(Untitled)

[tono_twerp]

Characters:Kurotsuchi Mayuri law_of_reason, Suoh Tamaki tono_twerp
When: June 13th, after this conversation.
Where: In Mayuri's lab
Rating: PG, unless flirting offends you
Summary: Body modification is fun! Though first, Tamaki has to get certain duties out of the way.

Comments

[law_of_reason]

After speaking to the strange, but incredibly enthusiastic human, Kurotsuchi had pushed the encounter from his mind. While he wasn't about to turn down someone offering to give themselves over to science (and he had to admit that a positive response to the proposition was a nice surprise), the boy hadn't given him reason to believe that he possessed any skill that would be of particular interest. A healthy, regular human did have some use to him, but it wasn't the focus of his work

[law_of_reason]

Alright, now he was just baffled.

"Explain these skills of yours first," he said, stepping back again without even realizing he'd done so, taking refuge in what logic he still recognized. He had no idea what Tamaki was talking about; nothing he was doing looked like any sort of talent he was familiar with. And while new things did interest him, this was decidedly suspect.

What was odd though, was that it didn't seem particularly threatening.

[tono_twerp]

Very, very briefly, he allowed himself to look pained: the most severe reproof he ever indulged in, with clients. Technically, of course, Mayuri wasn't a customer, but so far, there was no reason to suppose the familiar techniques should not be effective on him.

"You're a scientist," he said, giving him another smile, and stepping closer yet again. "You know that some things are better understood through observation and participation, rather than theoretical discussion! Don't be afraid, all I want is to please you."

[law_of_reason]

This time he stayed where he was; about half of what Tamaki was saying was recognizable, though his manner still didn't make any amount of sense to him. Curiosity finally won out again; he did hate not knowing what was going on, and since it didn't seem like Tamaki was exactly mocking him...

"Go on," he said, still cautious, still utterly uncomprehending, but deciding that there didn't seem to be much risk involved. He doubted that the human could try anything that he couldn't defend against.

[tono_twerp]

Oh, good. The shyness was giving way to a willingness to be loved; all was well. Keeping all his movements slow, since Mayuri was so clearly easily scared, he stepped up to him, lifting his hand and letting it rest against the side of the man's face, his fingers splayed along his jawline, his thumb resting on his cheekbone.

The make-up was slick under his fingers, and he made sure not to move his hand, since that would mean he was at risk of ruining it. Messing up a flirtee's make-up was never a good idea.

"You wear such voluminous clothes," he breathed, staring down into Mayuri's eyes. "Why do you do it? Why do you hide? I am sure your body is as beautiful as the rest of you."

[law_of_reason]

Nearness on its own didn't bother him. Kurotsuchi wasn't too aware of things like personal boundaries, and modesty wasn't something he cared about either. Being touched was a neutral concept; the other's weird deliberate closeness was inexplicable rather than offensive, and if it was interesting at all, it was not in the way that the host intended.

It was flattery, but not of any kind he recognized, and Tamaki's motivation was still a complete mystery. The boy had nothing to gain.

Pretending that he wasn't a touch disturbed, he stared back up at him, analyzing the other's expression. Kurotsuchi's tone was soft, though for an entirely different reason than Tamaki, and the lightness in his voice could only be described as dangerous. "Do you understand what you're doing?"

He hoped so, because he sure as hell didn't.

[tono_twerp]

"Oh, that's a scary voice!" he exclaimed, beaming at him. Then he sobered up, and fixed Mayuri with a grave glance, to show that he was being Very Serious™. If a girl got angry with him, it was usually because he hadn't been showing her enough attention. That could not be the case here, so he was fairly certain he knew what the trouble was.

"Don't be ashamed," he said, earnestly. After a moment's thought, he decided to risk letting his thumb move slowly along Mayuri's cheekbone, the touch very light indeed, so the chance of make-up-smudging was minimal. "I know some cultures and time periods are unaccepting of love between men. But there is nothing wrong with it! Just let it happen."

He considered, briefly, telling Mayuri that in some cultures, love between men had been considered more worthwhile than the heterosexual kind, but decided against it. The man was a scientist and might already know, and since he was an alien, earth cultures might be considered irrelevant anyway.

[law_of_reason]

Kurotsuchi paused; that wasn't the sort of response that he was used to receiving. Though all of this could pretty much go under than heading. And while usually if he ran into something he wasn't expecting he wanted to know why - but right then he wasn't as sure about that.

"What?" Yet again the most pertinent question. Holding back the impulse to shake his head (mostly out of concern for his makeup as well), he moved a hand up instead to take hold of the other's wrist, pulling it away from his face. "I don't think you understand," though that could probably be said of both of them, "I asked you what you thought you were doing."

Or something like that, anyway; the boy's advances still didn't make any sense.

[tono_twerp]

Ooh, a hand-touch. The fact that his hand was being removed from the other's face was (obviously) just an excuse. He almost grinned, impressed with the other's ingenuity, but kept his face sober and friendly; evidently, Mayuri was from a homophobic society. He passively allowed his hand to be held, though he did bend it at the wrist, stroking his fingertips gently over the back of Mayuri's hand.

"It's all right," he insisted, his eyes compassionate, "it really is all right. Let me please you, there's no harm in it."

[law_of_reason]

And now his hand was being stroked, and the scientist dropped the other's wrist as if it had bit him, jerking his arm away. Before he could stop, he'd already taken another step back as well, before halting sharply, wondering how some human was causing him to back off.

Part of him wanted to drug Tamaki into unconsciousness - that would put a stop to this foolishness - but the idea remained unsatisfactory overall. It'd be like admitting defeat to just a little confusion, something a lesser person would do in response to something they didn't understand. He would persevere.

"I'm not interested in anything of the sort," probably, since he couldn't be certain what was being implied, "harm or otherwise."

[tono_twerp]

The poor man was so timid. And yet, Mayuri couldn't quite bring himself to make it stop: rather than walk away, start the project, or simply laugh him off in a friendly way, he made a weak verbal protest and stayed close to him. Tamaki's heart swelled, and his jaw set with determination.

"Then you must indulge me," he said, stepping up to him again and looming over him, watching his face tenderly, aiming for eye contact. "Humour my foolish feelings and allow me a moment's delight at simply being in your company."

[law_of_reason]

"Are you mad?" he asked - an honest question rather than an insult. Insanity was too often a label handed around without cause, when the true culprit was simple idiocy or lack of judgement. But this was beyond poor judgement, this was entirely surreal.

He still didn't think the boy was having a joke at his expense, which removed malice as an intention. Tamaki appeared too dense to know what he was in for, so Kurotsuchi doubted that the boy was trying to distract him as a means to escape either. And while Kurotsuchi knew he had enemies, he couldn't believe any of them would send in someone like this as a means of revenge.

Which... didn't leave him with many other options. It felt like at each moment he had to stop, recalculate what was going on - and still fail to predict any of it. He returned the gaze, undaunted by the other's superior height, wondering if a deranged mind really was the answer.

[tono_twerp]

"Only with desire!" he returned, happily. This was familiar territory, at least. Mayuri's question was a classic, a neat and effective one that covered a wide territory including banter, teasing, and the display of concern at the idea that they might get caught. He was rather pleased things were finally going better.

He bent down low over the man's face, keeping eye contact, lifting his hand again and draping it along his multi-coloured cheek.

"Don't worry," he added, softly, in case Mayuri really was nervous. "Nobody will know! There's nobody here but us; we have the place to ourselves. We have infinity, Kurotsuchi, in which to open our hearts and souls to each other..."

[law_of_reason]

He was going to point out that Nemu was probably around somewhere, so they weren't completely alone, but that would've brought logic into a situation where it didn't seem to want to apply. And the boy was touching him again, and being stubbornly nonsensical, and Kurotsuchi was getting more than a bit disconcerted.

"What sort of game are you playing at?" If Tamaki thought this was the way to get into his favor, it wasn't going to work. He tolerated the nearness with a show of indifference; he wasn't going to start being bothered by that kind of thing, of course not. He was the one who could rattle people that way, it was impossible that a human could get to him.

[tono_twerp]

"Oh, but this is the oldest game in the book," he replied, softly, pleased to note that the alien wasn't drawing back any more, was not afraid. "The game of love! The constant search for understanding and mutual compassion; could anything be better?" He smiled, his gaze travelling over Mayuri's face.

"And with such a beautiful companion, too," he said, honest admiration in his voice. "You're like a jewel, sparkling in mysterious and glorious colour..." Still keeping his motions slow and gentle, he tried to slide his free arm around the man's waist.

[law_of_reason]

Alright, some of the compliments weren't bad (far too few appreciated his effort, after all), but he still didn't see the point to them. The nonsense about love and compassion was entirely laughable, and added more weight to the idea that the boy's mental status was off. "That's not any game I'm interested in."

And now his curiosity was primarily morbid; like a cat watching a mouse blissfully attempting to groom one of his paws, he didn't assist nor avoid Tamaki's arm, only observing the peculiar effort.

He was getting far too tolerant of irrationalities in this world. But it was the price to pay for his research.