When the thorns stop being pricked

After what seemed like hours (which they were) he had finally chosen what to wear... it was just to his dorm so casual seemed like the correct answer...  no? ‘I shouldn't be freaking out... I’m just gonna go watch some shows with him.... right? It’s not like we’re serious yet... right ?’ Fiddling with the sleeves of the cropped sweater he was wearing, he walked from the hallway where his dorm was towards Tatsuya’s dorm. Passing through all the names he kept skipping and muttering to himself “Akeyo~ Akeyo~ Akeyo— Ah” finding it he stopped in front, about to knock it before he paused his hands about to hit the metal door before it just stopped. ‘why did I stop?’ wondering about it he decided to just jump the gun, knocking, this time rather loudly and more than he expected; causing him to step back.

Tatsuya almost tripped over his own feet from the sudden loud knocking, almost dropping his phone. 'Who the hell did I piss off this time..?' he thought to himself as he made his way to the door. Answering it though, he wasn't expecting Lin. He stared for a second, clearly surprised, but as soon as he remembered that he did invite him over he quickly says, "N-Nakano-kun! Sorry, I thought it was going to be someone else at the door." He put on an awkward smile, a little annoyed at himself for stuttering, but it's too late to take anything back now.

"Someone else? Did you invite someone else?" So it definitely wasn't a date? He questioned in his head as he looked at Tatsuya with a raised eyebrow expression. Leaning his body weight to one side he continued to fiddle with one of his sleeves, since he was still standing in front of him, he now questioned how the potential interactions may be with more than just them.

"No, I wasn't inviting anyone else," Tatsuya says shaking his head, "The knock was just kinda loud and I thought that... Never mind. Anyways, come in." He stepped out of the way awkwardly to let Lin inside his room. He wasn't going to say that he thought someone wanted to start some sort of fight with him, so he kept his mouth shut and just hoped he won't question it. They were here to watch shows and stuff after all. Together.

He nodded gently as he then slowly stepped in. "You know, you don't have to be so shy around me, the worst I can do is punch you to kingdom come~" Lin joked as he skipped further in, sticking his tongue out to his teases as his hands moved lightly, vaguing the signs as he could hear himself pretty well so Tatsuya should understand too right? With a small turn, he kept looking at him and his new surroundings, taking in what Akeyo's dorm looked like.

Tatsuya frowned a bit as he said, "I'm not being shy," before sticking his tongue out and shutting the door. He at least didn't think he was being shy. Was he? He wasn't entirely sure. He went to sit on his bed, watching as Lin looked around his dorm room.

Tatsuya's room was simple. He didn't really have anything up on his walls or on display, and everything was awfully clean. The only part of the room that seemed to have his own personal touch to it was his bed and desk. On top was just his laptop covered in bunny and crab stickers, and books and journals just messily stacked on top of each other. The books seemed to mostly be about plants, and if looked at closely, the journals were simply labeled with numbers, and one simply saying "stamps". The TV was already on and seemed to be paused at the beginning of some anime.

Lin giggled when Tatsuya stuck out his tongue, before placing his attention at his surroundings. He looked around but didn't dare to touch anything, he'd thought it might've been disrespectful if he did, but a small perk of his eyebrows as Akeyo was way more than met the eye, clearly. After his little snoop, he turned back towards Akeyo, smiling at him before he approached. ‘Should I sit close to him? should I sit far... what do I do?’ He felt a little awkward so went with sitting halfway through the bed, perhaps he'd warm up into getting closer to Tatsuya as the time came by. "So what are we watching?" he then asked and signed as he looked at him, finishing it by placing some of his hair behind his ear, after all, he wanted to make sure to be able to see him.

"Don't laugh," Tatsuya starts, which is a terrible way to start he quickly realized as he knows that Lin probably will laugh now, "But I picked an old anime I really liked called Say 'I Love You." He's always enjoyed watching shows with the romance genre. He found it embarrassing most of the time, and his face was currently very red, but he wasn't going to chicken out and show Lin something he didn't personally enjoy.

Lin, listening to him and reading his lips soon got red as he heard and saw him uttering the words ‘I love you’ towards him; causing him to look down. “I—“ He stammered a little as he tried to process what Tatsuya had said stared at the screen, as from his peripheral he could see it changing. He then saw the title card reading ‘Say: ‘I love you’’ figuring out it was the name of the show... he kind of felt stupid thinking for a moment it was Tatsuya towards him.

Tatsuya tilted his head a bit when Lin cuts himself off from whatever he was going to say. "Is that alright with you?" he then adds, signing a bit. He had other things they could watch besides this one after all. He knew that this one was more than a little cliche, so he was prepared in case Lin wanted to see something else.

“It’s alright! I’m a little intrigued by it” He responded rather softly, signing right back as he glanced at him as he was trying his best not to miss any subtitles so he could properly understand what was going on. His first impressions were quite surprised, he thought this looked pretty good! And he couldn’t help but blush a little at the main male character.

Tatsuya nodded a little bit, watching Lin a bit more than he was the actual show. He's watched it countless times, and he's more curious about how Lin might react to the things he knew were coming. He's got a few guesses, some having him have to force a straight face, looking back at the TV so it wasn't too obvious that he was laughing a bit at his own thoughts. He genuinely hoped that Lin finds some sort of enjoyment from this though.

Lin was definitely very expressive as the first episode rolled through, he was thinking some of the things being spoken were perhaps a bit too outspoken or...dumb? His hands would sometimes move as a habit, showing some vague reactions to what he was looking for. 'surprised' 'fear' 'disgust' 'stupid' 'aww' were some of the more common ones. Seeing the kiss however, he slowly entwined one of his hands with his other, confused? yes, he still thought it was a noble thing to do...naive thinking at best.

Tatsuya's expression softened a little as he watched Lin. His reactions were subtle, but he still managed to catch them when they got to parts he felt Lin would have some sort of reaction to. He especially kept his eyes on Lin during the kiss for that episode. He seemed to be thinking quite a bit – or at least he thinks he is – and a part of him wanted to ask, but he decided against it. He wasn't sure if he should ask what Lin thought just yet with them just being on the first episode.

"T-that was it?" he mumbled seeing the ending bit of the anime roll by, wondering what was going on he looked up at Tatsuya. "That was...interesting to say the least." he said with a small nod then. His hands were still entwined with each other, his index finger fiddling one over the other constantly, he was still a bit more nervous around him, after all, now they were in closed doors...with clear feelings for each other... will he survive this?

Tatsuya was pretty relieved when Lin said he found it interesting. He wouldn't have minded if he didn't like it of course since he had plenty of other things they could watch, but it just turned out better than he expected. He gave Lin a slight nod before saying, "I can start the next episode if you want." Tatsuya was starting to relax a little bit now, though there were still some nerves that stayed behind with the fact that he was alone with Lin for once. He's mostly hoping that things stay as smooth as they have been so far.

“Well yeah! I wanna know what happens! He just kissed her out of nowhere... I’m surprised she didn’t just punch him straight up.” He responded as he looked at Tatsuya. His fingers slowly stopped fiddling, having now his arms slowly rest on each side of his body as his legs remained under his torso’s weight. He gave another look to Tatsuya’s room, making glances at him while he waited for the new EP to start.

Tatsuya couldn't help but let out a bit of a laugh. He especially wasn't expecting this sort of enthusiasm out of Lin either. It's nice to see this side of him though. It left a small smile on his face as he started up the next episode.

Lin's ears moved as he could hear Tatsuya a bit clearer. Looking now his way and seeing him smile and laugh had made his entire face go brightly red. Covering the bottom half he looked away and back to the screen, hoping his hair would hide the current situation.

Tatsuya didn't seem to notice Lin's face going red. His attention went back to the anime as it started up, getting ready to skip the opening when they got to it. He'd move his attention back to Lin soon after that though.

Lin was still flustered, now playing with his hair while he calmed down. His mind just kept replaying the seconds where Tatsu just laughed and smiled, seeing how on peace and comfortable he felt...it was driving him insane. He tried to focus on the anime but it sure looked like he was distracted.

Tatsuya took notice of him being distracted and tilted his head a bit as he turned his attention back to the anime. 'I wonder what's on his mind,' he thought to himself. Did he maybe say something? Part of him wanted to ask, but then he felt like Lin might think it weird that Tatsu's attention had been on him the entire time. He hugged his legs closer to himself and poked at one of his exposed pointed teeth with his thumb. Just a habit he's never dropped when he was younger when he wanted to stop himself from talking.

As the episode continued that thought about kissing now surfaced on his mind. ‘Has Akeyo ever kissed someone before?’ He went back to fiddling with his fingers, this time all of them. He had seemed to calm down, but once the ending of the episode came rolling, he couldn't help but let his mind continue drifting. He proceeded to unravel the neck of his turtleneck, putting it over his mouth over the oncoming embarrassment he felt.

Tatsuya looked over to Lin as the episode ended. "Is everything okay?" he finally asked, seeing that Lin's now hiding part of his face under his turtleneck. He was definitely more than a little bit confused, and he felt that he could ask now that the episode they were watching was over. He was just a little worried that he did something really.

Lin lowered his turtleneck rather quickly when he heard Tatsuya's voice. Looking at him he gave a small nod and signed and spoke at the same time. "I'm fine...I just...I-...I had secondhand embarrassment...over that....that's all" His hands would clasp together a lot as he was clearly trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking.

"Secondhand embarrassment?" Tatsuya then asked, tilting his head a bit. He thought carefully about this, wondering from what specifically. 'From all the cliches? From the awkwardness between the two?' were his first thoughts. After a bit longer though, his face went a little red as his thoughts landed on the main characters kissing. He covered his face a little with his hand and looked off to the side.

"A-Akeyo-kun? Did I say something wrong? Did I slur my words?" he then asked seeing him looking away, a little worried that maybe now he had said something wrong. His hand slowly approaching him but soon stopping on its tracks as maybe he shouldn't. His hands are now closed and placed on his lap.

"N-no! You didn't! Sorry, I'm just..." Tatsuya cleared his throat. He needed to calm down. There was nothing to be embarrassed or shy about. Probably. Everything's been fine so far, so he should be fine. "Anyways, I'll just start the next episode," he says, voice cracking, making him clear his throat again. He couldn't really focus though, with his mind deciding to hyper-focus on the thought of kissing. It's never really something he's thought about much, let alone done. He's just never really thought he'd end up in this... date sort of situation. Because that's what he's pretty sure this was right? He didn't intend it to be one, but the more he looked at it, the more he realized that it probably was.

With re-accommodating himself, after he had leaned to Tatsuya, he was way closer to him than at the start of their small totally-not-a-date date. His hands remained balled against his lap, nodding to his words as he looked back towards the TV to see the next episode. He was glad it at least had subtitles to make sure he could understand, it was a small detail he was thankful for. His mind was still riddled with the amount of kissing in the second episode but the thoughts were on the back now as he tried to focus on this new episode and the new shenanigans the characters would be placed through.

Tatsuya's focus soon returned to watching the anime as it continued to run. He glanced at Lin for a second, taking note of how they were sitting a bit closer to each other now. He was suddenly very aware of these facts, and honestly, he just wanted to be comfortable. Although at first, he found Lin to be a total nuisance to him during his first day in Obscura, now he mostly saw it as a sort of grounding thing. Having Lin around sort of put him down to earth and kept him comfortable in a sense. Basically, it was a nice feeling. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud, but he's come to enjoy having Lin around.

As episodes passed, Lin’s tensed shoulders had relaxed, it was just something that would happen around Tatsuya’s aura. Even if he was still nervous about his first date, he was still really enjoying his quiet time with Tatsuya. But, this was a date, right? perhaps he should test it? Taking a couple of courageous deep breaths, and perhaps the romance anime they were seeing giving him a couple of ideas, he glanced over at Tatsuya and then slowly leaned his head towards his shoulder, before touching it however he looked up at him. “Is it okay?” He asked. He’d be lying if he said he hasn’t been thinking about being close to Tatsuya ever since he asked him out to see this.

Tatsuya froze up for a split second, eyes darting to Lin who was about to lean his head on his shoulder. He paused before nodding slowly and relaxing again. "Yeah, that's... fine," he mumbled, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He didn't really expect Lin to be making a move here. He had assumed that he'll have to be the one to initiate anything between the two of them. It was nice though. Nice to know that he wasn't the only one between them that wanted some sort of intimacy like this.

Reading his lips he nodded and gently placed his head against Tatsuya's shoulder, smirking a little in victory before he looked back at the screen, wanting to continue seeing what happened to the main characters as their relationship moved forward. His hands now had relaxed and weren't balled up as they had been for this time, now back to playing with his index fingers whenever he wasn't randomly signing.

Tatsuya kept a small smile, having a warm feeling inside. He thought this was... nice. There were other much better words to describe how he was feeling at the moment, but his mind was racing and the first thing in his head was simply "nice". It was definitely a change from their usual fighting that he was used to. Maybe they could do this more often.

If Lin could tap into Tatsuya's mind, he would agree with his feelings. Those seconds he waited for a response his body was going insane with butterflies on his stomach of 'what if he finds it weird? what if I read the mood wrong?' but now he was leaning against his shoulder, their warmth being somewhat shared as they just enjoyed what Tatsuya had placed on TV. Subconsciously he raised both of his palms, placing them over his chest one over the other, signing 'pleased' as he was happy with the situation he was in, he used to scream and bicker with this boy...but as fun as that was, he enjoyed way more this peaceful silence and comfort.

As Tatsuya became more comfortable, he let himself lean his head on Lin's a bit. He was comfortable like this. He'd adjust how he sat occasionally, but he didn't want to move from how they were now. At least not away from Lin. He noticed Lin about to sign, turning his attention to him again. It took him a second to process what he had signed, but seeing what he said made Tatsuya's heart flutter. It was nice to know that they felt the same about this. 

As the anime kept rolling and he had to move it to the next episode, his mind began wandering again. A little part of him wanted to hold Lin's hands. It's nothing they’ve ever really done, but he's thought about it before. But would that be too much of him to ask? He kept quiet, keeping his eyes on the anime for a while longer. Soon enough, he brought his hands up to sign a little as he spoke at the same time asking softly, "Hey... would it be okay if I held your hands?"

Lin had been paying attention, which had gained him to be a little red and shy as he slowly imagined him and Akeyo instead. Hyper-focused on the anime it surprised him when he heard Tatsuya begin to speak, paying full attention he had only become redder at the question that soon followed. "I-..I... my hands aren't that nice to hold... hehe Kuro says they're prickly..." he said as he looked up at him, lifting his head slightly from resting on his shoulder. He wanted to lowkey hide his face under his turtleneck again but had no way to do so.

"I mean I wouldn't know, but I don't really think I'll mind," Tatsuya explained, "I just sort of wanted to." He's always had some sort of odd fascination with hands. He liked playing with them and taking in their details because everyones' was just so different. It's nothing he ever really understood about himself, but he's just accepted eventually.

"Well if you really want to.." Lin said with a small nod as he leaned back into his shoulder, covering his face in the meantime with this as his hand shakily extended closer to Tatsuya so he could do just as he asked; hold it.

Tatsuya reached out and gently took hold of Lin's hand. He squeezed it lightly to let Lin know that he can relax before he began to just play with them a little. He held the individual fingers, fascinated by them. They were so much different from others that he's seen before, but he really liked them. Later, he ends up intertwining their fingers, staring at their hands held together like this with a small blush dusting his face. He liked Lin's hands, contrary to Lin's initial beliefs. They were much softer than he imagined in comparison to his own scarred and calloused ones.

Lin seemed to have held his breath up until he felt the gentle squeeze by Tatsuya’s hand. His hand was.... warm... inviting almost. His eyebrows raised as he saw how intrigued he seemed to be, ending chuckling at almost the childish-like endeavor. “You’re so gay..” he thought, in reality, muttered between the laughs, without thinking for the most part. Stopping him on his track over what he now wasn’t sure he had said or not, (the answer is he did) made his face become a scarlet color in a quick amount of time. “I-I— I”

Tatsuya almost choked on his own spit from the sudden remark but ended up laughing instead. "Says you," he couldn't help but say in turn, seeing how much Lin blushes from that. He's not even wrong technically speaking, but he couldn't help but be even a little bit amused by the embarrassment that followed him after saying that out loud.

He indeed had said it out loud. Hearing Tatsuya’s quick response just made Lin sink more into Red City. “I-I do say so” he tried owning up to his words as he squeezed a bit Akeyo’s hand. “It’s why I’m here...” he then added, hearing him laugh had eased him up a bit.

"Yeah, and why I invited you here to watch a cheesy romance anime with me," he adds smiling affectionately. He was so comfortable like this, leaning into each other, holding hands, and having short banter. It was nice, and not at all where he imagined he'd end up being. If you were to go back in time and told him he'd fall head over heels for Lin, he'd never have believed you. But now he just feels like he's exactly where he needs to be. 'Why did it take so long for us to get to this point?' he wondered.

He looked up to Tatsuya, just smiling back the moment his eyes made contact with his breathtaking smile once more. “Yeah...It’s why....my heart is beating a million a minute....” he then admitted. As comfortable and as right as it just felt to be in close proximity with him, he was also nervous, this is the first time he’s ever been in a relationship, heck, it’s the first time he’s fallen in love. And although he’s made the right decision he’s afraid of someone fucking it up.

Hearing that, Tatsuya instinctively covered his face as he knew that his face would be glowing red from that statement. The anime has become the last thing on his mind now at this point, lost in all the softness he's feeling because of the person beside him. "Christ," was all he was able to mutter out with his mind racing right now. He wanted to pull Lin in and hug him right now. He doesn't believe he'd ever want to let go if he did though.

Seeing that now he wasn’t the only one in red city he smiled again a little, followed by another awkward chuckle. “Was what I said... too much...?” He then asked, since he wasn’t signing he was making very sure to take longer pauses between his words to make sure they weren’t slurred or misinterpreted. While not much of that day had happened... Lin was definitely gonna mark it as one of the best days of his life.

Tatsuya shook his head a bit. "No, definitely not too much," he assures him, "I'm just surprised that you're able to say that out loud." Those were the sort of things that he knows that if he said that he'd die of embarrassment from. He wasn't all too great with words in the first place, but he has to admit that as embarrassing that it might be, it was still nice to hear.

Lin looked down after hearing Tatsuya. "Tch-- I just.....” he didn’t really know why he said it, or rather what to say next. He just played with Akeyo's fingers and hands now, looking down at just how their hands looked...how they were meant to be entwined with each other almost. His rough texture wasn't as bad as Akeyo painted it to be.

"You just?" Akeyo repeats as Lin didn't finish his sentence. He watched as Lin began to play with his fingers as he quietly waited for him to finish. At least he was even going to finish that sentence. It was of course fine if he didn't. He was fine with how the two of them were right now.

"I don't know" He slowly admitted as he continued playing with their hands, without thinking he had raised their entwined hands closer to his face, he glanced at him quickly before kissing Tatsuya's palm, letting his cheek then rest where he had kissed it soon after.

Tatsuya had to force himself not to instinctively retract his hand. He stared for a second before letting out a shaky breath that he didn't even know he was holding. His heart was pounding in his chest, and a part of him wanted to run out of his room from embarrassment knowing how red and speechless he was right now. After giving himself a few minutes to get a hold of himself he asked, "What was that for?" It wasn't said in a threatening way, but more in a breathless, 'I can't believe that just happened’  way.

“.... I.... don’t know” he admitted as it slowly sank in what he had just done. His own face heating up, providing more warmth to Tatsu’s hand. “.... I don’t know... it just... I just.... did it..” he then tried to add, his own heart beginning to pound as he had acted before thinking once more.

"That's... That's fine. I didn't really mind," Tatsuya tells him, but a part of him was screaming internally. This is what he figured people in a relationship do based on what he's watched. But then again, that's fiction and this is reality. But this was okay, right? This is what people would do on a date right? This is a date right? He may be just a little overwhelmed right now.

Seeing how quiet he became after his words worried him. Maybe the research he had done the few nights before were all incorrect and that wasn't a way to show proper affection... Had he just made Tatsuya feel bad? He slowly lowered their entwined hands, not having the strength to separate them, or rather the full want to. But he looked down trying to figure what to do or say now.

Tatsuya held Lin's hand a little tighter, looking down at them quietly, forgetting about the anime at this point. "Hey, Lin," He eventually says softly, almost at a whisper, but watching Lin intently to be sure that he was loud enough for him to hear. "What do you think of us? Together like this?" he asks. It was something he thought about a lot more than he probably should since they started... dating? This is dating, right? Holding hands and being together comfortably without the yelling and fighting they put out up front? Yeah. Sounds about right. He just had some worries that have been nagging him like the issue of their families which took a while for him to figure out. Now knowing though he just has some mild concerns. But then there were the smaller things like what Lin may or may not like. The big and small things come together to be their own special mess though.

Entrances on the warm grip he recently did, he slowly came back to reality from the little moment he was having when he heard Tatsu call out to him. Looking up he heard the question what do you think of us? Together like this and his heart quickly went from his torso to his neck as the feeling of when he had first come in here came back, those ‘butterflies’ Kage had explained. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out for the first few seconds, he looked back down to think. Staring at their hands once more he couldn’t then help to gently smile. “..... I... I think our feelings were very clear a few weeks ago..... I.... I do enjoy.... being together with you like this, Akeyo-Kun” he then whispered, still a bit embarrassed about the fact that those words were coming out of his mouth.

Hearing that from Lin gave Tatsuya some relief. They were simple words, but they were enough for him at the moment. He smiled, looking fairly content before nodding. "I'm glad," he states in about the same soft tone. 

He sits quietly for a moment, only being able to hear his heart beating out of his chest. He was trying to mentally prepare himself for at least a few moments for what he wanted to say. He clears his throat before he spoke. "I... I love you," he manages to get out. He's really feeling like he just finished running a marathon right now.

Lin couldn't believe what he had just heard, not one bit; Did he read his lips right? Where are his ears deceiving him? Those words hit him like a wave crashing against his body. 'I love you' that array of words were not something he would hear often about himself if we're taking Rou out of the picture. He felt his heartbeat raise once again, and all of those feelings he had been experiencing simply heightened. He accommodated himself to face Tatsuya, being now incredibly close to the boy.  Akeyo's breath could hit Lin's face as he kept looking up at him before finally being able to ask what he wanted to. "Say it again... Akeyo-san"

Tatsuya couldn't avoid eye contact with Lin like this even if he wanted to. They were so unbelievably close right now, and it was much obvious like this that Tatsuya was nervous. He let out a small, but a shaky breath to try to relax and say it again without stopping himself or stuttering. He closed his eyes and softly bumps their heads together to close the space just a little bit more.

"I love you, Lin-kun," he says again as Tatsuya opened his eyes again. They were so close now and part of him wanted to maybe go for a kiss but... He was still very very unsure.

Lin gasped at how Tatsuya closed, even more, the space between them, he stared at his eyes and his eyes only as he now, clearly heard him say it once more. Hearing him address him by name was sure an extra surprise he wasn't expecting, causing him to stand straight as his body shuddered. This reaction was not something he was expecting, causing him to look down but not separate from him. Looking back up it seemed like he read Tatsuya's mind, finally closing the space between them, Lin's warm lips lightly pressed against Tatsu's for what seemed like an eternity (in reality was barely a few seconds). In that time, everything felt right, every worry or nervousness had disappeared...just for that time. Catching his breath like he had just run a marathon, he then managed to mutter "I love...you too... T-t-t-Tatsuya-kun".

Tatsuya wasn't expecting that, but then again he didn't expect a lot of things to happen to him, so he might as well get used to surprises at this point. The kiss was warm and left him with a fluttering feeling that he couldn't quite describe or place a finger on. He liked the feeling though. Definitely, something he wouldn't mind getting used to.

After Lin caught his breath and echoed 'I love you' back, Tatsuya smiled fondly. Softer than his usual ego-driven smirks and self-satisfied grins. It wasn't really an expression he often showed, but for sure one he'll show to Lin more often.

Lin continues to gently stare at Tatsuya's eyes and now lips, he felt like he had just woken up from a dream; a happy one at that. He smiled back, followed by a chuckle, but this sounded way different than the chuckles he would tend to do outside, this one sounded genuine, almost raspy from how long it had been. He pressed his forehead again against his, now wanting nothing more than this closeness to him. Should this silence ever be broken?

Tatsuya was so fond of the person in front of him. It felt so right to be like this with him, and it's nothing he's ever really felt before. Then again, he doesn't believe he's fallen in love with someone like this before. He's had crushes before of course, but he was what? Five? Those never really count. In any case, the silence they were in was honestly very comfortable. He ended up subconsciously taking Lin's hands into his own after a few more seconds had passed.

Lin tried his best to calm his breathing, thinking of the warmth enveloping him sure helped him, the butterflies seemed to have dissipated and he could now fully enjoy what was happening in the present, at that very moment. He squeezed both of his hands, as they were both entwined now. "You know...for an idiot...I don't mind you being my idiot..." he then muttered, was that? how you did it? he questioned on his mind, but it was the best he could come up at the moment, his eyes now opening to see whatever Tatsuya's response might be.

Tatsuya just laughs, not really being able to help himself. "Yeah, and who fell for that idiot?" Tatsuya says in response, smiling as he does. He figured that Lin was trying to compliment him or something in his own way. He's trying at least, regardless of how he does it.

"Both of us are," Tatsuya says quietly, really living in the moment. He never did imagine that he'd end up like this. He's glad though, and sort of understands his brother now. He never really quite understood love. It was interesting to him, which was why he obsessively watched romance shows and movies, but other than familial love, he never understood finding one person and giving them all of your attention. He can't say that he doesn't like it, that's for sure.

Lin kept on the crook of his neck, full calm down, his body against Tatsuya’s just has him in bliss and calm down. He could vaguely feel and hear his heartbeat, which made him smile. “Sorry, we kind of... drifted from the anime” he then said with a little chuckle then, his hands playing now with Tatsuya’s, slowly mimicking signs. This was the most calm he has been in a long time, ever since he joined OA, he had been calmer but this was just a completely different feeling... it felt so right.

"It's fine," Tatsuya responds chuckling, "We can continue it any time anyways." A big part of him didn't want to move right now while they're sitting comfortably like this. He nuzzled into Lin a bit more, feeling just about the same as he was. Everything felt perfect as it was, it was almost surreal. He didn't want to think about how others feel with them being together as long as Lin was happy.

"you know...you're pretty...comfy...I might fall asleep..." he said with a very gentle, barely audible chuckle as he nuzzled to him again, now taking in his scent. He smelled....nice... He wouldn't mind staying there longer.

"I mean I won't stop you if you really wanted to," Tatsuya lets him know. He honestly wouldn't mind just falling asleep to honestly. The only problem is that it'd be harder for him to even bother trying to get up once he's awake. Other than that? He sees little to no cons that he'd particularly care about.

Lin shook his head, raising it soon after back to face him. On one hand, it was done so he wouldn’t fall asleep, on the other, he wanted to see him again. “That’s not fair to you for me to do that” he then responded gently, thinking that if he was going to sleep, it’s because the both of them were tired.

"Well if you do feel sleepy though, I really don't mind," Tatsuya tells him, shrugging just a little bit. He wanted Lin to feel like he's free to do as he pleased around him. He wanted Lin to feel a sort of comfort with him that he may not necessarily feel with others. He just wanted him to feel secure he supposed.

He shook his head again before pressing his forehead against his, this as an endearing act, but also to hide his embarrassment over the next couple of words that would come out next. “I already feel like I’m sleeping....” Lin then muttered, his hands squeezing at Tatsuya’s own.

Tatsuya's face heats up a little bit, not moving away from Lin as he presses their foreheads together. He isn't quite sure what to say at this, but it gives him a warm feeling. He eventually does say a little quietly, "Alright then." He squeezes Lin's hands back a bit now.

Lin smiled, at least what I said wasn't too weird...right? He still questions the levity of his metaphor, just enjoying both of their foreheads pressed together. He then took time to just analyze the position he was in now, in the bed, sitting with Tatsuya, both hands entwined with one another while their breaths mingled with the proximity of their faces. If you would've told Lin at the start of the year that this would be his favorite moment and that it be with Tatsuya out of everyone, he would've laughed at your face...yet... here they were.... here he was, loving every second of it.

Tatsuya was quiet for the most part, just enjoying the fact that he was able to be close to Lin like this. He knew that he couldn't be like this with him outside, so he made sure that he enjoyed every second he had. He would strike up some sort of conversation, but he couldn't really think of anything at that moment. Hopefully, he wasn't boring Lin or anything.

“A-akeyo-san...?” Lin’s voice then shakily spoke up. His eyes once more looking towards him as he continued to speak. Even though he’s already called him by name, he’s not quite sure if he can continue just yet, he’s quite embarrassed. “Would you mind showing me some of the books on your desk? I’ve been thinking of them since I walked in... “ he then admitted with a little cheeky smile, taking one of his hands back from their hold to place his index finger on the dimple that appeared on his cheek.

Tatsuya looked towards his desk, thinking for a bit before nodding. "Sure, I don't mind," he says. He didn't want to get up to get them, but he had to. Picking off a few from his desk, he brought them to his bed and laid them out. One of the books he took looked to be a photo book of plants from the looks of it, three others were some of the numbered ones, and the last one was the one labeled "stamps".

Out of all, the one labeled 'stamps' had called his attention. Sitting back at the corner he had begun at, he crawled towards that one and gently held it in his hands. Before opening it, he made sure there was some space around him, after all, he wanted Tatsuya close again and explain his seemingly cute hobby. With a breath, he then opened the book on the first page.

The first page was just a single stamp, an arrow drawn from it to the words "home" in a child's handwriting, a date scribbled alongside it. The postal stamp was from Nara dated back to 1960. "I put that stamp in when I was six," Tatsuya explains, "I found it when I was digging around my grandma's desk and just sorta decided I wanted to keep it."

The first page was just a single stamp, an arrow drawn from it to the words "home" in a child's handwriting, a date scribbled alongside it. The postal stamp was from Nara dated back to 1960. "I put that stamp in when I was six," Tatsuya explains, "I found it when I was digging around my grandma's desk and just sorta decided I wanted to keep it."

"Who would've thought big bad boy Tatsuya collects stamps......cute~..." an innocent chuckle came out of Lin's mouth before holding the rest back with a hand to his mouth. Lowering the same he gently traced the small writing Tatsu had done before moving to the next few pages to admire more of his collection.

Tatsuya rolled his eyes, though he had a bit of a smile gracing his lips. He watched as Lin turned to the next page, now with labels on the top of the page based on which places the stamps are from. The first two side by side of each other being Hokkaido (having 13 stamps on the page) and Kyoto (with 18 on the page). Looking through these with Lin from the beginning really reminded him about how much he traveled as a kid with his dad and/or grandma. It sort of made sense to him now why he bought so many stamps even though he had no one he would want to mail anything to.

Lin let his fingers gently pass over one of the pages of stamps, this was something he wasn’t expecting from Tatsuya at all... just goes to show that looks and personality can be far different from what’s true. “These are really stunning...” they then mumbled before glancing back up at Tatsu who had gotten closer, a small smile creeping through as he liked that.

Tatsu smiled a bit nodding in agreement. "They are, yeah," he then says quietly, though loud enough for Lin to hear. "I've been collecting them for a really long time, but I've never really shared it with anyone else." He always thought it to be a little embarrassing honestly, but then again he didn't really have anyone to share it with either until now.

"Why didn't you share it with anyone? Is this one of those hobbies people think are lame?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked towards his side at him. He slowly passed a couple more pages, his hands being as gentle as he could as he didn't want to somehow harm this collection.

Tatsuya shakes his head a bit before saying, "No, I just didn't have anyone to share with. My dad was always busy, and my grandmother wasn't exactly invested in what I was interested in. My brother also sorta just... Does his own thing. I'm not really close to him. Then I was homeschooled, so I didn't really have a lot of friends other than other adults that work for my dad, but I don't really think they're the type of people I should share my collections with." Saying this out loud now, he's sort of only now realizing how lonely it was growing up.

“Huh... so you’re a rich boy I take?” He said then with a small chuckle, he was attempting to somewhat lighten the mood. He definitely knew the feeling and wanted to share but he quite didn’t know how...yet... He preferred currently knowing more about him.

Tatsuya couldn't help but smile and scratch the back of his neck, being a little embarrassed. "You could say that..." He knew his family was rich, but he never really thought too much about it. He just never really saw it as the defining factor about his family.

“It doesn’t really change my view of you... it just explains why you act a certain way and do certain things...” Lin said hoping there wasn’t a misunderstanding. He closed then the stamp book, holding it firmly between his palms for a few seconds stamp collection doesn’t seem that bad... he thought, he quickly got lost on his own train of the same.

Tilting his head, Tatsuya seemed a little confused at that statement, having to give it some thought to properly understand what Lin might have meant. He eventually had to ask, "Do I have certain quirks that give me away or something?"

Coming out of his own brain he looked at Tatsuya, reflexively saying “what?” As he processed what he said. Soon enough he cut off any response that could be done by Tatsu by continuing. “To most, what you just explained in terms of why you didn’t share your collection with no one else gave you away...” Lin stated, he tried to think hard of other things, but anything else also applied to people who weren’t born with a silver spoon so he decided to hold from saying any other.