"You do realize that I will have to kill you for appearing out of nowhere and disturbing my bath," Rosch shot a glare at the teal haired man. "Oh no, I'm going to die from a wet Rosch!," Yuj mused and began to feign choking to death. "I can't believe you made a joke! There's a first time for everything," Yuj chuckled, "You actually look pretty sexy when you are all wet."
Rosch continued glowering at him and thought about the fact that he wasn't entirely joking and sighed to himself. He was startled and he hated the feeling of vulnerability, and being caught while relaxing and bathing with his guard down was one of the worst case scenarios in his mind.
"Well since you are here, perhaps you can pass me a towel so I can get out of this water. As comforting as it is, I prefer to bathe without an audience," Rosch grumbled. Yuj passed him the towel that was set on a rock and sighed playfully, "it's too bad that I get to see you naked before Maqui."
Rosch sent him a death-glare, a glare even more vicious than the last, then rubbed his temples and grabbed the towel. Trying to change the subject he asked, "how about you tell me about how your date went then."
Rosch did not really care to know, but he figured since it was the first thing in the morning, Yuj probably didn't talk about it to anyone yet, and he would do just about anything at this point to get the boy to focus on something other than his body.
Yuj blushed faintly, "actually it went rather well. . . the whole date went smoothly, but it wasn't really romantic or anything. But I did kiss him at the end of it." Yuj reflected on the night before and described his date to Rosch.
When they arrived at the restaurant Maqui and Yuj were quickly greeted by Hope, who took them to one of the nicest tables in the restaurant. Gadot had quirked an eyebrow at Yuj and looked at Maqui and said, "hey, I thought you liked the kiddie table with all the color pencils and stuff, shortie." Maqui pouted and stuck his tongue out at Gadot, "Awww come on, I'm not that short! I'm almost as tall as your girlfriend you know," Maqui fluffed up his hair to make him look even a millimeter taller.
Yuj chuckled and said, "don't worry Maqui you are the perfect height for fitting under vehicles and other machines since someone as big as Gadot can't fit under there." Maqui grinned, "Damn right! I. . .hey! Are you saying that I'm small?" Maqui gave him a wide-eyed look and shook his head in agreement, "well you know, good things come in small packages." "Right, Hope? You agree with me don't you?," Maqui grinned. Hope shook his head, "yeah you could say that, but at least I'm still growing. Anyway, what would you guys like to order?"
Maqui and Yuj both ordered seafood dishes, since that's what they grew up on in Bodhum. The fish were plentiful, although nowhere near as tasty as the ones that were caught in Gran Pulse. Yuj and Maqui spent the evening laughing and teasing each other and once in a while joking about Lebreau and Gadot's interactions with each other.
After they finished eating the two boys headed outside with two cups of rich, dark hot chocolate and looked up at the night sky. Maqui tilted his head, "Hey Yuj? How did we get such a nice table anyway? There were even flowers on it. Usually we eat in the utility room in the back so this was a bit of a surprise." Yuj looked up at the sky, "well I figured, I haven't really been on a date, and I know you haven't either, so why not have our first one together." Yuj fidgeted. He was normally fairly confident, but he felt rather nervous about revealing to Maqui that he viewed their get together as a date.
Maqui's jaw dropped, "eh? That was a date?" Maqui flushed and his whole face turned red, "he. . .hey. Why didn't you tell me sooner! I didn't even dress up or anything! I uh. . .wasn't I supposed to pull out your seat or something. Awww man I really messed up the first date thing." Maqui dramatically flopped on the floor without spilling his cocoa.
Yuj laughed, "we both had a good time right? That's all that matters; I just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner with you." Maqui rolled a bit and hopped up, "yeah, it was super yummy! The next time you want a date, just say 'it's a date!' or something like that. That way I can try to do something special for you too!" Yuj's eyes glimmered slightly in the moonlight, did Maqui just say that he was fine having future dates? "In that case, let's have a date tomorrow night. A real date."
Maqui grinned broadly, "alright! I'll meet you at the café after you are done with work." Yuj smiled and finished his cup of cocoa, feeling the little marshmallow melt on his tongue. He looked at the pale, clear blue eyes in front of him and impulsively pulled Maqui close and pressed his lips against his. His tongue slid against his lips as Maqui gasped from surprise.
Maqui closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Yuj and melted into the kiss. Yuj relished in the warm feeling of his body being embraced by the warm, cozy arms of the one he hoped would be his boyfriend. Maqui pressed his tongue back against Yuj's gently and panted slightly into his mouth as Yuj gained entrance into his warm, chocolatey mouth. Maqui's tongue danced against Yuj's and he pulled Yuj even closer to himself. As Yuj began to pull away, Maqui traced his tongue against his soft lips. Maqui felt his body temperature rise and licked Yuj's chocolatey sweet lips again and nibbled his bottom lip slightly before pulling away feeling light headed and excited.
Yuj's cheeks were just as red as Maqui's and he felt his heart skip a beat as Maqui so willingly and passionately kissed him back. "Yeah. . .come meet me after work," Yuj finally replied with his golden eyes slightly lidded from the incredible sensations he just experienced. Maqui nodded and gave Yuj a big hug, "alright! I will be there so make sure to be off on time! I'll see you later!" Maqui ran off after that and Yuj was left standing in front of Café NORA in a stupor.
Yuj sighed and looked at Rosch, "not that I kiss people very often but, wow Maqui is an amazing kisser. He is so passionate and cute, and sweet like chocolate and honey. Yuj continued on, describing Maqui as the cutest and sexiest person he had ever met.
As Yuj went off chattering away, Rosch quickly dried himself off, got dressed, and pulled his hair back into his signature hair style. "So basically, I take it that you are completely smitten," Rosch stated in a matter-of-fact manner. Yuj grinned, "I can't wait for our date tonight! I hope we can pick up where our kiss left off."
Rosch sighed to himself, by the sound of the date, it was just puppy love. Something that either wouldn't last or it would wear off quickly. Rosch wasn't a romantic in any sense, and he didn't understand how one kiss could be so passionate and exhilarating to the point of Yuj swooning the entire morning after.
It's not that Rosch had anything against romantic relationships, but he did not see the importance of them. They were not productive for the society in his mind, except of course relationships that lead to children to continue on the civilization. Rosch thought about the fact that his first reaction to the concept of relationships was a practical one. He sighed to himself and wondered for a very brief moment if that was why he was feeling lonely as of late. While Rosch was readying himself for the changes in his new life, he still firmly believed that romance wouldn't be part of it.
"Although I'm glad to hear your date went well, why did you come here this morning?," Rosch asked trying to get off the subject of relationships.
"Oh that's right," Yuj reached into his rucksack and pulled out a bag of hi-potions and a few elixirs. "I brought you some medical supplies. I picked some up this morning right when they opened so they didn't run out of the day's rations yet." Rosch felt all of his irritation about Yuj startling him in the bath earlier dissipate.
"Thank you. I appreciate your help, although I hope they had enough there for the civilians who need these potions more than I do," Rosch stated clearly believing the needs of his people came before his own. Yuj chuckled, "don't worry about that, they organized it so that each person has their own set of rations. The people who come earlier in the morning can purchase extra potions and such in addition to their quota. So everyone will get what they need, it's just that I was able to buy extra."
Rosch nodded in agreement, content with his answer. "As long as they have what they need, I won't argue." Yuj nodded back and looked at his velocycle, "well I better head off. Snow asked me to check out another set of ruins before going to work today. I can't believe how many places there are to explore here, it's just crazy. His friend Sazh has been flying ships to some of the air-accessible only areas too. When you get better you should explore a bit before returning to the military, that way you can get the lay of the land."
Rosch looked at Yuj thoughtfully, "so from what you have told me, I assume that the reconnaissance teams aren't able to collect enough information about the ruins near the settlement, let alone further out." Yuj nodded, "that's just how large this place is. We haven't even scratched the surface."
Rosch was about to respond when he heard a voice yell. "Hey Yuj! Where are you?" Maqui came running over to the two men with a huge grin, "I heard you were gonna go exploring so I wanted to join you before I got to work too!" Maqui continued to run and then tripped on a rock. "Whoa! Ouch, that hurt, hahaha," Maqui laughed embarrassed by his tripping. He looked up and smiled at Yuj, then noticed the man behind him. "Oh. . .hey. . .I know you. I think? I think I recall seeing you at Lebreau's restaurant in Bodhum when PSICOM came to town," Maqui tried to remember where he had seen the silvery blue haired man. Yuj looked at Rosch feeling guilty about the fact that Maqui must have followed him to his camp.
Rosch nodded to Maqui, "Yes I recall stopping at the local restaurant. The guardian corps officer, Amodar, who was stationed at Bodhum had wonderful things to say about her restaurant." Maqui grinned as he dusted himself off, "I take it you liked the food? Super yummy huh! So I guess you work for PSICOM? Well from all the changes I guess all of the military kinda combined a bit. PSICOM, guardian corps, and the cavalry all joined together, but I guess you know that already since you are part of it. Anyway, are you gonna join us in exploring the ruins? It's gonna be a lot of fun!" Maqui talked a mile a minute and chuckled in between words.
Rosch shook his head, as much as he wanted to go exploring, he was still injured and he did not want to be a liability. He also thought that perhaps the two boys would want some alone time since they were beginning a romance, and he did not want to be the third wheel. "I think it's better if I stay here, I am not quite well. I would not want to hold you back," Rosch stated firmly.
Maqui nodded in understanding, "aww in that case get all better then the three of us can go exploring tons of places!" Yuj smiled looking at his boyfriend, "yes we will try to do that but right now we better head off otherwise we'll never get to work."
Maqui sweatdropped, "whoops, you're right." Okay let's head off! Come on Yuj!" Maqui took Yuj's hand in his, causing the teal-haired boy to blush. Yuj pulled Maqui close to him with his hand and kissed him softly before pulling him onto his velocycle. Maqui quieted down and looked at Yuj with his eyes glazed over and his cheeks a pale pink. He hopped on the velocycle behind Yuj and cuddled against him as they took off. Yuj waved to Rosch and headed over to the ruins.
Rosch quirked an eyebrow, never had he seen someone go so quiet from a mere kiss. He never felt that connection or that sort of reaction to a kiss before. 'Perhaps that's why I never became serious about anyone,' Rosch pondered and shook his head; he knew full well that he would never fall subject to puppy love and that this train of thought would not take him anywhere.
He decided to finish getting dressed and put his masamune in its sheath. He knew he was injured but still wanted to gain better understanding of his surroundings. After hearing about the vast lands around him from Yuj, he had been feeling rather antsy about being unable to at least explore. He needed to have a solid grasp of what was around him if he was not to go crazy. He packed up his potions and elixirs and took two pocket grenades for good measure. He knew that there must have been some validity to what he had learned about Pulse on Cocoon. While the Fal'cie were trying to control them, there was no doubt in Rosch's mind that the world of Gran Pulse was not without danger.
He decided to begin searching the perimeter of his camp. He saw many beautiful trees, lush grasslands, and deadly looking flowers. It truly looked like a place that was untouched, a land that was filled with feral creatures that fought for survival rather than because they were being used by the Sanctum. He continued to look and wandered out further. He navigated his route specifically; each time he completed a route he gauged his perimeter, and headed further outwards in a spiral pattern.
"Hmm. . .interesting," Rosch mumbled out loud as he found each new creature and terrain fascinating. He gathered as much intel as possible as he wanted to report all the data he could find to the military. He was hoping to return to the military within a week, as he was missing the work and responsibilities he had been so passionate about. He was hoping that returning to work would renew his drive and bring him back into a familiar reality.
Rosch sat down in a shaded area where there were no monsters in sight and rest. He was exhausted even though he avoided battles since the monsters seemed to be keeping to themselves as long as they didn't notice him. He took in a deep breath of air and took a moment to relish in the nature around him.
"It's good to see you survived, it seems like many things have changed over the last few months, so I'd like to catch up with you if I may," a voice said from behind him.
Rosch knew that voice, "I have quite a few questions for you as well, General Raines."
TBC
A/N: Ooh I am awful! Leaving it off at a part like this *evil cackle*