Patience

Tomomasa actually doesn't know how he's doing it; he's rather surprised just how easily he's managed to remain patient. Not that he is an especially impatient man under normal circumstances, not at all. However, when it comes to romantic interests, there is hardly any need for patience. What he wants, he gets. Who he wants, he gets. It's as simple as that, and has nothing to do with arrogance.

The women at the court almost trip over their feet, scrambling to accommodate him if he so much as glances in their direction; it's not always a reaction to be desired, either. His reputation as a considerate and skilled lover precedes him, he knows that. He has also truly enjoyed the company of many women. But sometimes it disgusts him, the politics that never stop, not even once you enter the bedroom, and the false flattery and pretentiousness.

It's different in Yasuaki's case. Tomomasa has to work for every inch of progress, more than ever before. It's not always easy, he has to admit. There are moments of impatience, of insecurity, of thinking of giving up. Moments where he calls himself a fool for even trying. He isn't about to give in to those bouts of weakness, though.

He looks at Yasuaki who appears to be listening intently and with undivided attention to Tomomasa's tales of his childhood, although the Onmyouji's face is as impassive and unreadable as always. Sometimes Tomomasa wishes it was easier to guess what is going on in Yasuaki's mind.

As though Yasuaki has sensed Tomomasa's train of thought, the Onmyouji looks him straight in the eye, catching him with that piercing gaze. Tomomasa returns the look openly, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Yasuaki smiles.

Tomomasa's breath hitches at the sight. Yasuaki's smiles are rare at best. Tomomasa remembers seeing one maybe two or three times at most and only directed at either Akane or Eisen. Now, however, for the first time, the smile is directed at him and him alone, and Tomomasa knows without a doubt from where he takes the strength to be patient.