-Art by huangdanlan on Twitter-
Imagine saying you won't be updating for 2-3 days and then taking over 2 weeks off. Couldn't be me.
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It was the feeling of somebody's touch on my face that awoke me the next morning. I had to fight to open my heavy eyelids in order to meet the gaze of a lonely boy.
I looked down at the pigment in his gentle fingers which caressed my face. My hand left the bedsheets and took a hold of his thin wrist so that I could kiss his fingertips. He smiled as did I. "Good morning." I said to Kurapika who sat next to me, intertwining his hand with mine.
"Good morning, dear." He said back softly. I sat up with him and looked out the window. The orange sunlight lit up the whole room, feeling warm on my face. As I was staring at the world, I felt two hands snake around my body and that was when Kurapika pulled me into a hug. I didn't know for what occasion he had done this but I hugged him back never the less.
His back was warm. Warm and loving. Kurapika leaned on me as if to bring our bodies even closer. I smiled into his shoulder while my hand rested on his bare skin. The memories of the previous night came back to me, filling every corner of my sinful mind.
Each kiss, each touch, each thrust. I didn't forget how it made me feel. I never would forget. Only a few hours ago this beautiful boy was giving all of his love to me, only for I to return the gesture by submitting myself. Now, now more than ever we belonged to each other. And that was evident by the bruises on our skin. Actually, no, not bruises; they were bites of love- a symbol of reminder that Kurapika was mine and that I was Kurapika's. They were hickeys of gratitude, showing that we were both thankful for having found each other.
I pulled away and looked into his brown eyes.
"Are you okay after last night?" He asked quietly.
I giggled as if he had just asked the dumbest question on the earth. "Of course I am. It was the most magical night of my life." He kissed me on the lips and moved out of bed.
It was a memorable morning, one nicer than usual. Perhaps because this particular day I wasn't in a shady setting being involved in a life-threatening mafia fight or tracking down sick bastards in order to retrieve Kurta eyeballs. Instead, I was spending the morning with my other half. We showered together, got dressed and went for breakfast.
There was nothing in the world that I needed more than to spend time with Kurapika. I was happy. And I knew this happiness wouldn't last as we would soon have to return to the miserable routine we had gotten too used to. Frowning, I looked at him from across the dining table. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to take a photo of you later." I muttered.
Kurapika looked up from coffee mug, rather surprised. The hall was empty of any sound, all the servants were elsewhere in the mansion and the other bodyguards were tending to their own duties, leaving the blonde and I in unsettling silence.
He chuckled softly at my sudden statement and shook his head. "You're always taking pictures of me." A smile brighter than the sun present on his lips.
"I can't help it. You're just so perfect that I want to capture every moment with you." I leaned my chin on my palm and watched the boy look away bashfully. With a sadder expression coming over me, I looked down at my own mug. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get you anything for your birthday today."
I didn't even bother to tell him it had slipped my mind, to tell him that I was unprepared for the day he turned nineteen. But it was fine because he didn't seem to care at all from that smug look on his face. "Nonsense. What you gave me this morning was the best gift you could have given me."
Scoffing, I took a sip of my coffee to hide my flustered expression as the boy across just laughed. But his words caused me to feel butterflies in my stomach. Never in my life had I thought that I, myself as a person, would ever be equivalent to a gift. I never thought of myself as enough. Never until I met Kurapika.
"Thank you, (Y/N)." He said, placing his hand on top of mine. "I mean it. You mean everything to me."
God, how I adored the different ways that he said he loved me. "Kiss me." I demanded. He and I stood up as he leaned across the table to french kiss me. I loved the feeling of his lips, the touch of his skin, the world in his eyes.
We pulled away. He took my hand and led us back to our room. It was sweet, the way he always held my hand when we were alone. I felt safe with Kurapika and I knew he felt safe with me too. Of course we did, we made love the previous night. That thought didn't cross my mind, however, it was never about the physical part in our relationship which was meaningful. It was everything around it and everything inbetween. He didn't love me for my body nor did he love me despite it. And I felt the exact same way about him for it was our souls which attracted the other. Even after our first time, I was never uncomfortable, our connection felt the same if not stronger.
And I thought deeply about this all while I lifted my cybershot camera to eye-level, looking through the viewfinder window before snapping a photograph. I looked at the screen. Open shirt collar, mesmerising blonde hair, the dash of a movie star unwillingly snapped by a paparazzo. No wonder I kept staring at it.
Kurapika joined me, standing next to me with his hands on my waist as he looked at the picture. "I look bland." He mumbled, probably referring to the unbothered look on his face.
I pouted and pulled the camera to my chest. "Well I think you look like a model, someone captured at an unexpected time yet still somehow managing to look majestic."
He laughed, kissed my cheek, and walked off while muttering to himself. I watched as his slim figure travelled across our bedroom to the dresser where documents were stashed. My eyes never left him as he shuffled through his papers in deep thought.
I wish I could remember what I'd felt on that afternoon just over a year ago- the burst of confusion followed by it's instant antidote, admiration. Feelings developed as quick as thought when I first transitioned from thinking he was just a funky-dressed girl to when I watched him demonstrate his strength on his opponent. It all started then, from the first time I looked in his eyes as he was passing through the door, from the first conversation I had with him in that small room, from the first time he touched me by ruffling my hair before we parted ways. The feelings started ever since then but truly blossomed each day I spent with him.
Even now, so long after, I can still identify myself falling in love with him a little more each time. Now that I know the real Kurapika, and each successive Kurapika wearing a different-coloured tie with his suit every day, or the Kurapika who lay naked in bed, or who leaned on the window ledge of my bedroom, stood in the way of s troubled and confused image I had drawn of him on first seeing his snapshots.
"Will you stop zoning out and help me sort out these documents before the meeting?" He asked in a light-hearted tone. I cleared my head and trotted over to him, snatching the papers from his hands and reading through them, the same way I always did most mornings when he had too much work on his hands.
I heard him chuckle again and looked up to see him smiling down. For what reason he was reacting like this, I did not know. But I only continued to gawk as he patted me on the head and returned to his own work. There was no hint of irony, nothing that didn't remind me, unless I was mistaken- and I don't think I was- that what we had existed between us was the total transparency that exists among friends only.
Perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. But then perhaps that's what lovers are.
~
As always, the explanation for the chapter in case anyone is interested: this one was slightly odd for me because I started it so long ago and would occasionally add to it one paragraph at a time when I could be bothered so it wasn't written in one sitting like usual. But, as you can see, I've once again chosen to set a more emotional atmosphere this time rather than focus on plot, it just felt right this time. I want to express the exact emotions of the Reader aftet she has seggs with Kurapika.
I tried to do so by sort of portraying that neither of them cared too much, to an extent. I want it to feel almost as if they're brushing it off because that really isn't what's important in a relationship, what's important is the feelings. Her feelings. Wanting to experience love all over again, still finding things about him to adore, and the bond of friendship. I feel as though friendship is often overlooked in relationships, actually. I could honestly write so much more about this particular theme but I'm choosing not to say any more other than refer back to the last line in the chapter. Those sentences were taken from a book, actually. The phrase hit me hard because maybe that's what couples actually are, two friends. And I think that's truely beautiful :)
Thank you for waiting for this chapter and for reading this small note if you did. Until next time my lovelies 🕴