( why so vague, huh. kirma startles at the sudden arrival, having ignored the watch notification entirely— he, too, has been occupied, though in a much different way.
specifically, he's holding up one of the baby rabbits esi so thoughtfully left behind by the ears, with a certain level of intent he was specifically told not to have. though his arms partially lowers at seeing esi, he doesn't release it just yet. )
What took you so...
( his voice trails off as it all clicks together. oh. so that's what this is about, then. )
( He steps closer, and now his focus is on helping the bunny get down to the floor gently. Despite everything else, he does seem to care about these little creatures. )
( would that esi showed a single ounce of this tenderness towards others. though he'd meant to evoke jealousy in a far different way, kirma finds himself staring with a more envious hunger at the shivering bunny in his arms. he can't even remember which one that is— kiki, maybe. a waste of food, definitely. it isn't fair... it isn't fair. )
It's fine. ( for once, he gets to be the dismissive one. who cares... ) You shouldn't have taken so long.
( at this proximity, he can only stay distracted from esi's pointed setup for so long. as he coddles the rabbit, kirma slides past him, as if to move on in the most roundabout path possible; he stops just behind esi, though, leaning up and in to sniff at his hair. )
Where were you, exactly.
( he's got quite a big hunch, but he's not happy about it. )
( ...On the one hand, he's deeply offended to be sniffed like that.
On the other, there's a significant amount of something like pleasure from causing Kirma to be so visibly jealous. He turns only slightly, lifting a hand to press gently at Kirma's face rather than pulling away. )
( as much as kirma wants to pry, demand answers, context, the like— a soft touch is more than enough to still his words. how pathetic. despite his considerable misgivings, he leans against esi’s palm, though the cheek that rests against his fingers surely burns hotter than normal. listen… )
Put the rabbit down, then.
( the implicit demand of pay attention to me is obvious in those terse words. mr. sniffer has some requests, it seems. he leans even harder into esi’s hand, threatening to put all of his weight on him if he doesn’t comply, an outcome that will surely end in disaster— though not for him. )
( After a couple of soothing pets to the rabbit that he might not have normally given, he crouches to release her to the room. She hops away, seemingly forgetting the situation she was just in, and moves to do binkies in circles with the other rabbit a room over. Esikko stands up slowly from this, back towards the hand he'd been holding out at Kirma and sort of just halfheartedly kept there.
The leaning wasn't lost on him, but he had to put the bunny down. )
Jealous of a rabbit?
( The smile that Esikko gives is exceedingly proud, but he turns his full body towards Kirma now, moving that hand to playfully tuck some of the other man's hair behind a human ear. )
( she binkies, because she doesn’t even know she’ll be dinner someday. oh, to have no concern for the future. another thing to be envious of, but one he’ll have to shelve for the time being, as esi turns back around.
the gesture is surely meant to be something lighthearted and cheery. neither adjective is particularly trustworthy, coming from the son of a king. kirma’s mouth tightens for a brief moment, and he grabs esi by the wrist, before he can pull his hand back. with that as a point of leverage, he drags him close, nose to nose, eyes narrow. it’s not all aggression; his other arm snakes its way around esi’s waist, hand balling into a fist and taking a firm hold of his coat while its at it. )
Do you think you’re something worth being jealous over?
( it’s not much of a bluff, nor is it meant to be. just the usual bickering. there is part of him that’s troubled by the fact that he feels this way at all— only a few months ago, and he was counting down the days until they could justifiably part again. so what’s changed? )
You wasted my time. ( an inexpensive thing, here, but a commodity all the same. huff. )
( The way his wrist is grabbed like that is certainly a surprise— slightly widened eyes that he tries to quickly adjust, a little race of his heart... It's all exciting, though, rather than anything scary. In fact... )
Are you mad?
( Even the way that question falls out of his mouth is telling. He's practically elated by this reaction, sparkling blue eyes searching Kirma's face for more of an answer. He curls the fingers of his captured wrist into his own palm, his free hand slipping between their bodies to grip lightly at Kirma's chest.
What a strong little man his bodyguard is. He humors him with a duck of his head, so that the inches are even closer, and their noses almost touch. )
Maybe I'm not. But that has me all the more curious about a reaction like this, you know.
( he is not LITTLE he is a PERFECTLY AVERAGE HEIGHT )
Why is it surprising? You’ve been infuriating since the day you— woke up.
( met was almost the word, there, but that wouldn’t have been wholly accurate. scared the fuck out of him, sure. but in those first blissful days, before esi regained consciousness and kirma was none-the-wiser as to what he’d picked up in the forest, things weren’t so bad.
still. isn’t he enjoying this just a bit too much? kirma supposes that was the whole point— a trap that he’d walked into without a thought, as usual. already a regular occurrence, it seems to be happening more and more these days. could he blame the house for that one, too? his grip on esi’s wrist tightens enough that his finally-regrowing nails dig in with points. )
Here’s what I’m curious about.
( steering them towards the bedroom, now. kiki and ollie better make themselves scarce. )
How does the crown prince debase himself so easily, here? ( just because he sees the trap being sprung doesn’t mean he’ll try to resist it. ) After all your complaints about mingling with us casteless folk…
( said complaints are many months old, even without their time in this place counted— but still. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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What am I making for dinner, if it's not rabbit.
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Beef? Without skipping on the vegetables.
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Some of us only get to eat what we can source ourselves, honored son.
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You're so boring.
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Get your own food then. I'm not paying.
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I was trying to be nice.
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The door is open.
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I'll be there after a bit.
( hours pass. )
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Did you get lost?
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I'm almost there.
( Sure enough, after just a few minutes now, Esikko shows up, strutting in in the way that says he's definitely trying to make something apparent.
Something he's done. )
Hello. I got caught up in something.
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specifically, he's holding up one of the baby rabbits esi so thoughtfully left behind by the ears, with a certain level of intent he was specifically told not to have. though his arms partially lowers at seeing esi, he doesn't release it just yet. )
What took you so...
( his voice trails off as it all clicks together. oh. so that's what this is about, then. )
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Would you put her down? What did I say?
( He steps closer, and now his focus is on helping the bunny get down to the floor gently. Despite everything else, he does seem to care about these little creatures. )
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It's fine. ( for once, he gets to be the dismissive one. who cares... ) You shouldn't have taken so long.
( at this proximity, he can only stay distracted from esi's pointed setup for so long. as he coddles the rabbit, kirma slides past him, as if to move on in the most roundabout path possible; he stops just behind esi, though, leaning up and in to sniff at his hair. )
Where were you, exactly.
( he's got quite a big hunch, but he's not happy about it. )
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On the other, there's a significant amount of something like pleasure from causing Kirma to be so visibly jealous. He turns only slightly, lifting a hand to press gently at Kirma's face rather than pulling away. )
It seems like you might have a guess.
( Mr. Sniffer. )
Does that matter? I'm here now.
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Put the rabbit down, then.
( the implicit demand of pay attention to me is obvious in those terse words. mr. sniffer has some requests, it seems. he leans even harder into esi’s hand, threatening to put all of his weight on him if he doesn’t comply, an outcome that will surely end in disaster— though not for him. )
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The leaning wasn't lost on him, but he had to put the bunny down. )
Jealous of a rabbit?
( The smile that Esikko gives is exceedingly proud, but he turns his full body towards Kirma now, moving that hand to playfully tuck some of the other man's hair behind a human ear. )
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the gesture is surely meant to be something lighthearted and cheery. neither adjective is particularly trustworthy, coming from the son of a king. kirma’s mouth tightens for a brief moment, and he grabs esi by the wrist, before he can pull his hand back. with that as a point of leverage, he drags him close, nose to nose, eyes narrow. it’s not all aggression; his other arm snakes its way around esi’s waist, hand balling into a fist and taking a firm hold of his coat while its at it. )
Do you think you’re something worth being jealous over?
( it’s not much of a bluff, nor is it meant to be. just the usual bickering. there is part of him that’s troubled by the fact that he feels this way at all— only a few months ago, and he was counting down the days until they could justifiably part again. so what’s changed? )
You wasted my time. ( an inexpensive thing, here, but a commodity all the same. huff. )
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Are you mad?
( Even the way that question falls out of his mouth is telling. He's practically elated by this reaction, sparkling blue eyes searching Kirma's face for more of an answer. He curls the fingers of his captured wrist into his own palm, his free hand slipping between their bodies to grip lightly at Kirma's chest.
What a strong little man his bodyguard is. He humors him with a duck of his head, so that the inches are even closer, and their noses almost touch. )
Maybe I'm not. But that has me all the more curious about a reaction like this, you know.
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Why is it surprising? You’ve been infuriating since the day you— woke up.
( met was almost the word, there, but that wouldn’t have been wholly accurate. scared the fuck out of him, sure. but in those first blissful days, before esi regained consciousness and kirma was none-the-wiser as to what he’d picked up in the forest, things weren’t so bad.
still. isn’t he enjoying this just a bit too much? kirma supposes that was the whole point— a trap that he’d walked into without a thought, as usual. already a regular occurrence, it seems to be happening more and more these days. could he blame the house for that one, too? his grip on esi’s wrist tightens enough that his finally-regrowing nails dig in with points. )
Here’s what I’m curious about.
( steering them towards the bedroom, now. kiki and ollie better make themselves scarce. )
How does the crown prince debase himself so easily, here? ( just because he sees the trap being sprung doesn’t mean he’ll try to resist it. ) After all your complaints about mingling with us casteless folk…
( said complaints are many months old, even without their time in this place counted— but still. )
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