Remnants of the Earth
AEDOLIS => Haviah => Advanced Training Complex => Topic started by: Blue on March 27, 2012, 11:46:28 pm
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This was already a regular occurrence…or, well, part of it was anyway. By now he was used to the currently Stage 5 candidate hanging out in his room - the man was his best friend, and had been for quite a while now. They’d even been roomies, at least until one had gone to Stage 5 and moved into the Citadel.
Of course, that hadn’t stopped them from hanging out whenever the opportunity presented itself.
All that being said, today was still…uh…different.
A long time ago Raniero had heard about his friend, Dakota’s, original life plan - that was to be a stylist. Now Ran had always known Dakota wasn’t the most…masculine guy out there.
To be honest, he was basically a chick without boobs at this point.
Still, Ran was chill enough not to really care - not to mention you’d take any friends and allies you could get in this sort of place. That wasn’t to say he was all that eager to be used as a guinea pig for all of Dakota’s style ideas and new products.
After years of being badgered though, it was inevitable he’d eventually cave.
So here he was - sitting in his room, across from his long time friend, and utterly surrounded by things that should really only be seen in a woman’s bathroom. To say he was mortified was an understatement, but he was putting on a brave face - he was a bit paler than usual, but hey he could buck up and deal with it like a…man…oh hell.
At least there was nobody around to see this happening.
“So, uh, Kota…what exactly are you planning on doing again?”
-
It was the day Dakota had been waiting for for years.
The day he could finally make-over his friend!
What could he say? He was a helper and he wanted his friend to look his best. Plus it was hard enough finding willing [strike:136nfs82]victims[/strike:136nfs82] volunteers in this place where so many folks were just so...so...stiff and full of machismo. What? Like you couldn't kick ass and look fabulous at the same time? Pah! As far as he was concerned, he wanted to hand down Piloty baddassery and look immaculate in the process. You never knew when there would be photographers and interviews so it was nice to be prepared! Same way you always packed away a pair of clean underwear when you went out on the town 'cause you never knew when you'd get lucky.
People were just so silly about this stuff.
"Well!" Dakota said with a smile as he started to unload the tote bag he'd brought, setting various skin and hair products onto Raniero's bedside table. He'd probably brought way more than he needed, and way more than Raniero would be receptive of--but he figured he should come prepared for anything! May as well push his luck while he had his friend a ready and willing captive!
"I was thinking we'd start small. Like, you know, your hands! Now, I don't know about you, but my hands just get so dry, you know? I think it's the electricity. All that static! Or maybe it's the other way around, I get all static-y because of the dryness. Whatev! A good moisturizer helps a lot, though! Now give me your hand."
Dakota didn't wait for Ran to obey. Settling down on the bed, Dakota snatched up his friend's hand and turned it over, examining it this way and that and making disapproving tutting noises.
"Now, I know we're all very physical here but that's no excuse! We're almost Pilots and public image is very important! What are you currently using?"
-
In retrospect, the whole ‘sitting on the bed’ thing was actually making this whole uncomfortable situation that much worse. He now felt like a girl at a slumber party, preparing to have a make-over. Only…a lot less willing and eager. He was trying incredibly hard to keep it from showing on his face - he didn’t really want to hurt Kota’s feelings, the guy was his best friend.
Even if he did feel like a teenage girl right now.
The waves of enthusiasm were almost visible as they emanated from the excited Stage 5 candidate, and Ran couldn’t stop one of his dark eyebrows from arching slightly in amusement. Hot damn he was seriously into this…Ran would really have to watch him otherwise he’d end up with make-up or something at the end of this.
“Guess I never thought about potentially making my static problem worse.” he chimed in, though as per usual Kota had already snagged his hand before he’d even had a chance to register the request. By now though, the large teen was used to casual touch from his friend - and as per usual, there was a slight arc of electricity that bridged their hands moments before they touched.
By the time Kota had finished inspecting and tutting over his hand, both of Ran’s eyebrows had arched over his bright sea-green eyes. This guy…I’m being chastised over my dry skin. The grin was quick in spreading across his lips, but it was rather more the opportunity for an off color joke that was causing him such amusement.
“Hell Kota, I don’t know, I’ve never really paid attention. I don’t really use lotion for my hands if you know what I mean.”
-
"I know exactly what you mean. Dry elbows, right? That's the worst. Mine would get so bad sometimes they'd get all cracked and--" Dakota shuddered. "Not good. Knees, too. But you really should give your hands some attention, too. Everyone notices hands and you use them for everything so it's really easy to get them all banged up."
Still holding Ran's hand in one of his, Dakota used his free hand to rummage about in his pack of supplies for what he needed, bringing out a small tube of cream. He squirted some onto Ran's hand and then started to massage it in, working from wrist to finger-tips and paying special attention to his cuticles. If Ran was uncomfortable, Dakota didn't seem at all bothered, like this was the most natural thing in the world. Not only was he comfortable with Ran himself, but he was also just comfortable with casual touch in general and had always been the grabby sort.
"You should also consider a face moisturizer. Dry skin looks older, you know. Oh, and preferably, you should use one with an SPF of at least fifteen. Not that you need it here, but once you get out on missions and stuff--whoo! That sun is fierce. Oh! And before I forget..."
Dakota nodded to his bag, now working on Ran's other hand. "I brought two colors I thought would look fabulous on you. Which speaks to you: Pink Passion or Turquoise Dream?"
-
Without fail, Kota delivered a beautifully ‘ignorant’ response to Ran’s joke. A bark of bright laughter escaped the dark skinned teen at that, and he had to reign in his chuckling in order to respond.
“Oh yeah, those dry elbows are something else.” There was still a snicker in his voice, a full on smile flashing his white teeth.
The hand massage was actually kind of nice, once Ran got over the dark amusement at the tube of lotion. Kota was good at this, unsurprisingly - briefly Ran wondered if he could somehow convince his friend to give him a back rub later. That would be fucking phenomenal.
“You trying to say I look old Kota?” was his quippy reply, though he was amused rather than actually offended of course. But man, how many places did he need to put lotion on anyway??
“You know Kota, I’m beginning to think it’d just be easier to bathe in lotion at this rate. I’m gonna spend twenty minutes every day just trying to moisturize every inch of my skin.”
And then bombshell number one. Ran blinked bright blue-green eyes once, twice, three times. Then he stared at the bag for a long moment. And then back at Kota’s face.
There was that deep terror of not knowing what exactly Kota was referring to, coupled with some really frilly sounding color names.
Why the hell was he playing along with this again…? What a best friend he had…
“Uh…I guess ‘Turquoise Dream’ sounds slightly less mortifying to me.”
-
"You will start to look old if you don't take care of yourself," Dakota answered, deadpan, still massaging Ran's hand. "And putting lotion everywhere would just be awkward. Applying it to the places that are normally exposed will suffice and it shouldn't take twenty minutes to do that, either."
Poor, poor Ran. He really was taking this like a champ. For a moment there, Dakota had been afraid that he'd gone too far, that maybe he should have gone for a more neutral color, that he'd just ruined his opportunity to completely spoil his friend and that any second now he'd be bolting out of the room like a spooked hare.
But then Ran picked a color and Dakota visibly relaxed, a bright smile spreading across his face. He dropped Ran's hand so he could clap his own. "Excellent choice! That'll go amazing with your eyes! See?" Reaching into the pack, he pulled out some bright turquoise nail polish and held it up at eye level. "It's a near perfect match!"
-
“Mmm, full body lotion, something to try next time I have company.” Was his only reply to Kota’s deadpan response, a deviously rogue grin on his face as he sometimes got. With his looks, that sort of dangerous grin tended to just make him that much more attractive - unfortunately he hardly ever got a chance to exploit that with the ladies. The higher in the program he went, the busier he got - getting laid was becoming a hell of a chore.
Ran couldn’t help but to notice the obvious relief that had washed over Kota when he’d picked a color. Man, this guy was really loving it…Ran gave a mental sigh. Backing out now seemed like kicking a puppy or something…then again, Kota’s sad or disappointed face was worse than kicking a puppy. It was down-right crippling, like a woman crying or something. Ridiculous.
Guess there was really nothing to be done about it - he wanted to keep his damn best friend happy.
Oh. Nail polish. Well, could be worse, heh. Blinking those matching eyes, Ran was kind of surprised to see just how uncannily similar the polish was.
“Woah. It really is.”
Then his brain caught up.
“Wait. Did you do that on purpose?? Do you have my exact eye color memorized?”
-
Dakota let out a bright laugh and shook his head. "Oh, no, silly! I have pictures," he said, as though it were the most obvious thing ever.
"With all the information being crammed into my head, it's hard enough remembering what I look like sometimes. No, I just shopped around and compared until I found a match. I figured I'd pick a 'safe' color and a more 'edgy' color, in case you wanted to be daring. You know, 'real men wear hot pink' and all. It's very in this year."
Dakota fished out a file and, grasping Ran's hand, he went to work evening out his nails. "Manicures in general aren't just a girl thing either, you know. Lots of men get them. They're very relaxing. Pedicures, too. Oh! I could give you a pedicure! They're lovely. There's nothing wrong with spoiling yourself, Ran. Goodness, lots of Pilots do it."
-
Right, pictures, silly him. The fact Dakota had actually spent the time to compare nail polish colors to his eyes was the truly frightening part. Who did that?? Fuck, he couldn’t even think of any girl who would do that. His brosef was really something else.
He just shook his head with a sigh, his inky black ponytail sliding off his shoulder at the motion.
“Thanks but I think I’ll be keeping pink out of my wardrobe this year. And the year after that. For eternity.”
With troubled sea green eyes, Ran watched as Dakota took a file to his nails. What in the fuck was going on, it was like the twilight zone or something. To think he’d be sitting here, getting a manicure…and that it’d be his best dude friend doing it. Even if he was sitting still and being a ‘good boy’ about it, his brain was still in a constant state of boggling.
“You seriously want to touch my feet now too? You know, fuck it, as long as there’s a massage involved, I can deal.”
Speaking of which, he was still pretty dead set on making sure he got that back rub thrown in too. If he was going to have to be ‘spoiled’, then he was damn well gonna make sure he actually got to do something that was legit fun.
You know, after he got his nails painted. Fuck.
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"Oh, well, of course. It wouldn't be a proper pedicure without one," Dakota said with a cheery smile that belied the more devious thoughts beneath. A massage, huh? He wondered what else Ran would play guinea pig to with the proper bribing...
He finished filing Ran's nails, cleaned away the leftover nail-dust, and then took a cuticle-pusher to his fingers. Goodness. It was like he'd never paid attention to his nails in his life, and Dakota found himself tutting disdainfully as he worked, shaking his head. It didn't take long to finish, though (he didn't want to torture his friend too much on his first time lest he never agreed to this again!), and finally he got to applying the actual polish.
It was a brilliant shade of turquoise, rich and vibrant with a slight iridescent sheen. Because plain polish was just boring and, alright...so he'd brought some decals and gems with him, too...
"It looks even better on than in the bottle!" Dakota said as he worked. "Oh, I should have brought my peacock decals. Those would look amazing against this color."
-
Indeed, Ran was a very simple man - if you knew what to offer him, it was pretty likely you could get what you wanted out of him. Well…baring some things, he supposed…
…
…none really came to mind at the moment, but he DID have limits okay!?
“Great…a bit bizarre still, but it’s a massage so I won’t complain.”
As mortifying as this was, it was kind of amusing too. Who had a best friend willing to rub their feet, really now. Not a half bad consolation prize, all things considered.
The tutting over his nails had him biting his lip in an effort not to laugh. Really huh? That bad? So bad you have to keep making noises about how bad it is? Without actually saying anything? Cuz you know, not like your face isn’t showing your disappointment or anything there Kota. Not at all. Nope.
…wait, what?
“You…have peacock decals? What, painting the nails in a shimmering shade of turquoise or pink isn’t enough? You gotta stick things on them too? How distracting do nails need to be?”
Seriously, at a certain point you could just flash somebody your nails and they would be so stunned you could probably rob them blind.
….
…..peacock decals. What the hell.
-
"Oh, it's not that bizarre," Dakota said with a smile. "Don't worry, it's perfectly normal and not at all homoerotic, I promise. Many men give men massages, just like women give women massages. Some people prefer same-sex massages because it makes it less uncomfortable. You know, if you're a man that fancies women, things could get a little...awkward... when you have a lovely lady rubbing all over you."
At Ran's question, Dakota nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes! I just picked them up the other day! I just hadn't unpacked them yet so I forgot them...but I still have those!"
He nodded toward his bag of miscellaneous wonders and flashed Ran a happy grin. "You can look through it! I have a lot of other decals and gems. Ah! I could do an ocean theme! Or maybe a constellation..."
-
Ran just stared at Dakota for a long moment, a look of…well, it was kind of hard to really describe it. Part confusion, part horror, part disbelief.
“…Way to make that really awkward Kota. Seriously, you should have just stopped…preferably before the word ‘homoerotic’. Thanks for that, bro.”
Shaking his head, he tried to remove that really bizarre set of visuals from his head. Now that foot massage was going to be a lesson in awkward, seriously…
His bright sea green eyes flickered over to the bag, and one dark eyebrow simply rose. Seriously man, seriously? Finally he just snorted and then laughed a bit, shaking his head again.
“Uh, seriously, I think I’ll pass. I have no idea how I’m gonna explain any of those if somebody notices. Just be happy with the nail painting, okay?”
Although, the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if a constellation would actually be cool…really, it was just a bunch of dots, right? Might make for an interesting conversation piece…
…wait, fuck. Augh Kota-logic was invading his head!!
-
"Oh, sorry! I forgot. If you're bi, it could potentially be awkward whatever you do. Better just hope it's not someone you're attracted to!" Laughing, he nudged Ran lightly. "So, see? You should be fine. Now! We're done with this hand--just gotta do the topcoat after I finish your other hand--but it'll take a while to dry. So don't. Touch. Anything."
Dakota flashed Ran his best evil warning look--which wasn't very effective, coming from a guy with cutesy cupcake, doughnut, and cake clips in his curly red hair. Dakota was well aware of that, however, so he accentuated it with a light poke in the shoulder that made static pop between them.
"I mean it. Now then, next hand," he said, holding out his hand and wiggling his fingers impatiently.
-
“Wai-bwuh?? How did we get onto bisexuals??”
This guy, how did he keep moving the conversation onto rather awkward topics??? And why did he say…what exactly was he trying to say right there!? Eeergh, freaking Dakota, seriously!
“You know what, I don’t want to talk about massages at all anymore. Done, end of subject, please move on.”
…well, they moved onto his painted nails. Great. At least he could be baffled about that, rather than trying to get the visual of some dude rubbing on him out of his head. Ugh.
A dark brow arched at Kota’s ‘srs bsns’ face, fail as it was with all the cutesy clips and overall baby face - but then he was rewarded with a sharp shock that made him flinch slightly and laugh.
“Oy asshole, watch it will ya? If I jump thanks to that shocking touch of yours, I could smear the nail polish I must be oh-so-careful not to mess up.”
Kota demanded his hand next, and generally they’d have been fine to touch - Kota’s mischievousness earlier had dispersed their natural charges.
Of course, Ran wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity.
Playing along and shaking his head, he placed his un-painted hand into his friend’s more delicate one - and gave him a deliberate shock that would likely make all that curly red hair take on its inner afro.
Somehow he managed to maintain a perfectly innocent smile through the whole thing, too.
-
"Ow! Hey!" Dakota yelped in surprise as the shock traveled up his arm and set all the hair on his body standing on end...
...Including the ones on his head, his immaculately styled hair frizzing out and puffing up into a mess of curly fly-aways and fluff.
With a groan, Dakota dropped Ran's hand so he could rub at his arms and smooth down the pale hairs before he even attempted to tackle the mess he knew was his hair, because he was afraid of what he'd find. Wincing, he reached up and felt at it--and groaned again, staring at Ran in wide-eyed horror. "Raaan! Why? Do you have any idea how hard it is to style curly hair?!"
Especially his, which was beastly! It was thick and had a natural tendency toward fluff and it took a good deal of hair care products, straighteners, hair thinning, and curling irons before he got it to do what he wanted it to do.
-
Like he could possibly keep a straight face after THAT reaction. Oh holy fuck look at his head!
“Pfffft!” And then he doubled over in laughter, just barely remembering to keep his painted hand away from everything so as not to smear it all to hell (hey, see, he listened!).
As his friend lamented and whined, Ran was too busy trying to get his belly-aching laughter under control, roughly wiping at a few tears in his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Oh fuck Kota, you should see your hair right now…frizzy-fro is a go!”
Quelling another burst of chuckling, he threw his hands up in a mild ‘please don’t retaliate’ gesture.
“Well considering my hair is not curly, I’d have to say no, no I don’t. But come on, nothing a little spit can’t fix!” with that, he held his hands in front of his face and made to lick both his palms before rapidly rubbing them down Dakota’s mangled mane of frizz. Of course he hadn’t actually been so cruel as to wipe his spit on his buddy’s hair, but he just couldn’t contain his mischievous nature.
“C’mon, quit your bitching, and let’s get you to the bathroom you big diva.”
Still grinning a bit like the Chesire cat, he hooked a hand under Kota’s elbow, and half lifted half dragged him into the nearby bathroom. It was tiny, but surprisingly clean, considering how much of a dude Raniero usually was. Crammed in front of the sink, he turned the faucet on and wetted his one good hand down, this time actually making a concerted effort to smooth some of the curly mess - though he was biting his lip the entire time, in an obvious anti-laughter precaution.
-
"Ahhh! RAN!" Dakota let out an undignified squeal of horror when the man pretended to lick his palms and wipe down his hair, because he wasn't sure that Ran wouldn't really do it. His hands shot up to his hair but, finding it was still dry, he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't have much time to truly enjoy said relief, however, because the next thing he knew, Ran had grabbed him by the arm and was hauling him into the bathroom.
Ran was having way too much fun with this. It should be illegal, the amount of fun he was having.
Before he could do anything to stop it, Ran was running his wet hand through his hair and Dakota stared at his reflection in the mirror--then up at Ran, who seemed to find this all just so funny. Crossing his arms over his chest, Dakota poked his bottom lip out in a pout.
"I'm glad this is all so funny for you," he said, but alright, the guy was making an effort. He supposed he probably shouldn't point out that, in the end, water would just make things worse once it dried. If there was such a thing as worse in this situation. "You just don't understand. Your hair's perfect. You can just let it dry and put it up and it stays like that!"
He slumped forward against the sink. "Not all of us are so lucky. Some of us have to actually try."
-
It was hard to maneuver in this little cube of a bathroom, especially with two grown young men in it, but he was managing pretty well. Even if they were basically crowded against each other - though the constant touch stopped them from accidentally shocking one another. All the same, during Kota’s extensive belly-aching, Ran had managed to retrieve some mousse from the cabinet under the sink.
Straightening and setting the can down with a metallic clink, he snorted at his friend.
“Perfect is it?”
He finished wetting down the frizz, so that Dakota’s hair returned to something resembling curls. Then his bud, in his lamentation, slumped against the sink. What a freaking drama queen! Rolling his eyes, Ran tucked the mousse under his arm and then moved behind his friend before forcing him to stand up straight again. Luckily he had a few inches on the Stage 5 Candidate’s 5’7” frame.
“Yeah yeah, quit your bitching already.”
Emptying out some of the fluffy white foam onto his hands, he dove in with both sets of long fingers. With a surprisingly amount of dexterity he wrestled Kota’s damp hair back into something resembling it’s original state. Even though he was fixing it, he couldn’t help the mild smirk on his lips the entire time.
“Sorry princess, but I don’t have a blowdryer, so you’re just gonna have to make do with an air dry.”
-
Pulled upright and pressed against the bathroom counter, Dakota tried not to think about how they were currently positioned, or what this would look like to anyone looking in from the outside. He bit his lip to keep from laughing, but it was hard!
...Heh. Hard.
Oh gods, where was his mind going? Anyway! It was just funny. For someone as...well, he didn't want to say Ran was homophobic, but for someone as uncomfortable as Ran was at the idea of love between men, he was certainly oblivious! It was difficult not to say anything but he behaved, because he was playing with his hair and he liked it when his hair was played with--even if he couldn't yet tell if Ran was doing more harm than good.
He was at least making an effort.
A pretty good effort. His hair no longer looked like a giant wad of cotton.
He stared in shock when it was done and brought a hand up to feel his hair. "Wow..." he said, head tilting. "For someone so beauty-inept, you didn't do half bad." Hair was a little stiff, but it was bearable for now. "With a little more practice, you could be pretty decent at this."
-
Totally oblivious to Dakota’s wandering mind, he finished up his task to the best of his ability. And it was true, he was surprisingly good at this whole styling business - then again, his hair wasn’t as ‘perfect’ as Kota assumed it was. Not that he’d bring that up - he didn’t want his friend over for hair sessions as well!
“Beauty-inept? Sounds like you’re tryin’ to call me ugly Kota. I’m wounded.”
Hmm, now what to do with his mousse-stickied hands…
“Haha, sorry but I got no desire to become a hair stylist. Now move your girth.”
Without waiting, he just rubbed both of his hands against Kota’s cheeks, transferring some of the sticky mess to his best bud. With love, of course!
Grinning impishly again, he then hip checked the poor candidate out of the way so he could rinse off his hands in the sink. Oh, haha, he still had one unpainted hand…it looked a little ridiculous to have lopsided nails. At the same time…he wasn’t sure if he could trust Kota to finish the job without doing something back to him, eheh…
-
"Girth? Girth? What're you trying to say? You calling me fa--ahh!"
That was when Ran pressed his disgusting, sticky, filthy hands to his cheeks and got mousse all over him! Dakota let out a scandalized yowl, but before he could jerk away, he was hip-checked out of the way. And off Ran went to wash up, looking oh-so-pleased with himself, the devil! Dakota stared at him in horror, hands half raised to his face, but he knew that he'd only get his hands sticky if he touched his cheeks. Ugh, ugh, ugh! So gross!
"Augh! Why would you do that? You know that's a good way to cause a break-out, right? Move it!"
Not waiting for Ran to obey, he grabbed Ran by the hips and tugged at him, trying to move him out of the way. His face took priority to Ran's hands!
-
Seriously, seriously…Dakota’s reactions made everything worth it. Even if he would probably pay for it somehow one day when his friend felt especially vicious…it was the horrified squeals and indignant yelps that nearly made Ran double over with laughter. Best. Reactions. Ever.
“Oh nooooo, not a breakout! Whatever shall you do???” He mocked in a high somewhat girlish voice, just about done with washing his hands by the time Kota decided to take things into his own.
…‘Things’ being Ran’s hips.
Snorting, Ran quickly grabbed hold of the rim of his sink so as not to be jerked off balance, before bursting out laughing despite himself.
“What are you doing? Is this like a reverse hip thrust?? Let go you big baby, I‘m almost done!”
He didn’t want to let go of the sink, because all the tugging would probably send him toppling into his idiot friend in this tiny bathroom, and he really didn’t want to smack something bony into something unforgiving. At the same time, both his hands and the sink were wet, so he wasn’t quite sure he was going to win this awkward little tug of war if Kota decided to man up and actually put some oomph into it.
-
Ran's mocking was not helping. He did not sound like that! And besides, this wasn't a laughing matter! "Do you enjoy whiteheads all over your face? Because I sure don't! In fact, I'd pay you to find a single person who does!"
Gods, did Ran not realize how serious this was? His face was kind of important!
"Think about it! How are the Pilots--how is anyone--gonna take me seriously if I still look like a prepubescent teenager?! I have to look my best! Not like I've taken beauty tips from the moon!" he continued, still struggling to yank Ran out of the way, but the guy had a firm grip on the sink and it was proving difficult.
"And this," he said, grunting with the effort, "is called manhandling. Now let. Go."
That was when he planted his feet and really pulled, grabbing Ran by the belt loops for purchase and yanking with all his might.
-
He couldn’t help it. He was laughing so hard now it was getting kind of painful to breathe. He just kept going on and on about his precious face! Ran would have liked to retort, but again - too much laughing, not enough breathing left for actual words.
M-Manhandling…he was about ready to die of laughter, he couldn’t oh god.
And then his pants were digging abruptly into all the soft squishyness of his stomach as Kota grabbed his belt loops and yanked like he meant it.
“Hrk!”
His hands slipped as he was yanked so awkwardly, and two people’s worth of backward moment was suddenly headed out the bathroom door like it or not.
Smacking into Kota rather unceremoniously, there was a sharp crack of electricity between them before he realized they were now both headed toward a nice meeting with mr. floor.
Oddly, the only thing he could think - apart from maybe ‘haha shit’ - was that he was going to hurt Kota if he landed on him. Not like he could do a whole heck of a lot about it, but all the same he did try. He reached down with both arms, trying to at least partially catch himself first so not all of his muscular frame squashed his bud.
He was rewarded with a rather uniquely vicious brand of pain shooting straight up his wrists, which was quickly followed by bursts of similar pain in his elbows. And then the rest of him hit Kota brand padding.
“…ow…fuck…ow. Y-you okay under your new Ran blanket…?”
-
A low groan was Ran's answer. Dakota was effectively pinned beneath his friend, his breath coming out in a low wheeze. He squirmed a little to try and free up a lung, since his were currently quite compressed.
"Ummm..." More wriggling, and then he just went limp with a rattling sigh, out of the energy needed to keep up a struggle. Besides, when it came to brawn, Ran had him beat; there was no way he was getting out from under him until Ran wanted to haul himself off, and he'd just waste more breath and strength trying. "Well...I'm not dead so yeah! Peachy! I think I can taste my spleen though..."
Reaching up, he poked his fingers into Ran's sides, electricity crackling through his fingertips. "Now get off me ya big dragon! Your Ran blanket's making me a Kota pancake!"
-
“Mm sounds tasty.”
He could tell just by his voice that Kota was winded. Then again, that tended to happen when another guy fell straight onto your chest. Ran was currently trying to bite back any groans of pain his now-throbbing arms were causing, while trying to figure out just how best to get up. Their legs were still in the bathroom doorframe, and he had a dresser to one side of him. This was hella awkward, ugh.
He jerked as he was shocked, but ended up laughing all the same.
“Did you just call me a big dragon? Just how much do you think I weigh anyway? And you’re pretty uppity for a pancake. I don’t like it when my food talks back.”
Even as he was bantering away, he was carefully rolling onto his hands and knees - at least then he could stand and get out of Kota’s way in this rather narrow landing pad they’d chosen.
Not caring that he was now hovering over Kota in a rather interesting manner, he was more concerned with how bad an idea that had been. Sitting up sharply (hi Kota’s hips, you are now a seat) he grimaced down at his own wrists.
“Ow, fucking hell. Did I seriously double-sprain this shit??”
-
Dakota's grin turned sly. "Oh, I'm food now, am I?" he said, and with a laugh he shoved lightly at Ran again. "Does that mean you want to eat me?"
But silliness and suggestion aside, Ran's pained sounds didn't escape him, and his grin faded. As Ran rose to his hands and knees, Dakota looked up at him, chewing on his bottom lip in concern. Something seemed to be wrong, and Ran was moving far too ginger--ack!
Then Ran was basically straddling his hips and sitting in his lap. No big deal! Except that put them both in a rather awkward position made all the more awkward by the fact that Ran was putting pressure on all the wrong--or very right--places. His face heated and he went very still, because squirming would not help his issue any.
He swallowed. "Er...are you, uh, okay there Ran?" he asked, and reached out to lightly pat Ran's hip. He cleared his throat. "Um. Might wanna let me up? Maybe? 'Cause if it's sprained we should like go get it looked at." And because while he liked the view, Ran better not move too much because this was so not the moment!
-
Ran groaned again as he tried to flex his wrists, only to be met with more pain.
“Yeah, let’s just dump syrup on you and call you breakfast.”
He quipped right back, if not a bit less than energetically. Man that fucking hurt. His elbows hurt too, but he was pretty sure that was just bruising. This is what he got for trying not to seriously hurt his friend - he got hurt instead, haha.
“Yeah, sorry bro.”
He stood surprisingly smoothly with just his lower body strength - not surprising if you’d ever seen him in a swimsuit quite honestly. Stepping around his poor sprawled bud, he quickly made his way back to the bed and sat with a huff. Hm…how bad was it really? He started to breath slowly, trying to work through the pain. How exactly was he supposed to explain this injury to the medical staff anyway? Sorry my best friend manhandled me right out of the bathroom and onto the floor? That sounded great.
“Well damn. This means no jerking off for at least a month.”
-
Sweet, sweet relief. Ran got up and saved him from an uncomfortable situation and, slowly, he sat up. He got off a lot lighter than Ran did--no real injuries, just a slightly sore bottom--and, admittedly, he felt pretty bad about that. He hadn't meant to hurt his friend with their rough-housing.
Rising to his feet, he took a seat beside him and reached out gingerly to feel one of Ran's wrists--and then choked when Ran made his rather timely quip, considering the circumstances. He pushed past it, though! Ran was injured! Focus, Kota!
"If you've got a sprain, we really need to get those on ice and get you down to the infirmary," he said, frowning and meeting Ran's eyes. "You can't just let it go, you have training! They need to know! Come on, get up. I'll take you there!" Getting to his feet, he slid a hand under Ran's armpit to try to pull him up.
And then, just because he couldn't help himself...
"Oh and, you know, I wouldn't say you have to go a month. I mean, I could always help you. I wouldn't mind!"
-
Ran somehow managed to avoid making a sound as the touch caused electricity between them again. Well, that’s just what his wrist needed. But he would never hold that against Kota - he was the only other person in this place that truly understood how depressing it really was to shock anything and everything you touched. Of course, Kota had way better control, which meant that all their accidental shocks were more than likely entirely Ran’s own fault at this point. So yeah, he didn’t say anything, and just let his friend gently inspect his throbbing wrist.
“Ugh this sucks…”
But he couldn’t exactly argue his bud’s logic. This wasn’t something he could hide. He kind of needed his hands, after all. Groaning as he was pulled, he finally got to his feet - only to be floored by that comment.
He actually flushed just slightly under his tanned skin, before laughing in somewhere between amusement and embarrassment.
“Oh my god Kota, shut up.”
Lotion, massage, and now this. It was probably the proper poetic ending to the day, holy shit. Shaking his head, he made his way toward the door.
“Let’s get this over with. And we can just say I slipped and fell in the bathroom. As ungraceful as that sounds, I really don’t think they need to know you of all people was manhandling me.”
-
Was that a blush he saw? Laughing, Dakota slung an arm around his friend's waist--forgetting about the shocking issue once more, whoops--and guided him out the door.
"Hey, friends don't let friends suffer. Just saying, is all," he said. "Just throwing that offer out there, so do what you want with it. Now, let's get you fixed up, you klutz!"
Of course, he couldn't just leave very well alone, and Ran's reaction had been so amusing! The next day he fired off a text to his friend, as he often did when he was bored.
10:34am
Dakota
oh Ran, forgot to tell you! if you need help showering or anything, what with your fragile wrists, I can help you with that too! ;)
-
10:50am
Raniero
Like hell I want you in the shower with me. Look what happened last time we were in the same bathroom.
-
10:52am
Dakota
oh but we were roughhousing then! i'd be far more gentle and get all your hard to reach places!
-
10:54
Raniero
Oh my god seriously. I don’t want you thinking about my hard to reach places, thank you kindly. You know I have to say all this shit out loud right?
-
10:53am
Dakota
would you prefer i just think about all your hard places then? ;)
-
11:00am
Raniero
Don’t start casually omitting words. I’m going to take a wild guess and say this is your revenge for the frizz-fro.
-
11:03am
Dakota
revenge? what? no! my intentions are totally genuine!
oh oh but the real reason i texted you is i'm out shopping right now and i'm a little torn on what to get.
what do you think of this?
65788738.jpg
501k Download
[image is of Dakota standing in the mirror of a dressing room, wearing naught but a red and black corset-style lingerie set, complete with lace]
-
Somewhere in there, Ran had dropped his phone in mute horror. What in the HELL had his friend just texted him!? What…what…that wasn’t something he wanted burned into his memory, about his best friend no less!
11:10am
Raniero
This is revenge. This is definitely revenge. What the hell am I supposed to say to that!?
-
11:15am
Dakota
you're supposed to tell me what you think about it and if you think it looks good on me or not! these things are expensive, i want to get what looks best on me. :)
but it took you so long i thought it might be bad so i tried something else!
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501k Download
[Once again, another image of Dakota in the dressing room mirror, this time in an open front "babydoll" piece, this one blue and transparent. He has matching stockings on, as well as lace garters to hold them up. His expression is nothing short of sultry as he strikes a little pose, one hand aiming with the phone, the other arm stretched above his head, and his hip popped slightly to the side.]
-
He was going to break his phone at this rate. He actually begged off his next class, claiming wrist pains too bad to take notes. There was no way he was having this conversation in front of other people! He actually had to say his texts!
11:30am
Raniero
You have gotta be shittin me. You are not serious. Are you?
Then again, it was Kota. He could…actually be serious.
11:31am
Raniero
Is this teasing? Harassment?? Do you actually want me to give advice on which ladies lingerie to pick!?
-
Dakota had spent a ridiculous amount of time in the dressing room at that point, but that was okay, because he had several outfits to try on--which meant more images to send.
11:34am
Dakota
i actually want an opinioooon!
what about this?
which of the three i showed you is the sexiest? (:
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501k Download
[Another image, this time of him in a maid style lingerie set that leaves very little to the imagination. He even has a feather duster to go with it.]
-
Now in his room, Raniero wasn’t sure he was actually having this friggin conversation right now. Seriously?? Seriously!? He was actually blushing, and he rubbed at his face gingerly, glad nobody could see it.
11:36am
Raniero
…what the…is that a maid…you know what, never mind I don’t want to know. And by what criteria am I supposed to be deciding how ‘sexy’ this is or isn’t??
-
11:39am
Dakota
ok heres the criteria: does it titillate you? (:
-
11:41am
Raniero
You didn’t just go there. This is probably sexual harassment, right? You’re my senior and you’re sending naughty pics to me. You should be ashamed. Do I seriously have to pick one? What happens if I don’t?
-
11:43am
Dakota
are you asking me to stop, Ran? ;)
i will have to keep sending pics until i find one you like enough.
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501k Download
[This one is a picture of Dakota in a white corset lingerie set, complete with matching stockings and garters. He is angled slightly to the side, showing off how the lingerie laces up the sides--and also showing off his rather nice legs and rump.]
-
11:45am
Raniero
Yes oh my god please stop. These are not the images I want in my head of my best friend, thanks. Are these getting more risqué?? Where are you even shopping??
-
11:46am
Dakota
awww...what are you saying? ): you dont like how i look?
-
11:48am
Raniero
I…what?? Don’t pull that guilt crap on me now! I…you…I don’t know?? You look like a girly guy in lingerie! I’m way more uncomfortable with the fact you’re somehow pulling it off!
-
11:49am
Dakota
(:
so you admit it looks nice? which one is your favorite?
i need to get out of this dressing room eventually!
people are starting to get annoyed...so i tried on another one to have a reason to still be here.
65788742.jpg
501k Download
[Image is of Dakota in a sheer pink and white lolita style lingerie set, all ribbons and lace and stockings. Even has a pair of tiny angel wings on the back, but is rather devilish in design.]
-
11:52am
Raniero
Ok ok stop! I’ll pick one, so stop! Holy shit man
Great, that meant he was going to have to scroll back through all those pictures and actually pick one. Because he knew if he just blurted one out, Dakota would press him for why and…whatever. And because…well, he wasn’t the lying sort, even over something as absolutely absurd as this.
-
12:01pm
Dakota
aaaand? better hurry! i just got undressed. if you dont hurry i may send you a nudie since you dont seem to like me clothed. ;)
-
Ran nearly choked on his own spit at that one. A nude pic was the LAST thing he wanted to see. It wasn’t even like he had a choice. Since he had to do everything with his voice (no touching the thing directly, just through the thick rubber case it had to stop him shorting it out), he’d set it to automatically open messages so he could reply.
The nude would flash onto his screen with or without his consent. And he’d have to stare at it while trying to formulate a reply. This thing would pick up his sputtering, if not his awkward blush.
12:05pm
Raniero
Oh my god please don’t. Ok ok the…uh the corset one! That white one. Ok??
-
12:06pm
Dakota
that your final answer?
-
That was a bit of a dubious reply. But what else was he supposed to say??
12:07pm
Raniero
Uh yes!
-
12:08pm
Dakota
perfect. (:
there now, that wasnt so hard was it?
see you in a few!
-
Haha, not hard, real funny given what Dakota seemed to want as ‘criteria’ for this ridiculousness. He shifted a bit then. How soon was a ‘few’? Just where exactly was Dakota anyway?? He was still flushed rather uncomfortably, but it was best to play this one off awkward as it was.
12:09pm
Raniero
Wait, you’re coming over? How close are you man? I still need to eat lunch.
-
12:16pm
Dakota
im on the shuttle on my way back!
and i come bearing gifts so dont worry about lunch. (:
-
Ran eyeballed the text dubiously. Was he finally going to be subject to revenge after all this time? He was pretty well known for fucking with his friends pretty mercilessly at times, and Kota was one of his favorite targets for teasing. Maybe it was about time he got his, eh?
Groaning, Ran flopped back onto the bed, letting the phone flop somewhere among the pillows. Closing his eyes didn’t exactly help - he felt like those absurd images had been burned behind his lids. That was just cruel and unusual man. Who else had a best friend that cross dressed in lingerie and then sent pictures?? And then asked to give opinions?? Didn’t Kota have any girlfriends for that stuff?
“Ugh.”
He rubbed his annoyingly still-warm cheeks before launching up to get a glass of water. Wincing a little at his double-sprained wrists, he glanced back at his dorm door.
Man, he really hoped those ‘gifts’ were just food.
-
It wasn't too much longer before there was a knock at Ran's door, followed up by Dakota waltzing on inside. "Hi, Ran! I'm here!" he called as he swept inside.
And indeed, he did sweep inside.
For in a fit of boredom, rebellion against the oppressive uniforms of candidacy, and joy at the new-found freedom of Stage 5, he had gone all out on this shopping trip, and had decided to wear home what he'd bought, because it was too good not to. No, not the lingerie, exactly. This was a dress--a floofy white lolita-style dress he fancied would match the lingerie set, because he was all about matching, complete with stockings, poofy petticoat, and lots of lace. He'd put a matching bow in his curly red hair, as well, and fancied he looked pretty cute, if he did say so himself.
In one hand was a plastic bag filled with lingerie. In the other, a paper bag filled with food from his favorite organic sandwich shop.
He headed into the kitchen and gave a cheery wave to Ran. "Lunch is served!"
-
Ran stared blankly for a moment.
“Yeah I can see that.”
He muttered. He’d never really seen his friend full on dressed like a woman. As expected, Kota pulled it off freakishly well. White was a good color on him.
Wow ok brain, just go sit in a corner now. Fashion shit is not your forte.
He skirted past Dakota on his way to the tiny kitchen alcove, sitting himself back on the bed somewhat awkwardly. Man his trouble senses were tingling right now. There had to be something coming, some cruel trick waiting.
Still, wrapped wrists in his lap, he gave an amused sort of grin.
“You sure did some shopping. Uh…nice dress. Which is really weird to say. What did you bring for lunch?”
Man thank god he was still somewhat able to play it cool.
-
Dakota followed Ran to his bed and, floofing his skirts out, took a seat beside him.
"Thank you!" he said, beaming happily. He set the paper bag between them and brought out two paper-wrapped items. One had an X on it, while the other was blank. He handed the blank one to Ran; that was the sandwich that had the meat. "I brought us sandwiches! I imagine it's been a while since you've had outside food, and now that I'm Stage 5, well, I can shower you with more!"
He began to unwrap his own sandwich, carefully and only after spreading several napkins across his lap to protect his dress. "Anyway, this is from a little sandwich shop down the way. 100% organic! No artificial garbage. It's amaaaazing."
-
Ran fought, and failed, not to shift awkwardly as Kota sat next to him amid ruffles and lace. This was so bizarre. So, so, so bizarre. He had to remind himself a few times this was his best friend here. There was no reason to feel so uneasy. And if Kota did exact his revenge today? Well, Ran knew he deserved it, so it was ok! So come on man, just relax already.
Luckily their normal banter came easily enough.
“…Oh shit I didn’t even think of that! You could be my food smuggler. That’s a freaking GREAT idea haha!”
Amused with the prospect of ‘outside food’, he took the sandwich and bit into it. He was still fairly clumsy, what with his wrists both wrapped and all and unable to bend. He glanced over at the napkin blanket Kota had made for himself, and fought back a snort of amusement.
Munching away, he rolled his sea green eyes as his friend gushed.
“You and your organic food. Honestly if it tastes good, that’s enough for me. And yes, this does taste good, healthy crap or not.”
-
"Food smuggler. That sounds so dangerous and covert and important! I like it!" Dakota said, daintily eating his own sandwich. "Feel free to text me requests! Just no fast food. You know I don't do fast food."
That stuff was just pure awful, all that unnatural junk that stuck to your arteries and made your heart clog up! Sure there were treatments for that, but it was best not to get to that point in the first place!
On the last half of his sandwich, he side-eyed Ran as he ate, noting the difficulty he was having. Chuckling, he shook his head. "Look at you, poor thing. Still can't really use them, huh?"
-
Ran rolled his bright eyes, a bit more exaggerated than necessary.
“Fine fine, no fast food. Man, what a buzz kill. Can’t even clog my arteries with you around.”
Grinning, he continued to awkwardly eat his own sandwich. Ok but really the worst part so far had actually been his morning shower. You didn’t realize how much you used something until it was injured, that was for sure. And for BOTH of his wrists to be out of commission really royally sucked.
Well that’s what he got for roughhousing.
He sighed at that question, waving one stiff hand around for emphasis.
“It blows. At least a month for these wrappings, so says the doc. He also told me to be more careful getting out of the shower next time.”
At that he laughed, actually quite amused, given how absurdly wrong it was when compared to the actual situation that had caused his injury.
-
Mouth full of food, Dakota snorted a laugh in a most unrefined manner. He covered his mouth with another napkin and smiled, a bit embarrassed.
"He bought the story, then?" he asked and laughed again, trying to picture the scene. Oh, poor doctor. Then again, knowing doctors, he was certain they saw a lot that was worse--or more unusual. Candidates got bored and stressed, after all, and that lead to questionable exploits.
He pat Ran on the shoulder. "So have you been following his orders?" he teased. "No more wild, crazy shower business?"
-
Ran snickered mildly at his friend’s near miss with snorting his own food. For as dainty as the guy was trying to be today, that was pretty amusing to watch.
He finished off his sandwich easily enough, before the pat on the back. Chuckling, he gave a lopsided grin.
“Oh yeah, I’ve kept the shower trips tame, don’t worry. No more wild bubble parties for me.”
-
"None? Aw. But that's right, you don't have a bathtub here."
Dakota let out a blissful sigh, gathering up his wrapper and stuffing it into the bag before setting it aside. "My apartment has a bathtub, Ran. Not just a shower, but a tub. I get to have bubble baths!"
He gave him a teasing grin. "When you graduate, you can, too!"
-
Making an effort at balling up his own wrapper, he decided it wasn’t worth the effort to try and get it into the paper bag with Kota’s. He chose to toss it in that general direction and let it be. He could clean up later anyway.
The mention of bubble baths made him laugh. How appropriate for Dakota.
“I don’t know about the bubbles, but man a hot bath sounds frickin amazing. How’s that for unwinding after a day at work? I sometimes forget the perks that come with graduating, after getting so used to things here.”
He waved at this room idly with a wrapped hand. He still had to actually manage to get past this stage though, and figuring out his power would be key. He didn’t wanna get eaten by a dragon, after all.
Aside from that, he felt kinda bad that Kota had to go out of his way to come hang with him now. Aw shit, speaking of that.
“Thanks for the food Kota.”
-
"You're welcome! Someone's got to make sure you're properly fed. And honestly, Candidate food is so gross. All those preservatives..." Dakota trailed off as he eyed Ran's wrapper, sitting right next to the bag because Ran couldn't be bothered to reach over and manually put it in. They were only a few inches apart! Was it seriously that strenuous?
With a sigh and a shake of his head, he tucked the trash away and, hopping to his feet, he made sure the bag landed where it belonged: in the trash. He gave Ran a very pointed look as he performed the task. That done, he spread his skirts and sat back down.
"As I was saying," he said, leaning in and nudging Ran in the side, "you haven't lived until you've had a bubble bath. When you graduate, I'll have to drag you over so you can get the full experience! A nice, bubbly soak and a full-on makeover! And movies! Haha, we can have sleepovers!"
-
“I’m definitely down with you being my food smuggler. I gotta agree with you on the candidate food, if not for the same reasons, heh. I miss real food like you wouldn’t believe.”
And then Kota was cleaning up after him. At that rather pointed stare, Ran found something quite interesting to stare at on the ceiling. It couldn’t have been any more comical unless he’d started whistling too. Man couldn’t even make a mess in his own room! Heheh, that was just like Kota though.
The nudge earned a snort from Ran.
“It’s not like I’ve never had one before, come on, I’m not that uncultured. Its just been a long time and I think I’ll definitely enjoy it more as an adult. Ah but you and your makeovers!”
Laughing, he gave Kota a rather firm nudge over.
“Seriously you’re possibly more suited to be a stylist than a Pilot the way you go on about this stuff. Though hell, on the flip side, guess I won’t have to worry about appearances with you as my personal aid over here.”
Honestly it’d be nice to be able to hang out with Kota more regularly, but at the same time he was pretty sure he was going to end up knowing way too much about how it felt to be a teenage girl.
-
"Well, I did want to be a beautician before all this happened," Dakota said with a sigh. "And as you can see, I haven't given up that dream! I don't know what you mean by I'm more suited to that, though. Just what are you implying?"
He fixed Ran with a mock scowl, gave a little huff, and crossed his arms. "I can be a very deadly stylist, you know! Why, I'll bet I could make a weapon of a blow-drier! Shoot electricity and bad guys and all that! Electrocute them with hairspray! Stab them in the eye with a pair of scissors! Or, you know..." His scowl melted into a grin. "Wreck their day with a bad haircut? Honestly, I think that's the most grisly of those options."
Reaching out, he casually ran his fingers through Ran's hair. "Speaking of which, you look about due for a trim."
-
Ran would liked to have kept a straight face, but in the end the visuals proved too much for him. A sputtered snort escaped him before he burst into laughter, shoulders shuddering as he curled up and attempted to stifle it. All he could picture was Kota in a dress shooting electricity out of a blow dryer, the salon in shambles and some movie style pyrotechnics in the background. It was the single most absurd thing he’d ever imagined and he was almost to the point of tears because of it.
Still recovering, he could hardly answer his friend.
“O-Oh yeah…definitely the worst…”
And then he fell into another burst of snickering.
He was wiping the corners of his eyes when Kota reached out to his hair, and the need for a trim was mentioned.
“Eh? What, do I have split ends or something?”
He plucked at his own hair idly, and then shot his friend a sideways glance.
“After that talk of poking people in the eye with scissors, I may not be letting you near me with any sharp objects for awhile.”
-
Dakota weathered the laughing fit with a tired, long-suffering look on his face. He honestly didn't see what was so funny about anything he'd said. He thought it sounded pretty badass and scary, because how freakish would getting attacked by an innocuous item like a blow dryer be?
By the time Ran was finished, Dakota was pouting. "I might jab you with them just for that," he said with a sniff and roll of his eyes, and ruffled Ran's hair until it was good and messy for good measure. "Really, a blow-dryer gun would be terrifying! Jeez! But anyway, yeah. Your hair's kind of...well..."
He eyed the ends. "Split ends, yeah. And dry. Have you ever heard of conditioner?"
-
Ran endured the ruffling easily enough, mainly because he was laughing again. And anyway, there was no reason to risk injuring himself by trying to fend off the ‘attack’ - mussed hair was not quite the nightmare to him that it was to his friend.
Terrifying indeed.
Then it was his turn to roll impossibly bright eyes up toward the ceiling.
“Honestly Kota I’m not a caveman, yes I know what conditioner is. Believe it or not, I use it. There’s some in my shower if you care to check.”
He smirked then, a flash of white teeth in his usual manner.
“Just be careful you know, it’s surprisingly dangerous in there.”
He waved a wrapped wrist about for good measure. Dangerous showering was already shaping up to be a joke he refused to drop for awhile yet.
-
"It must be your shampoo, then," Dakota said, blinking in obvious surprise. Alright, so maybe he had been assuming Ran was a caveman as far as this stuff went! Then he grimaced. "Oh, of course it's the shampoo. The shampoo here was awful! Sorry, I got a little spoiled, being able to buy my own stuff again. I'll bring you some of mine! It's organic and amazing. No parabens or harmful sulfates or anything! That'll probably help."
His hand was still in Ran's hair as he talked, absently stroking his scalp. While it seemed like an absentminded gestures, as though he'd forgotten his hand was even still there, he rather liked messing with Ran's hair. Even if he felt it had room for improvement.
"Yes, I think I'll do that. I'll skip the trip to the shower, though! Sounds...too extreme, even for me! Ah! Speaking of extreme, as in extremely cute, I forgot to show you!"
Standing up abruptly, he hiked up his dress, clear to his thighs, so Ran could properly see his stockings--and the garter and garter clips attached to them, pink and white to match his dress. "Look! I found these last minute!" he said, grinning. "Good thing, too. The stockings kept falling down."
-
“I have…no idea what you’re talking about, but sure. And geeze, are you gonna keep rubbing it in that you get to come and go now?”
Even though he said it as a jab, he was smirking despite himself. He didn’t really hold that against his friend - if anything, he was happy for Kota to have gotten to stage 5. And hey, now he could get stuff from outside the ACT with his personal ‘smuggler’ right?
He didn’t think much of the idle rubbing, although it did feel nice and soothing. He just wasn’t paying it any particular attention.
“Eh?”
Extremely cute?
…………..
……….
….
“Don’t FLASH me, jesus Kota!”
Jerking and flushing a bit at the abruptness of it all, he ended up with quite the eyeful despite his intentions. Oh great, yet another questionable visual to have burned into his mind! Honestly, he didn’t really want garter belts and stockings to be associated with his best friend…those were supposed to be sexy!
“Ok ok, I see em, put your dress down! Eeesh man. The pictures weren’t enough, you gotta give me a live show too??”
-
Dakota made a face, face scrunching in distaste. "Flash you? This? It's just legs, Ran. And it's a pair of covered legs. Stocking-covered legs. Honestly, you can't get any more decent than that! Gods, you would think I'd dropped my drawers and mooned you!"
But then he paused, glancing at Ran's flushed face, and grinned slowly. His head tilted, curious.
"Wait. Are you blushing? Raaan. Don't tell me stockings are a thing for you...?"
-
Right, covered legs. Stocking covered legs. His male best friend’s stocking covered legs! It still wasn’t exactly something he wanted to see! Even if Kota had something of a feminine face, his body was still male, and it was…kind of an odd mix.
“Yeah yeah, well all the same don’t moon me either.”
He shifted uncomfortably…and was struck dumb by the next question. He stared at Kota, and then blushed both out of embarrassment and a bit of flustered anger.
“Don’t say it like that! It’s not like I have a kink or something…”
He rubbed his face vigorously. This was ridiculous.
“Stockings are pretty hot, sure, but like…it’s a bit awkward to see them on you, ya know?? Er, I‘m not trying to bash your tastes or anything…”
It was kind of hard to say what was on his mind without accidentally insulting his bud…
-
Dakota burst out laughing and flopped onto the bed beside Ran.
"Oh, Ran! You don't have to get so defensive. It's okay if you've got a kink! Or a fetish. That's half the reason I wear them. The other half being they look pretty fantastic on me," he said with a wink. "Wear what makes you feel good, right?"
He kicked out his legs, glancing down at them. "I guess I can see how it's awkward, though, if you haven't been exposed to it a lot."
-
Unable to force his blush down below a rather warm glow, Ran finally had to admit defeat. Huffing slightly, he leaned back onto his elbows on the bed and snorted.
“Well, now that I know one of your fetishes…”
It could only be Dakota…only he could get away with doing something so absurd. Honestly, Ran wasn’t sure when he’d started putting up with such levels of bizarre…when did this become normal??
All the same, he was still grateful to have Kota as his best friend. Maybe that was why, even with such a strange situation, he still felt (mostly haha) comfortable around the ginger candidate.
He ended up looking at Kota’s legs along with his friend, and stopped himself from saying anything for a minute. He really didn’t want to say something that would sound unintentionally rude. He liked Kota as he was, which included his sense of style and, er…bold decisions.
“Well if you feel good in it, more power to you dude. And uh, yeah…gotta say I’m not exactly used to that. First of all, stockings of that variety are definitely not part of the dress code. And secondly…well, it’s not every day you see your best guy friend flaunting them either.”
-
Dakota laughed again. "Was it ever really a secret to begin with? Honestly, Ran, who doesn't have a bit of a stocking fetish? They look bloody fantastic! I would be shocked at anyone who claimed it didn't at least do a little something to them." And then, thinking, he paused. "Except, I suppose, for asexuals. But even they can appreciate the aesthetics."
Stretching out onto the bed, he rolled onto his side so he could face Ran. "Anyway, I know it's not like it's the norm here, dress-code wise, but it's not like candidates are so innocent. I mean, I know I still managed to get a hold or porn here and there. You know, good friends smuggling it in and--oh! Oh, gosh."
Smacking his forehead, Dakota shook his head as though embarrassed with himself. "Jeez, I've been a failure of an upper level candidate buddy! Look, Ran, if you want me to smuggle in some porn, too, so you have some eye candy to go with your meals, I can do that for you. You just have to let me know what you're into."
-
With a snort, Ran couldn’t help but agree.
“True enough, heheh.”
It was probably harder to find someone who didn’t like stockings, rather than the opposite.
And hell, he knew for a fact candidates were not innocent. It was more like…getting a hold of that sort of thing that posed more of a problem. Although Kota brought up a good point…haha, the smuggler angel again eh?
Rolling his head onto his shoulders to better look down at his friend, he arched an eyebrow at that final exclamation. Oh gosh what?
…
…
…
“…did you just offer to smuggle porn in here for me.”
He was torn between being amused and surprised. Finally, he settled onto laughter, shaking his head somewhat.
“You’re something else Kota. I never even…fuckin’ thought of that. Wow. All this time I’ve been missing out.”
Come to think of it though, he’d been too busy to even realize it these days. He was shipped off here when he was 15 years old…sure, he’d seen porn by then, but it was still something of a laughable fascination. Since arriving here, he’d learned that touching people tended to be rather uncomfortable for the other party, and most of his fooling around ended early due to potential injury.
Shit man, he was already 19 and he was missing out big time!
As if deep in thought, his brow furrowed and he flopped onto his back. Drumming his hands on his stomach for a moment, he finally spoke.
“Hell man, come to think of it, I don’t even really know what I’m into. I haven’t actually got ahold of a porno mag since I was fifteen you know?”
-
Dakota grinned broadly and rolled onto his belly so he could kick his legs up, showing off his stockings.
"Oh yeah, hmm? Not sure what you're into? Because I have a few ideas, considering your reactions to certain things," he said, cradling his chin in his hands and still smiling slyly. "But it's okay if you're not sure, you know. That's what experimentation is for! And heck, some things are great in your imagination but aren't things you'd actually want to do, either. Fantasy versus reality and all that."
He shook his head. "Anyway, I can pick you up a few magazines and you can see what does it for you! I guess the main question is do you have anything you know for sure you wouldn't like? I mean, I wouldn't want to bring you some bondage magazine if that stuff freaks you out."
-
Turning his head slightly, he narrowed bright eyes at Kota.
“I probably don’t even want to know what you think I like.”
One of those times where it really was better not to ask. He could only imagine what Kota would come up with, oy…
Snorting at the bondage bit, he shook his head again.
“Hell I think at this point I’m more curious than anything. I think you know me well enough not to pick up anything too bizarre.”
He then gave Kota another side-eye glance.
“Then again, who knows if I can trust you not to do it just to spite me.”
He was smirking despite himself though. That would be a pretty great joke though…only bring somebody terrible porn while they’re stuck in a sexless environment.
…
Eheh. Sexless. Yeah that was sort of his own personal problem thanks to his electro kinesis. Honestly, he seemed to have the sort of charismatic aura that people just assumed he’d easily gotten plenty of sex. The opposite was true, but he wasn’t about to correct anybody on it.
Honestly he couldn’t even remember whether or not he’d asked Dakota if he had similar problems with touching others…heh, not a conversation he wanted to have any time soon what with his bud owing him a good prank now.
-
Dakota mimed writing into a notepad. "Bondage it is, then! And hey, you know you can trust me! I'm not going to plop the weird stuff on you just because!" He paused. "Unless it's so bizarre it's funny or just plain, 'how do they even do that?!' weird..."
Tilting his head, he returned Ran's wary glance with a smile. "As to what I think? I think you have a thing for sexy lingerie. And that's easy enough to get! I mean, that's pretty standard, vanilla stuff. Easy peasy. Oh! Do you have a gender preference? Or is it all pretty much a green light?"
-
He snorted, but decided against saying no. Besides, he was kinda curious. No harm in that. A chuckle did escape him at that last bit.
“Ok, in that case yeah, because then we can have a good laugh at it.”
Sometimes stuff was too absurd to take seriously.
Flopping his arms back, he groaned.
“Oh my god please drop the lingerie thing already, I still have to try and get those visuals out of my head, you troll.”
Ah right then, the gender question. It ought to be obvious by now…then again, Kota was probably trying to cover all his bases.
“Uh, let’s stick to girls, thanks.”
-
"Ooooh, so you're still thinking about me, hmm?" Dakota said with a flutter of his lashes as he peered at Ran through them. "Duly noted! So are you sure about the just girl thing? Because, you know, there are androgynous men, too! And if my photos got that much of a rise out of you..."
Dakota grinned and poked Ran in the belly. "Just saying."
-
Oh fucking hell, of course Dakota wouldn’t drop it so easily! Dammit man, aaah, he wanted to cry…
Flushing again, he gave a pouty sort of glare at his bud. The only answer Kota received was an abrupt (and rather awkward thanks to his wrists) swat with a pillow.
“Get lost you brat! Honestly…”
-
Dakota threw up a hand in time to catch the pillow, but only because Ran's wrists made him a little slower. Laughing, he rolled onto his back and clutched his belly. "Ahaha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You're just so easy to tease! Honestly, Ran, you leave yourself wide open!"
-
Ran made an over exaggerated scowl, nose wrinkled and all, but it pretty quickly melted into a lopsided grin as Kota lost himself to laughter.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up you ginger menace.”
We’ll see who has the last laugh here.
Even as he was called ‘easy to tease’, he settled back into his reclining position, slowly reached out, and touched Dakota’s ear with one finger.
Which was enough to send a spark of electricity that once again turned his friend into an afro monster.
-
That Dakota had no time to defend himself from. One minute he was resting on his back, having a good laugh, and then...
Zap!
With a squeal of surprise and panic, Dakota jerked bolt upright and felt frantically at his hair--which, indeed, had become a poofy mess of horrors. With another little squeak, he spun around on Ran, betrayal in his eyes.
"You monster! Why would you--? How could you--? Oh! You're asking for it now, buddy!"
And then he lunged at Ran and pounced him, pinning him down in his puffy, lacy dress and promptly straddling him so he could commence tickling him mercilessly.
And with the way Ran's wrists were bound, he would have a difficult time defending himself.
-
Ran started out laughing, but it quickly turned into a shout.
“Don’t hurt the cripple! Hey!”
He didn’t have a chance to curl into a ball, and instead ended up with another full grown man sitting on him.
“Oof! Lay off the organic cupcakes you-ahaha! Fuck! No, cut it out!”
Sputtering, he flailed both legs as the tickling began. He couldn’t hold back the laughter, even as his practically useless hands attempted to stop Kota’s assault.
“Help! Ahaha, help I’m being attacked! Pfft, ahaha, I’m being attacked by an afro monster!!”
Since his current attempts weren’t getting him anywhere, he tried bucking upward and twisting his hips in an attempt to throw Kota off balance. He was bigger than his friend, but they both had the same amount of training, and he wasn’t exactly liking his odds with Kota on top already.
-
Dakota was relentless in his tickling, only shifting his weight to compensate when Ran struggled. "Excuse you! Are you calling me fat? Because I'll have you know that's pure muscle, mister! I may look frilly and poofy, but I assure you beneath this dress I am one-hundred percent beefcake!"
Laughing, he grabbed for Ran's wrists to try to pin them both in one hand so he could tickle him without getting smacked, but that was when Ran bucked his hips. Unfortunately, Dakota had been leaning forward when he went for the wrist grab, so the movement pitched him off balance. With a yelp, he flopped forward onto Ran--and mashed their mouths together in the process.
-
If Ran was laughing before, he could hardly breath by the time Dakota declared himself ‘100% beefcake’.
Oh fuck man, he was gonna piss himself at this rate. This sucked, seriously, he could hardly breathe and tears were in the corners of his eyes.
A different set of stinging tears sprung up in his eyes moments later when, none too gracefully, they shared a rather ‘smashing’ kiss.
He half expected to taste blood with the way his lips were screaming in pain, crushed between two sets of teeth as they were. Turning his head, he let out a pained hiss.
“Ow, ow, fuck…fuck me that hurt. Shit. Ah, crap you okay Kota? Are you bleeding?”
-
Brilliant white lights blossomed before Dakota's eyes, right before the pain bloomed in his mouth. Pushing himself upright, tears in his eyes, he clapped his hands to his mouth and then glanced at his palm, expecting blood. When he saw none, he pressed his hand back to his lips again and groaned, eyes shut.
"Owww...man..." he whimpered, then cracked his eyes open at Ran's question. Glancing at Ran, and then at his palm again, he nodded.
"I...yeah. I'm not bleeding, at least! And my teeth are all still there. I think." He felt them with a finger just to be sure, and nodded. "Ugh...gosh, I'm sorry, Ran. Are you okay? I didn't mean to, uh...lay one on you quite like that."
-
It was so absurd, but when Dakota had to put it that way, Ran couldn’t help himself. He found himself laughing again, even though his mouth and his sides were both terribly sore.
“Ahaha, ow ow…yeah, no permanent damage.”
He snickered again despite himself, though regretted it as pain rippled through his lips.
“Ah, you know, I hope you don’t kiss everyone that way. You’re liable to chip a friggin’ tooth.”
-
Still rubbing his sore lips, Dakota gave Ran an incredulous stare. "What? No! Of course not! Only you get the special kisses, apparently."
With a grunt, he sat upright, still straddling Ran though he either didn't notice or care. "I mean, gosh. Rough is fun but it's not actually supposed to hurt like that, you know."
-
Special kisses, riiight. He snorted with a smirk, but decided against laughing again. Man that smarted…guess that was to be expected, given how sensitive lips were. Ahaha…what if they both ended up with a fat lip? Wouldn’t that be hysterically awkward…
Ran found himself straddled again for the second time that afternoon, but a quick glance at the situation alerted him that there was not going to be a way to remove Dakota that would not be some degree of awkward.
“Heheh, I’ll take your word for it on that one. Ah, you gonna move sometime today princess?”
He gave Kota’s knee a brief pat to alert him that, well, he’d like to not have his bud’s crotch on him much longer thanks.
-
"Oh! What? Am I too fat for you?" With a laugh, Dakota lifted up to move off of Ran, and had just plopped down onto the bed beside him when something Ran said clicked in his mind.
Or rather, it wasn't just that comment, but the accumulation of similar ones that made realization dawn.
"Wait a second...you'll 'take my word for it'?"
A slow smile spread across his lips, and, shaking his head, he sat back on his hands.
"Wow...I don't believe it. Ran, are you...are you a virgin?"
-
Snickering softly, he at least waited until Dakota was actually off of him before commenting.
“All those organic cupcakes, I’m telling you.”
He scootched over a bit to put some distance between them in case his friend decided to retaliate.
And then the lowball.
Ran visibly blanched at that, before sputtering a retort.
“I mean I’d take your word for it on the ‘rough’ part geeze! Reading into things a bit much?”
Yowza that was a bit too close for comfort! On the one hand, Kota was probably the only person who could understand this particular issue…but on the other, he was the last one Ran wanted to know!
-
"Oh, Ran, it's okay if you are!" Dakota quickly said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "It's just, well...jeez, it's so obvious now in retrospect, I don't know how I didn't...okay! It's just, you said you've never even read a porn magazine since you were fifteen, and you don't have any idea of what you like, at all, and so..."
He shrugged. "You'd have at least some idea of what worked and what didn't if you had even a little experience, is what I'm saying, Ran. And that's okay! I mean, gosh, you shock whoever you touch, so that would be difficult, wouldn't it? And I'm not going to lie, I had the same issue and concern for a while, too."
-
Fuuuuuuck. Or rather, lack there of. Ugh. Uuuugh. Slumping, he slapped one hand onto his face and proceeded to sit like that as Dakota spoke. This was so not what he wanted to talk about today. Like seriously. Maaaaan….
He let out a heavy sigh, which ended on a groan.
“This sucks. I’ll never live this down. I can feel it.”
Grumbling, he rubbed at his face, but still refused to show it. Honestly, this was mortifying, and he didn’t care if his voice was muffled by his own palm.
“Must be nice having your level of control. Least now you can touch people. Man I spent the first half of my time here way too worried about not getting TRIM’d, and the second half realizing that I couldn’t freakin touch anybody or anything without shocking the crap out of them. Intimacy is practically a joke at this point. I thought about talking to you, but in the end it was way too awkward and embarrassing.”
-
"What? Embarrassing? Why? Aw, Ran..."
Reaching out, Dakota pat Ran lightly on the shoulder. "You should know I won't judge you for that. It's not your fault, and it's not like it's anything to be ashamed of. Like, even if you could touch people, you shouldn't be ashamed of having your V-card because...I dunno, that's something that just happens when you're ready. But like, if this is actually causing you distress and stuff, then yeah, that's not good! Buuut!"
Dakota smiled reassuringly. "It's not something that can't be helped! I learned how to control it. I could always try to help you out!"
-
It was lucky that it was Kota here. Or rather, maybe it was because it was Kota. All the same, a sudden surge of electricity ran out from Ran’s body and into his friend’s. It was the sort of shock that could have seriously hurt somebody else.
“Dammit!”
The frustration all but visibly crackled around him, and he finally took his hand away from his face. This might have been his first real emotional outburst in at least the last couple of years. He’d gotten good at laughing things off, and continuing with his life.
“I’m trying for control! I’m stuck at this level for a reason you know?? My entire fuckin’ future is riding on my ability to figure this shit out. If I can’t manage not to shock everything I touch, there’s no way a dragon’ll take me! I’ll be killed on the spot. I’m like a walking death sentence to those things! Honestly…”
Sighing again, he flopped back one last time, and then curled up on his side away from Kota.
“Sorry. I’m frustrated. Heh, in every area of life it would seem. Sheesh…you may as well go until I pull my sorry ass together.”
-
The shock traveled through Kota's body and then out into the air, making the hairs all along his body stand on end. For someone else it could have been damaging; for him, it was more annoying.
"Ran, it'll be okay," Dakota said as Ran rolled onto his side, away from him. He scooted close to him and leaned over him to look at him. "No dragon's going to kill you. You know why? It's because dragon's don't start choosing until Stage 5! And you won't go to Stage 5 until you pass Stage 4. And you won't pass Stage 4 until you're ready! By the time you're in Stage 5, you'll have this all figured out, so no dragon will hurt you. And the only dragon that will pick you is one that feels confident it can handle you."
Unafraid of Ran's electric shocks, he gave his friend a playful hair ruffle. "So you'll be fine! And in the meantime, I'm not leaving. What? You think I'd leave just because my best bud's having an angsty moment, for good and understandable reasons? What kind of a friend does that? Not a best bud, that's who."
-
Shit, he really hated the fact Dakota could be so damn logical at a time like this. Everything he said made sense, but it was kind of irritating to have his fears exposed as pretty much unnecessary. It was all entirely true…it was unlikely he’d get TRIM’d so easily at this point. They’d poured too many resources into him, right? Heh.
Groaning at the hair ruffle, he groped around for his second pillow, and then swatted at Kota weakly with it.
“Dammit man, get your gross optimism out of here would you?? Can’t a guy angst in peace?? I tell ya, some people.”
Already back to his joking banter. It was kind of hard to stay frustrated in this sort of situation…blah, heheh.
“Thanks.”
-
Laughing at the pillow swat, Dakota grabbed the pillow from Ran and used it to lay on instead. "Sorry. You can keep angsting! Like, I'm not saying this isn't a frustrating, scary situation or anything, because it is. I just...don't want you thinking you're going to get slaughtered by a dragon."
Leaning up on his elbows, he shrugged lightly. "The dragons aren't that bad, either. Some of them are, for sure, but...most of them are pretty chill. Like, you've got Pilot Letendre who's got a dragon that speaks in epic ballads and is placated by flattery, for goodness sakes! Or Pilot Tierney who's got a dragon that is apparently a bit of a dweeb. So it's not all bad. But anyway!"
He nudged Ran again. "This is your time to learn and master your stuff, so don't stress too hard. It's hard to fail this Stage, and I wasn't kidding. I could totally tutor you. That's mostly what I do nowadays anyway, help teach classes, so...not saying what works for me will work for you, but we could probably figure out something."
-
He tried to do it man. He really did. He pushed his face into the bed and attempted it as best he could.
But fuck, it was impossible to actually feel bad for himself with Kota around.
No angsting for him! It was probably for the best though, he wasn’t real good at that sort of thing anyway. Didn’t suit his ‘devil may care’ persona, however false it might be.
On a heavy sigh, he just gave up trying, grinning to himself even as he admitted defeat. Here Kota was, acknowledging all his feelings as valid, and simultaneously putting his worries to rest. Damn him. That wasn’t fair, heh.
He grunted at the nudge, but when he did finally speak, he found himself unable to sound playful at all.
“…could you please?”
It felt awkward even to him, and he wasn’t sure why he felt so awkwardly choked up to where his voice came out strained. Just a minute ago he’d been amused by the whole thing! It seemed his fears weren’t going to let him ask for help in a flippant way though. He set his jaw, understanding now that this really was a big deal to him, and that his friend offering help actually meant a hell of a lot to him.
-
Oh man. Though Dakota was being all light-hearted and cheerful, the way Ran said that just about broke his heart. A 'please' and everything? Gods, he really was desperate and afraid if he was willing to go that far, and he certainly looked utterly dejected like that, face smooshed into the bed as he mumbled into the mattress. Understandably so; for all that he'd tried to put his friend's fears to rest, Dakota knew Ran's fears were valid ones.
Sometimes, people did choke at the finish line.
Sometimes, dragons did maul candidates.
Like hell he'd ever tell that to Ran.
"That's what I just said, isn't it?" Dakota said with a smile Ran couldn't see, and he gave his hair a playful ruffle. "Of course I will! No questions asked. Call me Professor Lewis and consider me your own private teacher!"
-
At the hair ruffle, Ran visibly relaxed some. It wasn’t like he thought Kota would say no or something. Its just…hearing him say it, in earnest, was incredibly reassuring. He’d never really wanted anyt of this, he didn’t really have any big aspirations. All his time here had really just made him want one thing - to survive to the next stage. Just make it through. Don’t get trimmed or killed or something. That was really his one utmost goal.
Ran snorted into the mattress.
“Alright, alright, Professor Lewis. Just no stockings in the classroom, got it?”
He finally lifted his head enough to give his friend a small smirk, but in his eyes was the lingering sense of profound relief. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to appropriately express to Kota how grateful he was, even if he made it through successfully and became a full fledged Pilot. It’d probably end up really awkward anyway.
Maybe he’d just have to buy Kota a bunch of shit and a thank you note. The guy would probably get the message, even if Ran was too clumsy to properly articulate it.
@Rhi-Rhi
-
Dakota gasped, hand to his mouth and eyes wide. "No stockings?! Awww. But Ran...don't you see? You'd be missing out on a golden opportunity that way!"
And then, with a wide grin, he struck a pin-up girl pose. He laid back, stuck a stockinged leg up, slightly bent, and ran a hand down his leg while giving Ran bedroom eyes. "I could be your sexy teacher," he said with an eyebrow waggle.
-
…..noooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
THIS WAS WORSE THAN THE AWKWARD PICTURE TEXTS. NO. HE DID NOT WANT THIS. HE DID NOT WANT THIS STUCK IN HIS BRAIN FOREVER. NO. NO PINUP POSE. NO STOCKINGS. NO FUCKING BEDROOM EYES.
NO
WHY
WHYYYYY
“Get off my bed you horrible tart!”
He was probably red as a tomato by now but all he wanted was for Dakota to stop doing that as soon as humanly possible. And since he didn’t really trust his sprained wrists for anything, he swung himself around and planted both feet on his friend’s side in order to unceremoniously shove him off. Or at least attempt to, in that awkward flailey way that just about anything done on a bed turns into.
@Rhi-Rhi
-
With a yelp and some wild flailing, Dakota toppled off the bed, and took half the blankets with him when he grabbed onto them in a wild bid for stability. He landed with a sharp grunt in a pile of petticoats and lace, but even though it hurt his ass, he didn't notice the pain.
He was laughing far too hard.
"Ahahaha! Oh my gods, you're too funny! So easy to get a rise out of you!" he gasped between laughing fits, clutching his sides to try to help with the stitches. "Horrible tart! You called me a tart!"
And he started laughing even harder, finding the insult thoroughly hilarious.
-
Laying sprawled on his back, Ran glowered up at the ceiling as Kota’s hysterics carried up to him. Dammit man. Dammit. Normally he really wasn’t this easy to rile up. Then again, normally his friends didn’t pull off frighteningly good impersonations of hot ladies either. It was both awkward and embarrassing, so he couldn’t help but get flustered.
Maybe it was a little confusing too. He was always real chill with Dakota and his personality - he was girly but it wasn’t like it mattered to him any. It was just a little annoying that he couldn’t be ‘chill’ when he got teased. Wouldn’t most people be able to laugh that off? It was wildly absurd, the whole thing! And yet here he was blushing through his tan. Geeze.
This sucked.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up you fruit biscuit. Just for that you’re banished to the floor.”
@Rhi-Rhi
-
"Banished, you say?"
Dakota had managed to get a handle on his laughter (which was good, because he felt about ready to bust a gut) and Ran's decree got his attention. Lifting up onto his knees, he leaned his elbows onto the bed and grinned up at Ran.
"So what are you going to do to keep me banished?" And as he spoke, he started to climb up onto the bed, beaming deviously. "Oh no! Look! I'm crawling onto the bed!"
-
Erk!
For the love of…couldn’t he have a few minutes to pull himself together and stop looking like a strawberry?? And quit climbing onto the bed with that devious look!
His face scrunched up in a childish way, Ran glared at the red head.
“Oh no, look, I’m about to put my foot in your face!”
He warded Dakota off with his legs, seeing as how they weren’t inconveniently injured at the moment.
“Bad Kota, bad! Get down! Off the bed you oversized pastry! Off off!”
@Rhi-Rhi
-
"Ew! Ran! No!" Dakota squealed, grabbing Ran's foot and shoving it out of his face. "That's disgusting! Get your stinky feet out of my face!"
But he was cracking up as he said it, and with one hand grabbing Ran's ankle, he grabbed for the other one, caught it, and yanked Ran forward to pull him off balance. After all, it wasn't like he could use his arms to brace himself very well!
Not wasting any time, Dakota lunged up onto the bed and pinned Ran, beaming victoriously down at him. "And so the fair damsel captured the smelly knight," he said with a wide grin.
-
“I wouldn’t be putting my stinky feet in your face if you’d get off the-oof!”
Caught by the ankles, he was yanked rather gracelessly off balance. Frickin dammit man! Having both wrists sprained seriously sucked SO hard right now!! Amazing how much stuff required the use of your hands when you couldn’t freaking use them right!
Eventually, he found himself staring up at Dakota with a rather miffed look on his face, lips scrunched together. Part of him wanted to throw the smug bastard right back off the bed, but just the idea of wrestling with him made his wrists ache. Fuuuuuuck. Damsel my ass!
“Fine, whatever, I concede!”
He flung his arms out to either side of him and let his head flop back.
“My body is ready!”
He laughed lightly, and then sighed.
“I’m not gonna give myself carpel tunnel or something for your sake. You obnoxious tart.”
That was definitely going to be a thing, at least for a little while.
@Rhi-Rhi