An afternoon alone with my favorite book... [OPEN]

[koukai_kirai]

Who: Hijikata and OPEN
When: September 9th, late afternoon
Where: The Far Shore, in a garden near the library
What: Hijikata is at real risk of actually getting some peace and quiet. Can't have that!



It's quiet...

(Maybe too quiet.)

Hijikata looks up from his book for a moment. It's shaping up to be one of the first chilly evenings at the tail end of summer, and he's enjoying the last of the long evenings and the full greenery. A book of poems in one hand, a hand-rolled cigarette in the other, far from the chaos of the Near Shore...

It's just a little bit strange to actually be left in peace, he thinks, sighing out a thin trail of smoke. He'd better finish this book before he loses the opportunity...

Comments

[birdstheword]

Of course something had to jinx that quiet.

Hijikata may or may not feel a pair of curious eyes staring into the back of his head or over his shoulder. Hajime tries to catch a peek of what he's reading, standing on her tip toes and leans over. Whatever it's about... Hijikata is making it look like an interesting book!

[koukai_kirai]

Hijikata's used to sensing when people are nearby or when they're looking at him. He's a little less used to them actually craning just to get a look at what he's reading...

Maybe she'll leave him alone if he just holds it so she definitely can't see. It's not that interesting, is it?

[birdstheword]

If he's going to hold it out of her view it's just going to entice her inch that much closer. With that still not being enough to see the text, Hajime reaches out with both hands so she can gently place them on his shoulder for balance as she leans on him so she can peer over.

Hi Hijikata. Don't mind her. She's just curious.

[koukai_kirai]

Ugh. That's about as badly as his strategies have ever gone, and he's died before.

"...Can I help you?"

[birdstheword]

"Oh, hello!" Hajime chimes, practiaclly beaming at him. This of course doesn't mean she's moving away. No, she seems pretty comfortable just leaning over him like that. What's personal space between two strangers?

"I wanted to see what you were reading. You looked super into it! Adventure? Sci-Fi? Romance? Oh! Oh! Maybe something with samurai?"

[koukai_kirai]

Hijikata blinks, and just barely holds back the urge to mumble I am a samurai at her.

(He remembers her forcing him to take a "selfie" with him, a while ago. It's a bit horrifying to realize that maybe this is just... what she's like as a person, all the time.)

"It's nothing that dramatic," he sighs, holding up the cover so she can see it. Poetry -- an anthology of old tanka.

[spes_phthisica]

Far too quiet. At least that's how Souji feels about it.

Mind you, he doesn't really say all that much as he just... casually drapes his arms around Hijikata from behind, propping his chin on his shoulder so that he can get a look at the book he's holding. But good luck focusing from this point onward.

[koukai_kirai]

Ah. Clearly he's been terribly remiss, paying attention to something other than Souji for nearly a solid five minutes of non-training, non-fighting time. He sighs, inwardly resigning himself to his fate even as he stubbornly flips to a new page and tries to keep reading.

"Yes?"

[spes_phthisica]

He should be ashamed of himself.

But Souji just laughs softly into his ear, before nudging it gently with his nose.

"I take my eye off you for two seconds and you run off to read. Am I that tiring, huh?"

[koukai_kirai]

"In case you didn't notice, we came to the library. Did you think I was going to run off to do something else?"

He keeps his eyes on the book, but does shift until he can get an arm around Souji's slim shoulders, a concession that he hopes might buy him some more time.

[spes_phthisica]

Souji makes a happy little noise as Hijikata's arm wraps around him, snuggling closer.

"Well, I knew you were getting books, but I wasn't actually expecting you to run off." Which is a little bit unfair, since Souji had been the one to wander off and get distracted by the kids in the children's section. "You're a very ill-behaved god."

[koukai_kirai]

It's so... so easy to make Souji happy, sometimes. It's fascinating, and every time he realizes it, it unknots a little more of the unease with himself he's carried with him his whole life.

"Not allowed to smoke in the building."

He waves his non-book hand to illustrate.

[spes_phthisica]

Souji makes a little face at the cigarette, but it's mostly to tease the other man.

"Huuuuh. Are you sure it's not just that you're trying to get away from me?" Considering how he's bumping their cheeks together fondly, it's pretty obvious that Souji doesn't believe that for one second.

[koukai_kirai]

"Tch. You've caught me. Couldn't stand to look at your face another minute."

He ruffles Souji's hair, and keeps skimming the index finger of his other hand down the page as he reads.

[spes_phthisica]

"You know, sometimes you're not a very convincing liar." Souji laughs, and although it still feels a little bit scandalous to do so just like that, he affectionately brushes his lips along his god's jaw.

"Anyway, I guess you're trapped now."

[koukai_kirai]

"Terrible."

He can't make that sound even remotely convincing, so he doesn't even try. Souji's being ridiculous, and it's... it's charming.

The little bastard.

[spes_phthisica]

Even though they're still testing the waters a little bit, tentative and a bit awkward, Souji is still absolutely certain that nothing has ever been as comfortable as spending time with Hijikata like this. Not to say that he wasn't utterly comfortable even before their relationship took this turn, but not having to hold himself back whenever an impulse beckons makes it even better.

He tries to follow Hijikata's finger and read the poems with him, but he doesn't read quite as fast, and he his focus quickly drifts anyway. Instead he starts trying to pointedly distract him by kissing his cheek, blowing in his ear, nibbling on his jaw.

[koukai_kirai]

They probably should hold back a bit more in public. The Heavens aren't exactly very approving of excessive fraternization between gods and their shinki.

Good thing he's never actually cared much about anyone's approval, when weighed against something he knows to be right and important. And while a few things have temporarily managed to be more important, there's little that's ever felt as right as having Souji in his life and in his arms, laughing and teasing and making a big distraction of himself.

Eventually, that distraction does become a bit too much to keep pretending to ignore. He shuts the book, glancing over at Souji with a mock-stern expression.

"There isn't something you want, is there?"

[spes_phthisica]

Souji makes a triumphant little noise when it's clear that he's managed to defeat the book in terms of taking up most of Hijikata's attention. Not that there was ever really a question about it - he knows exactly how wrapped around his little finger his god is in these matters.

He smiles, winding his arms a bit tighter around his neck and leaning his forehead against Hijikata's temple. The Heavens can just look the other way, right? This is none of their business. "How did you guess?"

[koukai_kirai]

Hijikata, for his part, huffs in mostly-feigned irritation as Souji worms his way even closer, tossing the book aside.

"You wouldn't expect any less from your god, would you?"

throwing this after our other thread haha;

[sonofson]

"Hijiiiiikata!!!!"

That quiet is all but gone as Goten dives down to him. Gripping the straps of his backpack, Goten drops down to Hijikata. What was he doing over here?

"I went to your house and I didn't see you there. I was starting to think I wouldn't find you." He grins as he lands, shrugging off the backpack and holding it up proudly. Forget the book, Hijikata.

Books are boring!

lmao yes good

[koukai_kirai]

That's... certainly a way to make an entrance.

Hijikata sits bolt upright in surprise at the sudden noise, nearly hitting his head against the trunk of the tree he's sitting under. At least the other interruptions to his reading time started quietly...

"I live at the temple. You don't think I'd have come home sooner or later?"

[sonofson]

"I donno...sometimes I sleep over Izumo's instead of going home. I thought you might do the same so I flew around looking for you. You're hard to find." He gives a shrug. Hijikata might do similar things. Goten doesn't know all his friends so there's no telling if he does sleep overs or not.

Hijikata's energy is really hard to sense to. He almost passed over him.

"What are you doin' here anyway?"

[koukai_kirai]

It somehow doesn't seem worth pointing out to Goten that he could have texted him, or waited until later if it isn't an emergency. Hijikata sighs, and waves his book in the air for a moment.

"What's it look like?"

[sonofson]

Goten stares at him for a second.

"Did you come all the way over her just to read?"

Sorry, Hijikata. He's not seeing the appeal of that at all. But to each their own. Hijikata is older and it's older people that seem to like to read a lot.

(ooc)

[redmare]

[Sorry I just had to say that I love the Avenue Q reference >>]

[irishfriskey]

He's been spotted walking through the garden. Or so he thinks. The man does go back to his book, at least. And it's not like he was doing anything wrong.

However, he is curious about the man, and slowly moves closer to him. "May I sit?"

[yasei]

Obi, out exploring and always nosy, looks around Hijikata to see what he's reading...but he can't really tell what it says. This Japanese thing doesn't always translate, does it.

"What are you reading, Mister?"