[ there's a soft pink envelope outside the door to his room with "g♡shi" written on it.
the hand written letter inside reads: ]
hey goshi!!! um im sorry i kissed you a lot w/o asking but i had fun & i hope you did too? fuck that sounds weird idk i think someone's supposed to call or smth after stuff like that goes down but haha ive literally never done this before soooooooo this is awkward anyway i guess? i just wanted to say thanks i hope ur doin ok
[ nothing like spending a few weeks embroiled in something that shouldn't be any of your business to make a day in no-man's land feel like a luxury. the city center isn't nishi, it isn't kita, full of harassment and problems now - the police presence is less severe on the main thoroughfares, and all the ills he just had to stick his nose right in otherwise don't exist. it means he can have a proper bath and a good tea at one of the local places with its own garden.
it's a quiet affair for him considering his dedication to being the most visible thing he can in any particular space. mostly because while he's waiting for his tea to cool, he has the flats of his knuckles tucked against his mouth and the split there, the colorful smear of a bruise.
only his eyes move when he spots a familiar figure, unusually still. eventually, he smiles anyway. ]
[ the past few days have been pretty crazy. goshi doesn't think he even knows what day it's supposed to be, nor does he have any idea of where he's headed as he wanders around the familiar streets of yoshiwara. with no destination in mind, of course it's not too farfetched that he'll run into kento eventually.
it's not like this place is all that big. ]
What happened to your face?
[ he isn't even going to comment on the 'healthy' remark. ]
[ kento was the first to toss bait, hoping goshi would just go for the remark, low-hanging as it is. he's really unlucky lately, isn't he? fingers flexing but not pulling away from covering up the mark, he rolls his shoulders back, not quite a shrug.
it's off, the way he's too casual about something that would have made him flip out back home. ]
An unfortunate liaison.
[ he doesn't have to lie, but he doesn't have to tell the truth either. ]
goshi has lived with kento for years, learned all his nuances and habits (no matter how dumb they can be).he knows kento wouldn't spend any effort covering up his face when it's the second thing he loves most about himself - next to his bangs, but goshi thinks that's stupid too.
his suspicions only grow worse when there isn't as much complaining as he usually would expect. ]
Did you piss off the wrong person?
[ he probably could have singled it out and put it as one of kento's clients, or maybe one of the many girls whose hearts he's broken for sure, but - who knows if he'll get an honest answer out of him. ]
[ usually one to soak up the feeling of eyes on his every move, kento hadn't really expected to feel so heavy with goshi scrutinizing him this time. some of the cheeky shine leaves his expression, though not all of it. it's a dent to his pride as much as it is to his body, but he can't foist the blame on someone else this time.
the weight of goshi's gaze is enough to pull kento up from his seat, picking up his tea by its rim with the tips of his fingers to take along with him. now that he's moved, the bruise appears in full bloom, healing but ugly. ]
You could say that. Doesn't news travel fast in Nishi?
[ given there was a big uproar at one of the clubs there recently. kento mentions it like he'd mention the weather, intending to be the one to brush past him and leave it at that. ]
[ goshi watches kento take his tea, stand up, and approach him like the prim and proper diva he usually is. he stays rooted in spot, neither backing down nor advancing forward but it's not like he has to do anything to see the ugly bruise in plain sight. it looked like it hurt, whenever it happened.
kento wouldn't have been careless enough to let someone snipe him on the face like that. ]
I don't really pay attention to that stuff.
[ whenever kento gets close enough, goshi couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch the space above the bruise, calloused fingers delicately caressing the soft skin. ]
[ that playful smile kento uses to ward off things he doesn't feel like talking about winds its way up onto his face, the one that usually precedes a potshot. and true to form, he sighs, eyes pressing shut as if he pities having to bring it up at all. (he doesn't, it's a good distraction.) ]
Should have known. It wouldn't kill you to keep up w -
[ he falls short of finishing when fingers draw across his skin, the motion of it catching him so off guard he starts, eyes snapping open and flicking down.
[ goshi thinks he should pull his hand back, the spell that reeled him into making contact already broken and gone, but his fingers remain where they are, immovable like kento usually is. it's weird, really, to see this kind of look on him - goshi wants to know what lead to this even though the chances of him getting a straight answer are pretty slim.
[ kento's usually better at evading things like this from the get go, just as a point of pride, especially when he hadn't thought he'd be confronted in the first place. he could spin it as an accident, even when he's more careful than that... the cool air that replaces goshi's fingertips makes him reconsider. ]
It was at a club the other night. [ not a lie. ] You could say I was in the right place at the right time.
[ he chooses his turn of phrase carefully, almost as to appear sarcastic, though there's none of his happy sing-songing to accompany it, like there usually would be. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
note; a week after hinami but before the quest.
the hand written letter inside reads: ]
hey goshi!!!
um
im sorry i kissed you a lot w/o asking but
i had fun & i hope you did too?
fuck that sounds weird
idk
i think someone's supposed to call or smth after stuff like that goes down but
haha ive literally never done this before
soooooooo
this is awkward
anyway
i guess?
i just wanted to say
thanks
i hope ur doin ok
- roxy
probably a day or two later.
It's fine. Hope you're doing okay too.
I still owe you that song.
[ it's not a lot of words, but the implication is clear: things aren't broken, and he still cares enough to remember the promise he made. ]
action.
it's a quiet affair for him considering his dedication to being the most visible thing he can in any particular space. mostly because while he's waiting for his tea to cool, he has the flats of his knuckles tucked against his mouth and the split there, the colorful smear of a bruise.
only his eyes move when he spots a familiar figure, unusually still. eventually, he smiles anyway. ]
You look healthy today.
no subject
it's not like this place is all that big. ]
What happened to your face?
[ he isn't even going to comment on the 'healthy' remark. ]
no subject
it's off, the way he's too casual about something that would have made him flip out back home. ]
An unfortunate liaison.
[ he doesn't have to lie, but he doesn't have to tell the truth either. ]
no subject
goshi has lived with kento for years, learned all his nuances and habits (no matter how dumb they can be).he knows kento wouldn't spend any effort covering up his face when it's the second thing he loves most about himself - next to his bangs, but goshi thinks that's stupid too.
his suspicions only grow worse when there isn't as much complaining as he usually would expect. ]
Did you piss off the wrong person?
[ he probably could have singled it out and put it as one of kento's clients, or maybe one of the many girls whose hearts he's broken for sure, but - who knows if he'll get an honest answer out of him. ]
no subject
the weight of goshi's gaze is enough to pull kento up from his seat, picking up his tea by its rim with the tips of his fingers to take along with him. now that he's moved, the bruise appears in full bloom, healing but ugly. ]
You could say that. Doesn't news travel fast in Nishi?
[ given there was a big uproar at one of the clubs there recently. kento mentions it like he'd mention the weather, intending to be the one to brush past him and leave it at that. ]
no subject
kento wouldn't have been careless enough to let someone snipe him on the face like that. ]
I don't really pay attention to that stuff.
[ whenever kento gets close enough, goshi couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch the space above the bruise, calloused fingers delicately caressing the soft skin. ]
It doesn't suit you at all.
no subject
Should have known. It wouldn't kill you to keep up w -
[ he falls short of finishing when fingers draw across his skin, the motion of it catching him so off guard he starts, eyes snapping open and flicking down.
he forgets it still hurts. ]
...you don't have to tell me that.
no subject
he finally drops his hand. ]
So why'd you go and get yourself all bruised up?
no subject
It was at a club the other night. [ not a lie. ] You could say I was in the right place at the right time.
[ he chooses his turn of phrase carefully, almost as to appear sarcastic, though there's none of his happy sing-songing to accompany it, like there usually would be. ]