Chapter 2
Although Kurapika had been on the receiving end of suggestive remarks in the past, this was the first time he could feel his face heating up. In any other situation, he would have rolled his eyes and shut his phone off. This was no exception.
He should have known where this would lead when their conversation began. It was rather exciting that he came across another person who shared the same taste in literature, but the whole concept behind the app was still foreign to him. Abandoning all thoughts of the handsome stranger, Kurapika chose to sleep.
Morning came too soon after a night of studying and unwelcome distraction. While he was on his way to class, his phone vibrated in his pocket. There was a notification from the app that sought his attention and he opened it, discovering that there was a new message. He blinked a few times before finally registering Kuroro's words.
for your eyes only.
If he was sleepy before, he was wide awake now. This was going to be one of those unsolicited dick pics he heard so much about, wasn't it?
He was afraid to look but scrolled down anyway.
Thankfully, only a harmless photo of a bookshelf appeared on the screen. It was neatly lined with all of K. L.'s books, from their first published works to unreleased volumes at the very bottom of the shelf. Another photo revealed several of the exclusive pages. His initial reaction was of pleasant surprise, because that was what one felt when there was news of one's favorite author who never gave any updates to the general public. But that quickly turned to suspicion for there was no reason why Kuroro could have access to these works.
Good morning. This wasn't what I was expected at all.
The response was as quick as ever, as if Kuroro had been waiting for him to reply.
what did you have in mind? +;)
While he wasn't opposed to light flirting, he wasn't ready to push back just yet.
What's that? Kurapika asked instead.
what's what?
+;)?
it's a winking emoticon with a cross on its forehead. i've read that using them can make conversations seem less formal.
How was he supposed to respond to that? The usage of emoticons wasn't exactly congruent to the profile of the man he was speaking to. Though he didn't understand what the cross meant, he just shook his head and laughed.
perhaps you were hoping for something along these lines?
Before Kurapika could type up a reply, he received another photo—one that was far more intimate than the last.
Kuroro was lying in bed with the faintest smile on his lips, his black hair tousled on the sheets. His dress shirt was unbuttoned in its entirety, exposing toned abs—and if he saw correctly, a hint of a tattoo. His pants were undone, granting Kurapika a glimpse of his sculpted hipbones. The pose was so natural, so lazy, and Kurapika had to avert his eyes and fervently convince himself that he was not the type of person to get aroused by something as unthoughtful as this.
It was way too early for this. He quickly scrolled down before anyone could see the photo that was sent to him.
Do you send things like this to everyone?
again, this is just for you.
His statement should have been dismissed as lip service, but Kurapika felt strangely flattered instead. These photos were not shared publicly on Kuroro's profile and therefore more private.
Lucky me. You should be getting dressed for work instead of sending me pictures of your body.
Thank you for sharing your book collection though. I'm excited to see that they'll be releasing new works soon.
Kurapika smiled gently at his phone. He placed it on silent mode and slid it into his bag so that he wouldn't be tempted to look at it during class. Not only was he the type of person that didn't like to be attached to his phone, he was what his friends considered to be a bad texter, as it took him days and weeks to respond to messages or calls. It was surprising that he had already exchanged this many messages with Kuroro.
He pulled out his phone as soon as class was over, finding that Kuroro had sent him a few more messages, the most recent one timestamped an hour past the first one.
how did you come across k. l.'s works? they're not a particularly mainstream author, so i'm curious to hear about what made you a fan in the first place.
what are you doing now?
Kurapika turned to a quiet spot in the library to compose his answers.
I was in class so I couldn't reply. My first job was at a bookstore so I always took a look at new releases to see if there was anything that caught my eye. I actually encountered their first book by accident.
He remembered it clearly, how he unloaded a new pile of books on the table and a black book had escaped his grasp. He retrieved the book from the floor, feeling the smooth leather on its cover and scrutinizing it for any damages to the spine. There were initials etched in silver print, but no other text was to be found.
Out of curiosity, he opened up the book and scanned the first few pages for any identifying information. Despite working in the bookstore for years, this was the first he had ever come across such a peculiar book. He wasn't certain if K. L. was the author's name or the title of the work.
After consulting with his manager, there was no information to be found regarding the book, so he simply took it home with him. It was only after a few days that he remembered that there was a book still in his bag, so he decided to open up the book and read.
He knew the feeling of being heavily immersed in a book, but there was a haze in his mind, as if he had been separated from the world for a moment. Looking down at the book, he wasn't certain how he had read a dozen pages without any recollection of the content.
I had trouble understanding their writing at first, but only because I was so intent on looking for something that wasn't there. I delved into the book, expecting to find something hidden in the center, but there were more and more layers instead. There was a lack of clear destination or answer to their writing, but that was entirely purposeful and exactly what I fell in love with.
It was astonishing how much devotion they inspired through their words.
When life wasn't being so generous to me, I had work and not much else, but I also had K. L. I wish I could meet them one day and tell them how much their writing means to me.
Kurapika reread the messages he sent, finding that his messages became lengthier when Kuroro steered their conversation towards topics he was interested in. He could imagine the intensity that radiated from his words, despite leaving some of the details out.
Sorry. I must be boring you by talking about them so much. It's not every day that I can find a fan of them to speak to.
He stared at the screen, willing a new message to arrive. Kuroro's response took a while, but he was still much faster than Kurapika.
don't apologize. i like talking to you and your love for them is really endearing. i was worried that you would have some hardcore interests.
Kurapika felt something akin to relief there and then, as well as embarrassment at how he hadn't updated the text on his profile.
you're a student then?
After all, they barely knew anything about each other. He considered sending him something more visual after receiving the photos from this morning.
Yes. I have a few minutes before my next class.
Messaging had the benefit of making Kurapika more bold than usual, since he ended up opening up the camera app and angling his phone slightly upward. He tucked his hair behind his ear, revealing his lone earring, and snapped a photo. It wasn't a great picture or anything inappropriate, especially with the dusty shelves of books in the background, but he sent it regardless.
He was a tad nervous, but the reply still came within seconds.
you're really cute! sometimes it's difficult to imagine you as a real person.
That made Kurapika smile.
I know what you mean. I think I'm more used to speaking in person.
It had taken longer for Kuroro to reply, as if he had gauged whether or not to send him this, but the proposal was inevitable.
would you like to meet soon?
Notes: Are we going down the sexting route? I think we're going down the sexting route. I hope you guys like smut since that's all I want to write for the future chapters +:)
I had an art museum date with a guy last weekend and I would never wish that upon anyone else. It was the most boring outing I've ever had and the entire time, all I was daydreaming about how Kuroro would probably steal this or that.
Future chapters will be longer. Please feel free to leave a comment!
You can also find me on Tumblr seiyuna. Please talk to me about kurokura!
