and describing him, of all things and of all people-but the dark-haired man was rather… cute. He hadn’t really realized that he was staring at the other until Hijikata caught back his attention back in reality with a rather annoyed-sounding inquiry. “Is there something on my face?”
“Oh. Um.” Edgeworth turned away coughed awkwardly, composing himself and mentally rebuking himself for that slip. “You just looked a little paler than usual. Could be just my eyes though.”
Hijikata grunted at that. “At least you aren’t talking about the mayonnaise,” he remarked in an undertone as he rolled his eyes while searching for a cigarette in his desk drawers. It didn’t take long before he scowled and cursed under his breath, muttering about a certain annoying doctor.
Despite everything, the first mate couldn’t really bring himself to sympathize with the boatswain. “Problems, Major?” he asked, the tone of his voice clearly amused.
The younger man only scowled and shut the drawer loudly. “Shut up,” he growled, eyes glaring daggers towards the other and a vein pulsing on the side of his temple.
Edgeworth was unrelenting, unfortunately, and only smirked at the dark-haired man while speaking. “But if I do, how else can we continue this conversation now, hrm?”
“Like this,” the boatswain said and before the first mate knew what was happening, Hijikata had reached out over the table towards him, grabbed hold of his cravat (good thing he was wearing a clip on one today, since otherwise the silk would be ruined) and the next thing he knew their lips were smashed together in a kiss. There were only a few moments of pause from the silver-haired man before he responded, tongue prodding to pry open lips and slipping then though the cage of teeth, eyelids sliding shut as his hands came to tangle in unruly, mussed hair.
The kiss only lasted for a short while, but it felt almost like eternity before they had to break for air, both parties panting slightly when they did. Hijikata wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his coat, the annoyance from earlier not quite gone yet.
“Bastard,” came the usual snarl from the dark-haired man.
“I think you’ve made that point clear to me more than enough,” Edgeworth replied mildly, hardly fazed as he glanced at the other and cast his gaze onto the hand that was still clenched onto his neckpiece. “Now could you please kindly remove your hand from my cravat before you strangle me?”