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[A hand suddenly being pressed against his cheek gives him a start. It snaps his attention onto Asougi. The lights in the room flicker as he felt something in his heart. It was warm, calming, welcoming, like whatever they had been working yourselves up over was just a distant memory now. That familiar feeling of safety and assurance from his friend he's come to expect, and yet...

His hand reaches up to rest over his friend's as he leans into the touch, closing his eyes. There's another feeling there now, sitting somewhere deep in his heart. He pulls his friend's hand away as he leans forward, extending his arms out to pull Asougi into a hug.]

[ Asougi leans in to that, closing his eyes as he rests against his friend. Slowly, he draws his hands up to wrap his arms around him in turn. This was why he needed to pause, needed to think before things like that task in the future. Maybe he could plan better. Maybe having Naruhodou insist on coming along wasn't so bad; he could reconsider what was reasonable with those tasks and go from there. Not that he was entirely satisfied with today's results in general.

What he isn't thinking about is the warm feeling growing in his chest, and how the room gets just a bit brighter at that. ]

[He squeezes him gently, pressing his head against friend's. If they stayed like this all night, Naruhodou wouldn't complain. There's nothing really going through his mind other than feeling content, to keep his friend in his arms.

And yet...he could have more.

He shakes his head.] Hey...do you want to go back upstairs? [Now that things have calmed down for the most part, tiredness was catching up with him.]

We should. [ It's a murmured response, his forehead resting against Naruhodou still. And yet, despite his words, he isn't making a move to get up just yet. Another moment of this warmth, and he'd be satisfied. Probably. ]

[Naruhodou wasn't making much of an attempt either. Just another moment before he manages to slide a hand down to grab a hold of Asougi's arm.]

Before Holmes shows up and gets the wrong idea, again. [There isn't as much bite to his word, as if he was questioning it. Was it completely as off as he had originally thought...?]

[ The "wrong idea" . . . part of him wants to say to hell with Holmes, but he can't quite bring himself to do that. He can't bring himself to pull away either though, so Asougi sits there for perhaps a moment too long. He can feel his face flushing a bit, the air around him getting hotter, heavier.

And then he crams those feelings back down into a box, sliding it back with all the other things he's boxed up over the years. Asougi pulls back, turning his head towards the stairs quickly. ]

. . . Right.

[Naruhodou felt himself lean forward slightly when Asougi backs off. He manages to stop himself, considering his friend for a moment. Maybe he was seeing things, but he seem flustered for a moment. It was...actually kind of cute. The side of his face was right there, exposed to him. His hand was raised, hovering in the air for a moment until he goes right for it, gently sliding his hand up and against Asougi's cheek.

They'll go upstairs sooner or later.]

[ Asougi immediately looks surprised when he feels that hand on his cheek, jerking his head back towards Naruhodou in an instant. There's a split second where there's the briefest amount of vulnerability on his face — because why on earth is he doing this now, does he even realize, does he himself even have any clue of what this is — before the red shade returns. He huffs at that, feeling the heat rise once more. ]

Weren't we going upstairs . . . ?

[He blinks and starts laughing softly.] Yes. [He lets his hand sit on Asougi's cheek for a little while longer, almost stroking it before lowering his hand. He's smiling, clearly finding something amusing.]

Right. You'll have to let me get up first. [He's sort of still sitting in front of him.]

— You were the one keeping me there.

[ But he . . . hasn't moved either, actually. ]

Ok but- [He's having giggling fits now.] my point still stands that you're in front of me and I can't get up.

Wh— what's so funny? Just stand!

[ That red on his face just isn't going away, is it. ]

Y-Your face... [Naruhodou's laughter wasn't going away either.] But...but okay. [He'll try to stand up and try not to fall over onto Asougi.]

[ Asougi moves back and away as Naruhodou stands, straightening up himself and shooting him a glare. ]

What—?!

[Oh that just made him burst out laughing properly now.] I=It's just...I don't know! [Everything is hilarious now.]

You're still laughing . . .

[ He looks extremely unimpressed with Naruhodou right about now.

But he's still kind of red in the face. ]

Stop making me laugh then! [???]

I'm not doing anything!

[pfft] Hahahaha, you're so worked up!

I'm— I'm not . . .

[ Congratulations, Naruhodou — you've managed to fluster your best friend after who knows how long. ]

[He pats his friend on the shoulder. His laughter subsiding just enough for him to give his friend a smug look.]

Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret.

Wait— what secret—?!

[ What's with that look? What does he know. ]

Exactly. [The plot thickens.]

. . .

[ He just stares over at him flatly.

like why, man. really. after all that, why? ]

. . .I did get a response from you though. [He's hung out with Holmes for too long. But he's going to just leave him with that, now giving him a genuine smile. He didn't seem any longer upset about whatever had happened earlier tonight.]

So, we were going to head upstairs, right?

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