dumbshow | highly new, slightly improved open post

[Emil!! Lalli has no clue what he's doing here, either, but his instincts tell him that near the nose is not the optimal place to plant a kiss. It felt clumsy! ...Which, yeah, okay, that means that it's a totally Emil™ thing to do. Now that Lalli's actively thinking about kisses, though, he's thinking of them just like he thinks of everything else in his line of work: he has to be precise. It sounds anxiety inducing, but really, thinking about the proper place to kiss makes actually doing it, like. Easier for him.

So he pulls back a bit, eyes sweeping across Emil's face before he comes back in to smooch the very tip of Emil's nose. See? It's weird, you Ikea meatball, and Lalli sits back, raises an eyebrow to drive this point home, and promptly leans forward to try his second cheek kiss of the day. Lower this time, not higher. Maybe a hair closer to the corner of Emil's mouth.]

[He's messy, let him live, you knew this about him. The nose kiss is very cute, very sweet, and yet he can't help but feel like he's being judged for some reason... Please!!]

Hah— [Lalli is kissing his face again and he's very much enjoying that, but look, he has to Speak or his brain stops working-] Don't give me that look! I'm new at this!

[Technically, going by kiss count and nothing else, Lalli has more kissing experience than Emil does right now... Think about that. Lalli has the kisses covered so Emil will work on the handsy, touchy-feely thing, touching Lalli's face again before dropping his hand to tug vaguely at his waist. Can he do this? Come here, even closer.]

[Oh, that hand... sure is lower than any hand has been thus far? Huh. He pulls back from his latest kiss, staying close by Emil's face as he glances down at his side. Moving closer... everything is pointing to yes except for his brain, which, in a startling moment of clarity, wonders how much closer he can feasibly get. Soon one of them is going to be in the other's lap!

And yet he carefully scoots closer anyway, pulling his hand from Emil's hair in order to place it against his chest. Just... for balance, you know? For balance. The fact that he can feel Emil's heartbeat is just an interesting bonus, and he takes a second to marvel over the fact that it's beating as quickly as his own is. He did that... or, more accurately, they both did that, but he started it.

That aside—hel...lo? Lalli is now Here, closer than ever before, and after he's done staring at his hand like a weirdo he looks back up at Emil. Is this as close as he wanted? He can feel just how (nice and) warm Emil really is, so he assumes so...]

[Yes, hello, this is perfect. Now that the panic phase is over- well, for now- Emil can allow himself to go back to feeling basically just giddy over these crucial developments, and that's exactly what he's doing. He actually resists the urge to squish Lalli into a hug (you see? see how considerate?) and puts his hand over Lalli's on his chest instead. It's just like holding hands, except for touching his chest and all, um.

Yeah, that's the stuff. Really feeling that...]

Um— hey.

[Perfect. He wonders, is it time to take the plunge, and kiss Lalli on the lips? How does one determine when it's time...? Will he critically miss like he did a moment ago, because he'll be too busy thinking about Lalli giving him judgmental looks again?!

Yes, that last one for sure, so he just kind of leans in a bit and then-- that's it, the end. Ah.]

[There are so many different levels of contact going on here. Lalli knows that he can't just bolt away if things go from perfect to Too Much, but for once, that's not... the worst thing in the world. It's kind of the opposite, actually? Being stuck in one place with Emil's hand resting snugly over his, feeling Emil's heart beat as he slowly brings his face closer to—

—stop just short of Lalli's. Uh. ...Hmm. They stay exactly as they are for a few seconds, Lalli too surprised to do anything but awkwardly stare back at the person he very much wishes would close the distance and kiss him. Because he honestly does want that? And he's known this for a good while, but now that it almost-but-not-quite happened he's a bit taken aback by how much he wants that. A kiss... like, a real one, from Emil...

And you know, he's pretty sure that Emil wants the same thing that he does. Oh, he could be wrong; the pessimist within is gleefully telling him that he is, but even though Emil is frozen right now, he still put his hand on his waist and pulled him closer. It doesn't take a socially adept genius to know what that means! It's why Lalli makes a low noise in his throat, something between impatience and frustration, before closing the distance himself... and pressing his lips to Emil's. There! Done! Now instead of pushing him away, do whatever it is that people are supposed to do in situations like this.]

[What are people supposed to do while kissing, actually? Emil suddenly has no idea what to do with his hands, which seems like a weird thing to get caught on when they're mid-smooch, but somehow it's where his mind goes: does he keep his hands where they are? Should he put them somewhere else??

Whatever!! He gives Lalli's hand on his chest a light squeeze, which is his silent thanks for being understanding of his fumbling... The jolt of excitement that an actual real kiss sends through him makes him freeze just for a few seconds before he remembers how to move, tilting his head to kiss Lalli back more easily.

God yes, he's so smooth. He is a kiss artist. So this is Kissing...]

[This is indeed Kissing, and it makes absolutely no sense. That's not to say that it's bad; kissing Emil square on the mouth feels much, much better—softer?—than kissing Emil on the cheek, but it's missing... something. This is prime kiss real estate, okay! He's seen enough more-than-friends kiss to piece that together!

But as to what it is that's missing—well, given what happened at the start of this kiss, it's up to him to figure it out. So what, exactly, does he want? More of... everything, he supposes. Emil kissing him back, Emil touching his face, Emil somehow even closer than he currently is. It's probably, you know, not even possible, but he still takes the hand that was holding Emil's for who knows how long and brings it up to Emil's cheek, sliding it across his skin in order to tangle it in his hair. This time, however, he doesn't tuck everything back behind an ear and call it a day; instead, he sighs, gently presses Emil closer, and... clinks their teeth together in the process. Nice.]

[Ah, so they're going right from Kissing to Kissing 2, Emil understands exactly how to conduct himself in this situation. He doesn't at all, obviously; but if Lalli's going to get bolder then he can be bolder, too! You know. Maybe.

Well, here: his newly freed hand sneaks up to Lalli's waist to keep him close, like there's any real chance of Lalli trying to run away from him right now. He hopes not, anyway-- he'd probably take a chunk of Emil's hair with him if he bolted.

Still: focusing on the smooch. Emil kisses as best he can, so just about as clumsy and overeager as he is with everything involving Lalli, but at least his confidence is starting to come through for him. Enough that Emil also thinks, you know... they could be closer than this... they could also be doing this somewhere more comfortable than a rock, but one step at a time. Lalli should be in his lap, Emil decides, and also decides not to think too hard about it lest he chicken out. He already has a hand on his waist, so it's simple to tug on him more insistently than before, humming against his lips in what he means to be a very pointed suggestion to just, you know, just do it. Crawl all over him, he's ready.]

[You offer Lalli a cookie and he swipes the entire bag; you kiss him back and he immediately wants more, even if he's not entirely sure what "more" entails. The only thing he knows for certain is that he wants Emil to focus on him in every possible way! Surely that's not asking for much.

...Okay, so maybe he's a little needy. That's something they can work on down the road, but right now he feels Emil urging him forward and that means that everything he's doing here is a-okay. Exciting!! But also, like, confusing, because he doesn't want to move his hands from where they are at this very moment? He doesn't want to break this kiss? He's not even entirely sure that he wants to sit on someone else, because that just feels like something that would be... well. Well.

Then again, that strange urge to be closer hasn't exactly left him. Will it ever? He just doesn't know, but he slides his hand out from under Emil's, places it on the other boy's shoulder, and (oh-so awkwardly) tries to keep this kiss going as he shifts up onto his knees. Straddle, and then sit? That seems like a good plan, even if it involves so much maneuvering and face-twisting that he's eventually forced to pull away from Emil for a short while. It's not all bad, though—there's even something nice about being much taller than Emil for a moment, before he drops back down onto Emil's poor leg and he becomes only marginally taller once more. It's a good thing he's a twig...

Anyway... more kissing, yes? Yes. ...After he takes a second to catch his breath. Surely Emil needs a second to adjust to this new... everything, anyway, but Lalli keeps his hand in his hair just in case. Stay.]

[Oof, this journey to Emil's lap is as Lalli(tm) as possible, huh-- not that Emil complains, but it's a process that involves a lot more weirdly angling his head and hoverhanding until Lalli has settled than he expected.

First thing about Lalli being in his lap: wow, he weighs like nothing when Emil isn't hauling his body around the frozen wastes. Amazing. Second thing: this is the single most thrilling thing that's ever happened to him. It's all he can do for a moment to look up at Lalli, happy-- just... happy. Right this second he doesn't even seem to register that Lalli is super needy, too content to manhandle him around and kiss him a bunch.

Still, he's not going anywhere. Jeez-- he pats Lalli's, uh, side, until that seems too stupid and he tilts his face up to kiss at the corner of his mouth instead. Look, he got one. Emil is on the board.]

You're going to pull my hair if you keep that up.

[Sitting on someone's lap and not doing anything feels like sitting on the edge of a very unsteady table? Plus he's not quite sure what to do with those gangly legs of his, but he tilts himself toward Emil and tries to, like, straighten them out as best he can. This is a much more delicate endeavor than he'd thought it would be.

That kiss helps, though, even if it's followed by some Swedish nonsense that seems to center around the word "hair." He's smiling, apparently very pleased by this whatever-it-is, and yet he's probably wondering if his hair is all tousled. Psh! That earns him the mildest of Looks... and some Finnish to decipher.]

I'm not going to mess it up.

[More than it... already is, anyway? But if it makes Emil happy—and he finds that he really does want to make Emil happy—then he'll remove his hand from the back of Emil's head and do his best to quickly smooth everything back into place. Bam! The sparkles are back, and Lalli congratulates himself with a pompous little nod as he settles both hands onto Emil's shoulders.]

See? Now it's fine.

[You are welcome, Emil. Now shower him with kisses.]

Edited (if u can't sleep, u edit) 2018-12-06 05:31 (UTC)

[You know, somehow "mess" is one of the Finnish words he knows. Somehow! Mess, messy... He assumes Lalli is telling him he's already a mess and so that is why he stops to fix his hair for him, so that's, hmm-- well, he can live with that. The hand in his hair was nice, but fixing his hair is nice too?? He's easily satisfied.]

Oh, yes, wonderful.

[Something like that? He's beautiful, thanks for supporting him. For another short pause he takes a moment to appreciate all this, mostly Lalli in his lap (status: Holy Shit), before kissing the same spot at the corner of his mouth again. Then one more time, before he daringly kisses him full on the mouth once more, squeezing his hip now that he's out of hands to hold.]

Edited (Fixin spelling at work do de do) 2018-12-06 13:38 (UTC)

[One, two, three whole kisses! Yeah!! Lalli's not really thinking about anything other than kissing Emil just as fervently as Emil is kissing him, but as he digs his fingers into Emil's shoulders, some tiny part of his brain finds the time to jot down a quick note: fix this boy's hair way more often.

Oh, and another quick note: kiss this boy's neck at some point in the future, because as Emil squeezes his hip, one of Lalli's hands jump up to... touch his face? Touch something, anyway, but it lands on the side of Emil's neck and Lalli leaves it there for a moment. There it is—there's that heartbeat again, right under his thumb, and he hums appreciatively before sliding his hand down to grab the front of Emil's shirt. But, like, gently. ...Kind of. Listen, Emil just has to accept the fact that they are staying on this dumb rock for A While as Lalli practically sinks right into him. Hopefully his leg isn't in danger of falling asleep any time soon...]

Edited (don't roast me for my editing streak... i'm done for the day) 2018-12-06 20:56 (UTC)

[Lalli likes praise, Emil likes preening, it's easy to make your boy happy when you both have the same colossal ego about simple stuff. Emil hums in turn, too pleased with himself and Lalli to control his smug smiling even while they're in the midst of smooching like it's the end of the world.

Lalli grabbing his shirt is maybe Emil's first actually registered needy moment, but he doesn't mind- he responds by sliding both arms around Lalli's waist and locking his fingers together behind him, the perfect spot for both holding and manhandling, you know, if he needs to move Lalli bodily around anytime soon. Not yet! His leg is doing alright! It'll be time to slink back into the house and mooch off sheep family food before he kicks Lalli out of his lap for something as silly as pins and needles.

...Ah, and briefly he wonders if they're going to have to stand 6 feet apart or something, when they get back. Reynir and his family, whatever, same for Sigrun and Mikkel, but Lalli's cousin... does not seem entirely fond of him...

Briefly he wonders this, because ultimately he's going to do whatever he wants, but he gets points for considering it! There! Now it's back to kissing Lalli even more earnestly, pulling him in closer so they're really smushed together as much as possible here. Yes, perfect!!]

[So maybe this is what was missing a moment ago? This, uh, complete and total lack of personal space. It's more than he'd expected, far more than he ever thought he'd like, but there is something decidedly satisfying about sitting in Emil's lap and being pulled tight against him. Lalli likes kissing Emil like this... he likes the feeling of Emil's hands pressing against small of his back...

Maybe too much, actually, because now the hand balled up in Emil's shirt moves slowly upward, still holding tight to the fabric even as fingers begin scrabbling for that bare skin that's right above the collar. Yes, that's definitely what he wants now: more of that warmth, even though he's warmer than he's been all day, and if he can just find a way to deal with this shirt that both is and is not in the way—

But ah, that is A Lot. He has no idea what people normally do in these situations, of course, but he does know that there's some type vague-ish between kissing until your lips hurt and... trying other things; it's why he stops pushing things for the moment, why he settles for lightly running his fingers across Emil's collarbone as this second serious kiss winds down. Is he going to be the one to pull away, though? No, because he's greedy!! Love him until you absolutely have to stop!!]

[Having Lalli pressed flush against him is, hmm, well-- excellent. Emil decides this immediately and resolves to get into this position more often, although maybe next time on a chair? A comfortable armchair? He is a man of wealth and taste, see, and as much as he's enjoying this as-is, he can't make out in the woods every single time.

Maybe that distant thought that next time (and whoa, Next Time, a real thing!) they do this somewhere more comfortable is the thing that tethers him to reality and pops his little bubble of delight when Lalli's needy fingers go wild at his shirt collar. Aha, boy--]

Your hands are cold, [he mumbles, close to Lalli's lips since he isn't pulling completely away either. He's not complaining! Not... really, he's just observing. Here, close enough to kiss him one more time, then just look at him some more. Nice face, Finn. Nice hands, too? How odd would it be to tell a guy he has nice hands, right this second...? Just kidding, he just thought of a better thing to babble about.] You know, I don't think I actually said I like you, which was rude of me. So. I like you very much.

[Don't make him mangle that in Finnish. They've been over "like" and "very much" before...!!]

[Maybe Lalli likes the forest, Emil. Maybe he's more comfortable out here than he is all cooped up in some strange house! But they can chat about that in the awkward, awkward dream they're sure to share tonight, because as great as kissing one another is, Lalli knows that Emil is going to want to talk about it. ...Even he knows that they should probably talk about it.

So he's (reluctantly) prepared to do that later, when they can easily understand one another, but then Emil decides that he has something to say right now. ...Ah. Well. At least he's still close! And staring at him in that silly way of his, which Lalli decides to tolerate as long as he keeps receiving a small kiss every now and again. It's just, you know, a bit hard to focus on the words he's saying? Lalli doesn't want to pull back at all, but he tilts his head to the side, eyes watching Emil's mouth easily shape these strange words as he tries to decipher as many as he can. I—well, Emil—, um... likes... him...

...That shouldn't be a surprise, considering how they've been locked together for several minutes now, but Lalli still freezes for a moment when he gets the meaning. Likes? Likes very much. Onni likes him, and Tuuri liked him, and yet this is a different type of like, he thinks. Something entirely new! Ah, but as pleased as he is to hear Emil say that, he should probably say something back, shouldn't he—]

I like you, too, [he murmurs, in Finnish, before coming in with a quick, chaste kiss of his very own.] Very much.

[He's never been very good at thinking of things to say, but shamelessly repeating Emil's line in his own language feels like the best thing to do here. And who cares about that, anyway? Because look, Emil—there's a trace of a smile on Lalli's lips as he pulls back, so small that if you blink you might just miss it.]

[Oh, they're going to talk the hell out of it. Emil just assumes this, because they can talk when they're asleep, so surely they're going to-- and then just dream-hold hands in silence, probably. That sounds like par for the course. But he's not thinking about that right now, of course. Lalli is kind of looking at him like this thing he's saying is... news? Brand new information?

And okay, so Emil would probably react the same way if Lalli had said it first, but come on. Luckily the Finn gibberish and sweet little kiss come in time to stop Emil from being a brat and demanding a real response, and he meets Lalli's teeny tiny smile with a huge smile of his own. Who needs dream talking when half-comprehensible mumbling is working out so well??]

Well I'm a find, so of course you do! [emil. okay, he controls himself to be a little more soft--] But, honestly— I'm glad.

["I'm glad" is the only real thing that Lalli understands here, and that, my friend, is a blessing. Oh, the shift in tone was definitely hard to miss, but let's be real: he's too dazzled by the smile to spend too much time wondering what that first was all about. Emil is glad, Emil is smiling, and everything is... almost too much, but in a good way.]

Mmm.

[Or: "I am, too." Lalli squirms a bit, finally releasing Emil's poor, stretched shirt as he settles more comfortably against him. Maybe they'll kiss more! Maybe they'll sit quietly! Maybe they'll trek back to Reynir's house and poke at some weird food!! He has no real plan here, but that's okay, he supposes. Being with Emil is even better now than it was before.

But... hmm. He lifts his newly free hand and taps a finger against Emil's cheek, studying him. Yeah, he's still here!]

Were you worried?

[Like, he was worried, okay? He was very worried, but he doesn't want to just up and say that. Please understand this Finnish...]

[Hi, yes, that's his face? Emil may like him very much but he has a limit for being poked, proceed with care. He probably knows "worried" if only from a troll-hunting context, so he can piece together the rest of this question... Was he worried? Well, duh, of course he was-- Having only one friend and then wanting to kiss him a lot is something anyone would worry about!

Probably. He doesn't really know. So.]

I was more before you started kissing me for no reason! [That was very helpful, in the grand scheme of things!! But also very bad for his tiny, infant heart. Relax. His brow furrows, considering... the Finnish... there's no chance in hell he'll get "I was scared you would think I was weird or something" right, so, plan B.]

I was, uh, distraction. [.......no, that's his best.]

[It's a tap, not a poke! But dang, listen to that amazing attempt at Finnish. Lalli gives him a slightly unimpressed look before lightly patting him on the shoulder, because he didn't need to understand any of that earlier Swedish to know that, yes, Emil was worried. About the same stuff that he i—was worried about? Well, that's still up in the air, but at least he knows that he wasn't completely alone. Maybe worrying about losing your one friend is something that everything goes through!

...Distraction, though. Distraction. He places his hands in his lap, not quite sure what to do with them when they're not kissing, and thinks about the days spent pondering why Emil's smile made his chest feel like it was going to explode. There is but one conclusion to be drawn here:]

...You should have distracted me.

[He knows that Emil is going to get, like, none of that, but he's been tormented for days—weeks!—and it wasn't very fun.]

[Yeah, Emil gets "you" and "me" out of that, and because he is a dingus, and because Lalli is usually making faces at him like that, he can only conclude that the unimpressed look is just standard fare and actually, that Finn gibberish is something very cute. So, assuming that Lalli is just being cute at him, Emil grins and squeezes around his waist again. Let him hug in peace.]

I don't know what exactly that means, but maybe?

[Ha... look, this isn't his fault.]

["Maybe!" Hmph. There's that unimpressed Look again, because aside from the wonderful we-like-one-another-very-much moment, is there any point to talking? There are a handful of other Things they need to (possibly) discuss one of these days, true, but everything was perfectly fine when they weren't saying a single thing a few minutes before; plus he's used to keeping most things to himself, anyway, so! So. Feel free to squeeze him closer like that, Emil, even if he's still not sure what he should be doing. Hugging... back?

He considers this for a moment, seriously mapping this entire thing out in his mind before twisting around to... try to loosen Emil's grip? Which probably isn't the best thing to do with absolutely zero warning, so he forces himself to look back at Emil and try his hand at Swedish:]

Not... [tch!] ...long? Minute.

[Apparently talking does have its advantages, but they need to work on expressing time. Anyway: let him go, please!]

Edited (i can't read) 2018-12-07 05:10 (UTC)

Uh, what-- [Boy, please, let him rock snuggle. It is truly a tragedy for Lalli and only Lalli that Emil is not a twig and his grip remains stalwart with minimal effort in the face of this... struggle. This wiggling around and tugging on him, which takes him a second to parse.]

Oh-- sorry, you don't appreciate that? Um, hmm-- [How can he just not hug!! He compromises by letting go of Lalli with one arm, raising that hand to wiggle his fingers for emphasis that he's Let Go while his other hand lingers vaguely by Lalli's waist. See? Not squeezing! He's cooperating! Please tell him this is what "not long minute" actually meant to convey because he understood the words and that's as far as he got. They need to work on complete sentences, too...]

Like this? What do you want to do?

[The truth... is that Lalli could have formed a simple sentence there if he'd tried, but he's in a hurry! Plus he's already put so much effort forth today, so please, just trust him. Quietly. That is an awful lot of Swedish being hurled his way...]

Pfh!

[But okay, okay. Being held with one arm is not as helpful as being cut loose, but Lalli is flexible enough to make this work; he just has to, you know push himself back, almost to the point of falling, in order to make room for him to sling one leg over and around Emil as he turns to fully face him. It's a tedious, graceless process, but after a bit more maneuvering: there. Now he's straddling instead of sitting side-saddle, which is... something to think about, perhaps, but he focuses on slipping his arms over Emil's shoulders and leaning in once again. Being close is better when he doesn't have to stay all twisted around! Now he can easily return a hug in full.

...Or, like, tilt his head against one arm just to press a quick kiss to the side of Emil's neck? Because after a split-second's consideration, that's what he does.]

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