What would he have to pay for a kiss?

[fortheempire]

Characters: Ioder (fortheempire ) and Izaya (kingwithnocrown )
Location: Izaya's Apartment
Time: Afternoon, Jan 13th
Style: Prose
Status: Closed

What am I doing here... ?

That was a question Ioder kept asking himself, but no matter how many times he asked himself, he couldn't give a proper answer.

Estelle had been far too encouraging of the fact that Ioder had "made a friend" and it only made him feel weirder that he managed to dodge the issue of who it was specifically. So of course his lack of ability to answer his own question just piled on top of that nervous, twisting feeling in his stomach.

He stared at the door of where Izaya had said he lived, finally lifting his hand to knock quietly. Maybe he wouldn't be there...

Comments

[kingwithnocrown]

Izaya, frankly, was always home these days. He had people to avoid and information to dig up on. When he had offered Ioder this rather unusual opportunity, he had honestly not expected the blond to take it. He wouldn't really complain though and it could be fun.

Not that he would really do anything beyond that of course. Izaya had his own set of morals, regardless of whether or not people wanted to believe that.

He had been sitting around with a book on his lap when he heard that quiet knock. At first he had thought that maybe he was just hearing things but then trusted his instincts and went to the door, snapping his book shut and tucking it under his arm.

"Ioder," he said with a pleasant smile upon opening the door to the blond emperor. "Come in."

There was no question of why Ioder was there. Izaya knew. He closed the door after the blond and headed back into his apartment. "I'll just get the water boiling. Do you like any sort of tea in particular?" he asked on his way into the kitchen.

[fortheempire]

Ioder entered with little more than a quiet nod, looking around the apartment curiously. He had expected it to be different than Estelle's, but he would admit easily that he didn't know what he was expecting beyond that.

He shook his head to the question, answering verbally when he realized Izaya couldn't see him from there.

"No, I'm not picky at all. Thank you."

[kingwithnocrown]

Izaya did live in a pent house. So, naturally, it was spacious. He also kept it immaculate. It helped that he had been strict with his new roommates about keeping it tidy as well. He hadn't been concerned with Ion but the other two- well.

"Sure, make yourself comfortable."

There was some clanging around in the kitchen as Izaya got the tea together. It didn't take too long and soon enough there was a low whistling. A few more minutes and Izaya came out with two steaming mugs of tea.

"Here," he said, sitting down on the couch. He set one of the tea cups down and brought the other towards his own mouth.

"How does Ioder like Vatheon so far? Have you made any friends~?"

[fortheempire]

Ioder did sit down on the couch, but he hardly looked comfortable. Hands folded in his lap, back straight, he watched the kitchen curiously but quietly.

Once Izaya returned with the tea he took it with a grateful nod and a faint smile, blowing at the steam rising from the cup before sipping at it.

"It's... interesting. I am making friends though..."

[kingwithnocrown]

"Good! You're an easy kid to like though so I'm not very surprised," Izaya said with his calmly enthusiastic smile. He's about to take a sip from his tea when he stops abruptly.

"Eh?" He scooted over on the couch to be more directly next to Ioder. "You can relax, y'know. I'm not going to eat you up or anything. I'm not that kinda bad guy," he said, placing his hand a bit reassuringly onto Ioder's shoulder.

"Tea is supposed to be a relaxing thing anyway. You don't have to look so miserable either. I'm not here to make you hate your life," he said, allowing his hand to drop away from Ioder's shoulder.

[fortheempire]

He couldn't help how tense he felt. He was so out of his element it hurt.

"I'm not... miserable," he echoed, a note of disdain in his voice. Thankfully the curse didn't seem to be affecting him right then, hiding that he was, however, uncomfortable and uncertain of why he was there still.

[kingwithnocrown]

"All right, you're not miserable," Izaya agreed, leaning back onto his couch to relax himself. "But you do look uncomfortable. Or seem it anyway. You ought to talk a little more. It might make you feel better. I'm not exactly a therapist but I've always been good at helping people with their problems," he said in a sympathetic tone, nodding at Ioder as if to encourage him.

"Is this because of the whole kissing thing? It really isn't that bad y'know. Just a brush of the mouths. You can try it if you like," he said and pointed to his own mouth. "What're you so uncomfortable with?"

[fortheempire]

Ioder just watched him as he spoke, trying to keep his expression natural and, frankly, failing at it. Being a diplomat was easy. Hell, even being an emperor was easy to some extent. Being a normal teenager, though? Horribly difficult for him. Outside of a political setting, where he was dealing with the needs of many, he just couldn't read people as well. And Izaya was especially difficult to read. Was he teasing him? Or did he actually want to help him.

"... I suppose honesty is the proper way to go right now. Yes, I am," he finally answered, turning the cup around in his hands, green eyes looking down in to it.

[kingwithnocrown]

"I've always been a fan of brutal honesty myself," Izaya said, drawing a hand to his chest as if proud. Granted, he usually lied a few times in order to get to the brutal honesty and really make it sting but he didn't want Ioder to like him any less than he already did. He stared at the boy, a small grin on his face because really. Was kissing such a big deal? Izaya hadn't thought much about it for the longest time and then finally just kissed someone just because the opportunity presented itself.

It's not like he was that interested in kissing other people or anything. Or dates or romance. He had better things to do. But it was a little amusing to see a kid so broken up over this trivial little thing. So, Izaya sighed and set down his own cup of tea before he pulled Ioder's cup out of his hands.

"All right, all right. Just relax," Izaya instructed, taking both of Ioder's hands between his own and forced the blond emperor to face him somewhat. He looked down at the young face and then smiled- almost kindly- before he leaned in close.

"I'm going to kiss you right now," he forewarned and then he did just that. He pressed his lips onto Ioder's, his eyes still bright and opened, but the kiss in and of itself was warm, full, entire- and innocent for the most part. It was soft for someone like Izaya, which made the informant curious, so he actually closed his eyes and pushed a little harder into the kiss before finally- he broke it altogether and sat back, his eyes popped back open.

"Ah, well?" he said, his hands still around Ioder's.

[fortheempire]

Why did it bother him so much? He really couldn't come to a good, solid answer for that, but he was at least able to narrow it down to the simple fact that being there was making him realize just how truly sheltered he was. Certainly he had more freedom than Estelleise had but even that was closely monitored by council members and body guards. Romance was hardly an option and truthfully he'd expected to be married off in some arranged marriage some time soon. The life of a normal teenager was just never within his grasp.

Now he had none of that, and none of the responsibility, and most of the time he just didn't know what to do with himself.

Which... brought him to the situation he was currently in.

So of course the moment Izaya actually touched him, he tensed, and it took every ounce of composure he had to keep from jumping up and running out of there. And then there was the kiss itself - not knowing what to do made it at least slightly awkward on his end, but he didn't pull away. He closed his eyes when their lips touched, fingers curling down on his lap but body still uncomfortably rigid. It wasn't until Izaya actually pushed in to it more that he gave any sort of sign of relaxing, shoulders moving down and posture going loose.

When it was broken, the warmth of Izaya's lips still on his, he found that he wasn't nearly as freaked out as he had been. A little stunned, maybe, but whatever urge to panic that had been there before was gone finally.

"Ah..." he mumbled, managing to utter quietly a few seconds later, "I liked that..."

[kingwithnocrown]

Izaya watched the blond carefully for his reaction. He was curious but for once he wasn't interested in any cruel intentions behind the kiss. Granted, he'd be terribly amused if Ioder reacted horribly. That wasn't what he necessarily wanted though. Plus, he had to admit, the kid was cute and kissing him was pleasant. It wasn't as an emotional of an experience as it had been with Jacob which was only something Izaya could be grateful for. He didn't like that sort of thing.

"Did you?" he said and he smiled widelyy, looking pleased by the statement. "See, I told you it wasn't so bad," he said. He released the blond's hands in favor of grabbing his chin to make him look at him again. "Now you don't need to be so upset for not having kissed anyone. And you know what it feels like. It's something people are supposed to enjoy," he said and leaned back in to kiss Ioder yet again. It wasn't him trying to start anything really. It was just a subtle, little kiss as if to emphasize his point before he let go of Ioder entirely.

He picked his tea back up and sat back normally against the couch, bringing his tea to his mouth. "Hey...I just realized...How old are you again?"

[fortheempire]

To his question, Ioder simply nodded, and he didn't tense when the second, shorter kiss happened. He really wasn't as bothered as he previously thought he might be, and for that he was grateful. Estelleise might have something to say about not having shared his first kiss with some one important, but right then he found he didn't care.

"Hmn?" he mumbled to the question, blinking a few times while canting his head to the side. "... I'll be turning nineteen in the summer. Why do you ask?"