This is a cute little Aoshi/Soujirou drabble I wrote for the lovely onnasoujirou. It contains shounen ai (obviously), so if that makes you particularly uncomfortable, please hit the back button on your browser.
For everyone else, enjoy!
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"I thought you were finished with that ridiculous habit."
A shiver ran through Soujirou's body, not at the voice, but the cold breeze that accompanied it. He was a seasoned warrior, and quite aware of Aoshi's presence long before he had even opened his mouth to speak. It was not particularly difficult to feel the undisguised, naked ki that he exuded.
But even an amateur could have felt the eyes burning into the skin that his yukata revealed.
"What habit are you speaking of?" Soujirou asked softly, dangling his legs over the edge of the roof. He began to lightly kick to the beat of the crickets, but found himself subconsciously going through the motions of Shukuchi. The air pulsated around him, and it served only to push Aoshi into a higher state of irritation.
Living with the ex-Okashira had given him a great insight into the previously untapped area of his emotions. He had acquired the ability to read into the slightest change of expression, how to interpret tension in the air, and most importantly, how to understand the enigma that is Aoshi.
And right now, it was fairly obvious what Aoshi was thinking. The tangibility of his emotions was almost frightening sometimes.
Soujirou's gaze moved from his feet to Aoshi's face, shaded by the shadows of night. Years of a perfectly maintained front of cheerfulness nearly prompted him to laugh, but he stifled the urge, and simply stated, "Hiding things from you has no purpose, does it?"
A question and an answer in itself.
Aoshi was behind him now, curling his arms to brush his fingers against Soujirou's lips. They danced along the soft skin, coming to rest upon the corners of his mouth, curved upward in a smile. Soujirou's hands reached up to stroke the strong, muscular arms that he adored.
It was then that he realized just how large Aoshi was in comparison to himself. The concept was not something he found all that intriguing in the past, because it was not important. They still fit together, and the height difference was unnoticeable while lying in bed with the taller man's body curving around his own, still that of a boy.
Soujirou turned to face Aoshi, slinking his arms around his shoulders and bringing him to a point where their faces were level. The Tenken was close enough to breathe him in, close enough to taste the essence of Aoshi that he had become a necessity in such a short amount of time.
In a passionate battle of wills and lips, they clashed. Even like this, they were still fighting, still clinging to that small piece of themselves. Leaving it behind would only be an indication that everything they lived for had lost its meaning.
Time passed, and they broke apart. Soujirou could see Aoshi's eyes roving over his kiss-swollen lips, etching the image into his mind. The smaller man slid his hands into the opening of Aoshi's yukata, tracing individual scars on his chest. He pressed his ear to hear the beat of his heart, and then moved back up to his face.
Their eyes locked, and Soujirou drifted over to his ear, tickling it with his breath.
"I smile because you cannot."