answer your god damn phone

[dialtones]

[How many calls had he missed from Leorio alone?

Honestly, he preferred not to look at the number. It was wrong, but this wasn't something he could pull any of them into. He'd been wrapped up in his own little world, paying attention to the news enough when it related to his work and his end goal, and while he could have gone to the elections or even to visit Gon (his comrades had, after all), he decided against it. Visiting would have just opened up a whole can of other problems.

Maybe it went against what he'd been thinking before, but he had matured a bit since then. With the Spider desperately working to repair itself, and plenty of its members still on the move, Kurapika had to consider how to handle them-- but he was also sitting right on top of the location of the eyes of his brethren. He had to work up to it, and well... That's what he'd done.

There were a large amount of them recovered (he had to deal with a lot of people to get this collection) and given funerals, but it wasn't enough until he had every last set. There were still leads to follow, and so he continued to climb and gain Nostrade's trust.

Trust, though, is what leads him to pulling his cell phone out now. A strange illness was breaking out in the Nostrade organization, and it was worrying Nostrade himself. A few of his workers had already died, and panic was growing. He demanded that Kurapika find him someone to find out what was going on, but to be sure it was someone they could 'trust', because this could very well be an attack on them.

A doctor that he could trust? His first thought was that there was none. But after just a moment's more hesitation, he gives in and speaks his understanding clearly to Nostrade, hitting the call button on his phone and stepping away. His opposite hand curls at his elbow as he waits. This is pulling him in, but if it's just Leorio... It'll be easier to keep him in the dark about a lot of what he's been doing.

He'll use that to justify this selfish decision.]

Leorio?

Comments

I'll put it on my fridge

[dialtones]

[Oh no. He should stop laughing, but the soft chuckles continue. Really, it's the closest thing he's gotten to bubbling over with laughter since they've met, and it's not so easy to stop. The hand on his chest slides back up and around to curl fingers into Leorio's hair, as if that scrunching motion will help the fact that he just about bashed it in.]

Sorry! [It doesn't hold as much of an effect as its spoken between soft laughs, he realizes.] I'm sorry.

[With that not helping very much, and his laughter getting a little embarrassing at this point (it's so open), he leans down to kiss him incredibly slowly. Maybe that will help.]

gold star sticker in the corner

[speeddial]

[It doesn't help, and yet it- does, both at once. On principle Leorio's all set to grumble about the fall, but the fingers in his hair feel nice and Kurapika's laughing - especially this close - twists something in his stomach. Pleasantly. He might be on the floor and he'll probably have a bruise tomorrow, but he's happier right now than he's been in... he can't remember.

He squeezes Kurapika around the waist - terrible punishment - before trailing a hand up his back to rest on the back of his neck.

Before they connect again he manages a mumbled and incredibly non-serious accusation that Kurapika knows exactly what he's doing. He must, if he can go from giggling to kissing like that in seconds flat. Leorio hums in the back of his throat and parts his lips to deepen the kiss, and, okay- okay it's not super uncomfortable

here on the floor. But still.]

[dialtones]

[Please. That accusation is warm like everything else, and it spreads from his face and his chest to the rest of him. The squeeze to his waist might get an interrupting splutter, but determined, he smiles and presses through it.

It doesn't matter to him anymore that they're on the ground. He's been thinking too much, hasn't he? So rather than worry over what he should and shouldn't be considering right now, he's just going to enjoy it. Their closeness and the lighthearted way everything is moving forward is more than he could have ever asked for.

Even when they've been kissing for such a long time and are still on the floor, tangled over a tipped over chair, he doesn't want to stop. In fact, he wants more, and without any sign of earlier embarrassment, he allows it to show. He's clumsy and slow with this, but there's still a heat behind everything he does. One of his hands curls and uncurls fingers into Leorio's hair off and on, sliding out and around to the side of his face when Kurapika decides he wants to kiss him even harder. The other is harder to find things to do with, and after a while of it wrapped around Leorio to pull himself closer each time, he finally pulls it back to rest between them, unthinkingly hooking a finger around the loop of that tie.

He's really into this. Who knew he'd be so into this?]

[speeddial]

[haha, flustered nerd]

[Leorio threads his fingers through Kurapika's hair, slow and without a care for anything else to match their kisses. Alright, he'll get over the chair- for now anyway, until his legs inevitably fall asleep.

Unfortunately, he is acutely aware of his tie (it's around his neck, shuash), and as much as he'd like to keep kissing Kurapika with minimal interruption he interrupts them himself, breaking that kiss with an "uh" that sounds too loud in the soft quiet of the room. He can't pull away on his back on the floor, so he sort of angles his head to do it, which is stupidly uncomfortable.

Wait, he isn't ruining the moment for laundry, hang on.]

Just- [he starts, distracted; and then because he's pointedly aware that he'd rather be doing other things, presses a small kiss to the corner of Kurapika's mouth before he goes on,] Take it off, I don't care.

[In his defense, Kurapika has already put him at risk for cracking his head open today, so he can pause for this if he wants.]

[dialtones]

[...That interrupts things, alright. Kurapika is left blinking in surprise even with the kiss to the corner of his mouth, and a very unimpressed expression slides onto his face.]

I was just holding onto something. [No, he wanted to take it off, he wasn't thinking about it--] Shut up.

[For a guy who was telling him he talked a lot, he sure didn't know how to shut his mouth. But fine. He hooks his finger into the loop deeper, undoing the knot with an expert tug. Of course, it's not the most gentle motion. He tosses it aside with his own extra pieces of clothing.

Leaning down, he kisses Leorio once, hesitates, and then moves the kiss towards the corner of his lips like he'd just done himself. From there, he offers an experimental kiss to his jaw.]

...Should we move? [Well, if they're already interrupted.]

[speeddial]

[Hold onto something else and don't complain?? It's just a tie. But, look, he's shutting up save for a noise of discomfort drawn out by yanking on said tie, he's still not sorry...

Unlike Kurapika, Leorio is slightly more easily mollified by the traveling smaller kisses, and turns his head to fit their lips together again. Or both of his against Kurapika's upper lip and kind of half on anyway, but look, no angle down here is good.

So they should probably move, or. Roll. Or something. He slides his hand out of Kurapika's hair to poke his shoulder.]

You first.

[dialtones]

Ah... [He was the one who suggested it, but he's reluctant to move after that kiss. But right. He won't complain after just suggesting it. He sits up first, staring down at Leorio as he tries to think of the best way to do this.

There is no best way to do this.

Every way is awkward and so rather than shoving himself up using Leorio's chest (like he might have usually done, actually), he sort of awkwardly tries to lean over to one side to get free. He manages with a tumble onto his back and heavy huff from the impact. Graceful.

Really though, just a few seconds and he's already feeling impatient. He was the most patient guy around, and there was a warmth with unsettled tight feelings from his stomach to his chest he wanted to deal with, but it's true that they likely couldn't stay on the ground for much longer... They'd both end up sore, not just Leorio.

Pushing himself up in his distracted daze, he looks over to check on how Leorio is managing.]

[speeddial]

[Batting a thousand already. Leorio's reluctant to give up the comfortable weight on his chest, but unless he wants to spend the rest of his days sore from this stupid chair, it has to be done.

Nice fall, Kurapika... Leorio can't help but laugh, half-heartedly and not at all convincingly masking it with a cough as he hauls himself up from the floor. It takes a little effort to unfold himself from the chair, with the armrests suddenly trying hard to impede his progress and one of his pant legs getting stuck on the handle under the seat that adjusts the chair's height—somehow. He swears at it once or twice.

In the end he makes it to a regular sprawl on the floor, nothing short of a miracle. Why. Why him.]

[dialtones]

[What a huge goober... While Leorio is wrestling with that chair, Kurapika stands slowly and dusts himself off, eventually turning to smile fondly down at the pile on the floor that is Leorio. He's not sure what it is about this that's appealing, but right now, it's even more so.]

Maybe I shouldn't have worried, after all. You don't know what you're doing, either.

[Teasing like that, he ducks down a tiny bit and extends a hand if Leorio wants to pull himself up.]

[speeddial]

[wow]

Which one of us tipped the chair over, huh?

[He'll take the hand, though, and get back on his feet. Glancing down at himself, he motions for Kurapika to give him a second and hastily shrugs off his jacket. Without getting stuck this time... why did he even put it back on?

But now.] Uh-

[If he looked any more obviously at the bed, the pillows would blush.]

[dialtones]

[The chair comment gets a Look, but that evaporates soon enough when he catches that glancing. Still holding onto Leorio's hand, he gives a slow look to the bed himself and wonders if his eyes are still red. They still feel red.

But... well, it only makes sense. So ignoring the fact that his heart feels like it might burst out of his chest and smack Leorio in the face, he steps towards it carefully over the chair and clothing on the floor, tugging him along with.

Kurapika sits and lets his fingers slip from Leorio's because he has absolutely no idea how they're going to sit now. That moment of 'tip the chair over, who cares about thinking deeply!' is gone, and he's in a panic. What do they do now, how are they doing this, why was this so nerve wracking!]

[speeddial]

[They're definitely still red. Leorio's used to it now, he thinks- probably, mostly. There are more important things on his mind as Kurapika leads him over to the bed.

He's... he's not expecting Kurapika to sit there daintily and look more than a little shell shocked by this. The guy climbs into his lap without hesitation, but can't sit on a bed and look comfortable at the same time? Now he's making Leorio more nervous, damn it—

With a huff he sits down so that he's facing Kurapika from the side, immediately leaning over to- bump his forehead against Kurapika's temple.

what's up, what's the problem]

[dialtones]

[Look, he was in a very determined mood, and then Leorio broke it. Multiple times. The weight of Leorio bumping into him like that actually automatically causes him to relax with a small laugh. God, he's so weird.

He turns his face into that, leaning over and crawling onto the bed a little more so that he can reach Leorio's cheek. He wonders if he'll chase his lips again, as he kind of liked that.]

You're... [He wants to say something there, but it doesn't come out. Sweet? Too caring. He can see that worry from miles away, and while he might get annoyed by it in the moment a lot of the time, he does appreciate it.

With that sentence abandoned, he just hums, one of his hands reaching forward to rest hesitantly over one of Leorio's on the bed.]

I never expected anything like this. That's all.

[speeddial]

[He's super sweet. And charming. And smart. Here's a list of things Leorio will fight to get Kurapika to say about him, in due time.

He opens his mouth like he'll say something, and he plans on it being something about how if Kurapika had picked up the phone... except that he suddenly isn't sure if they'd be here now if Kurapika had picked up all his calls. Would they still be going in circles? Leorio can't deny he'd have been satisfied by an answer every now and then.

That's kind of lame, he thinks, and changes what he means to say to,] Hmph.

I'm full of surprises. [Dryly, but not negatively... he knows he's predictable... With his other hand he reaches for Kurapika's shoulder and tugs, wrapping his arm around to pull him into a hug. A hug where no one is still half-panicking about near-death experiences, that's novel.]

[dialtones]

Surprises.

[He repeats it simply, and that alone should convey his teasing. Leorio... surprising. Well, sometimes. But he won't admit it. Not when he's usually so predictable. Like the hug. The hug is a little surprising, even if he's learning to grow used to it. He's pulled closer and his free arm settles loosely at Leorio's side in return.

He can't deny it's comfortable like this.]

My schedule is cleared out for today, just so you know.

[speeddial]

[That's a surprise. Is it a coincidence? Did Kurapika actually block out time to yell at him and/or kiss him on a crappy office chair? Leorio isn't going to complain (about that) but huh...]

What, seriously? Ahh, now I have to keep you busy, is that it?

[A constant struggle. What ever shall he do, save for turn his head to seek out Kurapika's mouth and kiss him again.]

[dialtones]

[Wow Leorio!! A smile tugs at the corners of Kurapika's lips even through that kiss, and he pauses to take it in. It's embarrassing that he'd be fine doing this all day. All night, even. But Leorio seems to be on a similar page, so he can easily feign confidence. And from that, he feels comfortable.

There's a contemplative hum as he kisses back and cuts it short to speak.]

Did you want me to change that?

[speeddial]

[To be fair, what else would they do... They may not have left this building in days, but Leorio doesn't seem opposed to spending even more time locked in this little room.

Pros, cons. He does however sputter, no, don't sass him so abruptly.]

I didn't say that.

too many smiles I feel ooc already leorio needs to tone it down

[dialtones]

[No, he'll sass him all he wants. He looks so proud of it too, in this moment, leaning closer to take another kiss.]

Stop trying to act cool.

rejected

[speeddial]

[Kurapika can't use kisses to get away with everything, he's putting his foot down on this right now. Look at this, this is still sassy.]

You don't think I'm cool? Your loss!

wow!!!

[dialtones]

I didn't say that.

[What. Is he implying he thinks Leorio is cool after all?? His tone doesn't make it very clear, but he frowns a little stubbornly and grips the hand under his own, hovering a few inches away like this.]

I only said you're trying too hard right now. Are you trying to make me angry?

[It's half working sTOP TRYING TO FIGHT WITH HIM even if he goes for it every time and starts it himself...]

[speeddial]

[HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!! He's not trying to start anything, it's?? in his blood maybe?]

What the hell, Kurapika? [you are always angry] I'm just talking to you! Normally!!

[So yes, being annoying is just default, no big deal.]

[dialtones]

[Leorio...........

He could tell him to stop talking, but where's that going to go? Instead, he leans so their hug topples over sideways on the bed, rolling rather aggressively on top of him with a kiss.

Maybe that will shut him up??]

[speeddial]

[Okay but NEXT TIME, Kurapika can't solve all his problems with kissing, really. Next time, he means that. Leorio definitely makes a noise of not-really-protest to that effect against his mouth, but of course doesn't push him away...

Still, he's kind of annoyed Kurapika is so eager to get mad at him. So when he tugs his hand free of Kurapika's tender vice grip to thread fingers into his hair again, it's in an equally aggressive motion as he kisses back.

He's still going to win!!]

I swear if leorio is a goober again..... i swear

[dialtones]

[Look, it's just embarrassment, it'll pass. It's passing right now!! Because as startling as it is to have that aggression shoved right back at him, it's focused in a way that is Not Bad at all.

His hands are free now and that's fine. They clutch into Leorio's shirt as he adjusts himself on top of him, and yet again, he's straddling him. There's no hesitation or going halfway like there had been in the chair before. Months. It had been months since he felt this relaxed and this at peace, even longer since the stress of work and goals was a presence only at the back of his mind. And now, how long did he have?

They needed to work things out still, he realizes, and that leaves too many opportunities open. But he's not going to verbally try to seal Leorio here, either. That wouldn't be right.

He has so many questions, too. How long had he felt this way? How long had either of them felt this way? And what did this mean? Was he prepared to deal with the line of work that was bound to come? The endless recklessness that Kurapika knew he couldn't avoid in this? And what if an enemy learned anything about this? It was a weakness, wasn't it?

They're just kissing, but Kurapika is working himself up emotionally in a lot of ways. He's grateful. Grateful, and sad, and worried, and hopeful, and suddenly his kissing seems a lot more emotional, too. One hand slides up to touch Leorio's cheek and the other grips a little too tightly at the sheets beside his head.

The stop for a breath, this time, is extremely short. Just long enough to say his name.]

Leorio... [Like he has more to say. But words won't do this time, and so his eyes flick back down to those lips and he kisses them again.]