(Untitled)
Characters: wavesoakedlegs & behisstrength
Location: The forest
Time: Late afternoon
Style: Third
Status: Closed
( let's paint these walls and pull up the weeds )
Location: The forest
Time: Late afternoon
Style: Third
Status: Closed
( let's paint these walls and pull up the weeds )
Mitsuhide surveyed the clearing, smiling a little. It had taken a long time to get to this point, and he was eager to see the complete product. Small as it was, their hut meant a lot to him. For many reasons.
He glanced at Motochika, gaze drawn to the other man's hair, and laughed lightly.
"Though perhaps there is something else we ought to take care of first."
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"I leave it to your hands. We will push on afterwards."
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There were plenty of leaves that needed removing, too.
"Perhaps I ought to leave some of this in, and add a few flowers as well."
Mitsuhide hummed a quiet tune as he finished his task. He had not left his lover's side much since Gracia had left; despite the comfort offered a few days beforehand, his fears and grief could not simply be banished away. They had made him a little... clingy, but Motochika did not seem to mind at all, so he'd taken no measures to stop himself from being so.
The closeness helped, and by keeping himself busy as well, Mitsuhide was coping, if not really healing yet.
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"Ambitious, Mitsuhide. But gathering flowers can wait until later," his tone was amused, carrying an affectionate undercurrent. "You do not want to attempt too much at one time."
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There was plenty to be done, but only one real starting point. They would need to lay the tatami down first. He approached the pile and glanced down at it. Not a hard job, but making sure it was fitted properly was important.
Mitsuhide kneeled for a moment, checking it over to ensure no damage had been done to it during transit. Satisfied, he looked over his shoulder at Motochika.
"Well? Shall we?"
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"Very well."
However, rather than coming straight over to Mitsuhide, Motochika moved to open the hut's door before joining his lover. He stopped at one end and crouched himself, slipping his fingers beneath the pile of tatami, hands at either side.
"We'll place them beside the doorway. Then they are within our reach, without hindering our progress."
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Mitsuhide took his side of the pile. Once secure, he guided the pair of them along until they were right next to the opening of the hut. After carefully placing down the tatami, he peered inside and inspected the floor.
A smile spread across his face.
"To work, then," he said, voice taking on a rather warm tone as certain memories ran through his mind. The arrangement of the tatami mats had been discussed before, so he knew where best to start.
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It would not take them all that long to lay the tatami to a proper standard.
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The task was not a complex one, but he was quite determined to make it perfect. It did not take long, therefore, for Mitsuhide's focus to be directed fully at laying the mats down, his mind unconsciously 'tuning out' anything that was not related to what he was doing.
His expression gradually became more serious, a slight frown sometimes gracing his features as he fitted the mats together.
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He tilted back his head, next, and looked towards Mitsuhide. The fingertips of one of his hands ran over the woven straw in a sweeping motion. It was immensely familiar from a lifetime with it, yet marginally strange somehow, after so many months living in their modern-styled house.
"It has been some time since we last had tatami beneath us."
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"It has. Looking around this hut, with the sounds of forest around us... we could almost be in Japan again."
He would not deny that he felt a little homesick, sometimes. No matter what he had suffered there, no matter what sins he had committed on his homeland's soil, he still cared about it. The memories of its landscapes, the fine cities, the innocent people simply going about their lives... they would not leave him.
But if he had his own way, he would never return.
Vatheon provided the opportunity to help others, something he could no longer do in Japan. In a less selfless advantage, it was a place where he could still walk beside the one he cared for most. Someone who no longer lived in his home country.
"It's a more comfortable surface than the hard wood, certainly," Mitsuhide said, not voicing those thoughts and keeping his expression calm.
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"Yes."
His eyes shuttered and once again his lips formed a pronounced smirk.
"Comparisons will prove inevitable."
Not that Mitsuhide's original words had carried any intent in them, but considering their last use of this space, Motochika still recalled kneeling upon the floorboards and curling his fingers against the hard wood.
Tatami would be more comfortable, indeed.
"Have you decided where you wish to place the furniture?"
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"You are ridiculous," he said, moving a hand to brush away the hairs that had fallen in front of his eyes. "But in regards to your question... yes. We must arrange it in a manner that will still leave plenty of floor space, and I am quite certain I know how to do that."
He stood up then, taking one more look around the hut to confirm his thoughts before nodding.
"We should bring in my cabinet first. It's the item under cover to the right of the entrance."
Mitsuhide stepped outside then, moving over to said object. It was only recently completed; or, rather, he'd only recently finished the carvings and painting on it. The base had been bought. It was not entirely a classical design, but still familiar enough to fit in with everything else they had chosen. The samurai pulled the cover away and examined his work. Chōsokabe and Akechi crests were prominent on the surface.
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He would never grow tired of seeing their crests emblazoned together. He smiled, proud to see it.
"An excellent touch, Mitsuhide," he complimented, as he traced their individual shapes. "Which end will you take?"
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This was their place, and everything in it was shared. The cabinet was not excluded from this; just one of their crests on its surface would not be... right. Mitsuhide moved a hand across the wood before stepping around to one side.
"This end."
He positioned himself ready to lift it.
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"You must lead us -- or share with me your chosen arrangement."
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