[ The question grips both of them in the same way, it seems. Maruki's breath catches in his chest, that softness in Eren's voice striking a chord in his own heart that he hasn't quite felt before.
Or– if he has, he's done a decent job at ignoring it, setting it to the side.
But it's only the two of them in their safest place of all. Their little world.
Maruki opens his mouth. ]
Do you want me to show you?
[ It isn't meant to be low and flirtatious. It's a genuine question. He can't put something like that into words, and they both learn best by doing, don't they? ]
[It isn't taken as a flirtation, really. Eren knows Maruki well. Something like that would be out of character for him, but not this genuine, nervous question.
[It doesn't matter. Eren's face heats anyway. The answer is, of course and emphatically, yes; Eren always wants Maruki touching him. He nods his head.]
[ There are countless options for how he likes to be touched– or, more accurately, he's been touched so little in recent years that he thinks he'd like anything. But when he really takes the time to consider it...
And Maruki does take his time. He knows Eren won't mind if he's quiet for a long moment, eyes closed, trying to visualize what he wants most. The silence of the windmill is never deafening, only peaceful and companionate.
Finally– ]
Stay right there.
[ Eren's sitting cross-legged, and Maruki shuffles up on his knees to come around behind him and take a seat himself. With his legs spread wide on either side of Eren, he wraps both arms around his middle and tugs him in to lean back against his chest, chin hooking over one shoulder.
It's a tight, secure hold, one of his palms resting low on Eren's stomach. When he smiles, he turns to press it into the crook of Eren's neck. ]
[There's something shocking about how perfect, how comfortable, how second nature it all really is. Eren is pulled back against Maruki, is enveloped by Maruki, is nuzzled by Maruki, and his heart thuds so pleasantly, so steadily in his chest. His hands come to rest over the arms that rest around him, and his fingers grip, anxious just to touch. Eren leans back to look Maruki in the eye, and then they're nose-to-nose.
[He can't keep from kissing him, so he doesn't. It isn't the first time, nor the tenth. It won't be the last...]
[ The kiss isn't surprising, but it bowls him over all the same. It always will. The first time, the tenth, the hundredth...
When they part, when Eren speaks, Maruki looks at him with wide, trusting eyes. Like he hung every star in the sky. He's not even aware of the expression on his own face. ]
Okay.
[ Soft, soft, and he doesn't move yet. He squeezes his arms tighter around Eren, in fact – holds him there for a few heartbeats longer before finally nodding and letting go. ]
Okay. Yeah. Let's switch.
[ And then, so they don't have to get up, Maruki simply shuffles to turn around so Eren's now behind him, legs folding together in front of him and anticipation crawling up his spine. ]
[Maruki isn't the only person who's ever looked at Eren like that, but he is the only person who still has, knowing how the story ends. It's overwhelming, and it isn't. It's how things should be, as natural as anything is with Maruki. Everything is easy. Nothing hurts.
[Eren wraps his arms tightly around Maruki's middle, bringing him back flush against his chest. His legs frame the other man too, bend up slightly at the knees. He leans down and hooks his chin over Maruki's shoulder, letting his head fall to the side until the two lightly bump together.]
Maruki exhales as he melts back into Eren's embrace, arms laying over the ones that hold him so tenderly. It's difficult for him to explain why he loves this so much, and comforting to know that with Eren, he doesn't have to. It's implicitly understood that he wants, needs the protective safety of having someone at his back. Like he's a smaller, weaker thing than he really is. Maybe he shouldn't want that, but...
It's alright when it's Eren.
He nods, their temples rubbing together. ]
It's perfect. Thank you...
[ It's quiet and still in the windmill as he's held Something restless settles in his chest for all of a few seconds before something else rises up to take its place.
Slowly, he shifts one of Eren's arms around, until his hand rests low on his stomach in a mirror of how Maruki held him before. Then he reaches for the pile of cards, plucking one with his fingertips– ]
What would you do if we were alone together?
[ –and laughs, the flush rising in his cheeks not embarrassed for once. ]
Well, that question would make sense in the club, but we're already alone here...
[ The card is discarded, and the pile ignored – Maruki doesn't want Eren to take his hands off of him for even a second to grab another.
Besides...
Perhaps they don't need them now.
He tips his head back against Eren's shoulder, eyes closed, and breathes deep. ]
Is it strange if I only want... this?
[ A soft sound of frustration immediately follows it. Not at Eren, only at himself. He's not explaining this well. ]
I always feel safe in your hands, and I think... I think I'd just like to feel them. [ A beat, and his cheeks start feeling hot. ] Anywhere you want to touch, I want it too. If that's okay...
[That permission is more than enough. Perhaps that should be surprising, Eren should want more. Perhaps, one day, he will want more, but not now, when Maruki asks so earnestly to merely be touched. Every nerve ending lights up, and Eren sinks around Maruki, head hanging low over the man's shoulder. He closes his eyes and forgets to answer; his hands move, one still resting over Maruki's stomach, the other palming smoothly over his chest. The touch is slow, tender.
[He whispers to Maruki, the only other soul in the world:]
Like this...?
HheueheuehEUEHEUE I TRICKED YOU INTO UNLOCKED ERERUKI NSFW
[ Eren will be able to feel the way his breath stutters in his chest during a slow, deep inhale – the same way one would when recovering from a good cry. This is just as cathartic a release for his body as that would be. These languid, reverent touches are so much more than he's had in so long, and all he's wanted from Eren for some time now.
With Eren's head craned down over his shoulder, Maruki barely has to move his own to press a kiss to his cheek. He doesn't move far away to speak, lips brushing against skin as he does. ]
Yes. Like that. Please...
[ His own hands raise up to begin undoing the buttons at the top of his collar, just as slowly. ]
I... I promise I'll do something for you too, I just...
[ Maruki's flushed, self-conscious of being selfish. He just wants this. So, so very badly. ]
[Eren hushes him with a low, quiet sound. Another button is undone, and then Eren can slip his hand over Maruki's bare chest. He kisses the man's cheek in return.]
You don't have to do anything. This is what I want...
[This, just the way they are, and...
[...one hand slipping ever-so-slightly over the hem of Maruki's trousers.]
no subject
[He should let him be. He wants to know more, though...
[He pulls another question, hoping for something bold.
[Or...something intimate. The question makes his heart skip a beat, for whatever reason. His voice comes out just a little quiet.]
How do you like to be touched?
UNLOCKED ERERUKI? COULD IT BE?
Or– if he has, he's done a decent job at ignoring it, setting it to the side.
But it's only the two of them in their safest place of all. Their little world.
Maruki opens his mouth. ]
Do you want me to show you?
[ It isn't meant to be low and flirtatious. It's a genuine question. He can't put something like that into words, and they both learn best by doing, don't they? ]
DON'T LOOK AT MEEEEEE
[It doesn't matter. Eren's face heats anyway. The answer is, of course and emphatically, yes; Eren always wants Maruki touching him. He nods his head.]
Alright.
I'M LOOKING DIRECTLY AT YOU
And Maruki does take his time. He knows Eren won't mind if he's quiet for a long moment, eyes closed, trying to visualize what he wants most. The silence of the windmill is never deafening, only peaceful and companionate.
Finally– ]
Stay right there.
[ Eren's sitting cross-legged, and Maruki shuffles up on his knees to come around behind him and take a seat himself. With his legs spread wide on either side of Eren, he wraps both arms around his middle and tugs him in to lean back against his chest, chin hooking over one shoulder.
It's a tight, secure hold, one of his palms resting low on Eren's stomach. When he smiles, he turns to press it into the crook of Eren's neck. ]
Like this.
no subject
[He can't keep from kissing him, so he doesn't. It isn't the first time, nor the tenth. It won't be the last...]
Let's switch, then. Come on.
ILL ABOUT THIS.... UNLOCKED ERERUKI FUCKS....
When they part, when Eren speaks, Maruki looks at him with wide, trusting eyes. Like he hung every star in the sky. He's not even aware of the expression on his own face. ]
Okay.
[ Soft, soft, and he doesn't move yet. He squeezes his arms tighter around Eren, in fact – holds him there for a few heartbeats longer before finally nodding and letting go. ]
Okay. Yeah. Let's switch.
[ And then, so they don't have to get up, Maruki simply shuffles to turn around so Eren's now behind him, legs folding together in front of him and anticipation crawling up his spine. ]
no subject
[Eren wraps his arms tightly around Maruki's middle, bringing him back flush against his chest. His legs frame the other man too, bend up slightly at the knees. He leans down and hooks his chin over Maruki's shoulder, letting his head fall to the side until the two lightly bump together.]
How's that?
no subject
Maruki exhales as he melts back into Eren's embrace, arms laying over the ones that hold him so tenderly. It's difficult for him to explain why he loves this so much, and comforting to know that with Eren, he doesn't have to. It's implicitly understood that he wants, needs the protective safety of having someone at his back. Like he's a smaller, weaker thing than he really is. Maybe he shouldn't want that, but...
It's alright when it's Eren.
He nods, their temples rubbing together. ]
It's perfect. Thank you...
[ It's quiet and still in the windmill as he's held Something restless settles in his chest for all of a few seconds before something else rises up to take its place.
Slowly, he shifts one of Eren's arms around, until his hand rests low on his stomach in a mirror of how Maruki held him before. Then he reaches for the pile of cards, plucking one with his fingertips– ]
What would you do if we were alone together?
[ –and laughs, the flush rising in his cheeks not embarrassed for once. ]
Well, that question would make sense in the club, but we're already alone here...
no subject
Yeah...
[They're often alone, and they often touch, but something about this particular moment feels different; blame it on where Eren's hand rests, maybe.]
Whatever we do, I don't mind, but...
[But his thumb strokes, steady pressure, up and down.]
I'd do anything you wanted. Anything you asked.
no subject
Besides...
Perhaps they don't need them now.
He tips his head back against Eren's shoulder, eyes closed, and breathes deep. ]
Is it strange if I only want... this?
[ A soft sound of frustration immediately follows it. Not at Eren, only at himself. He's not explaining this well. ]
I always feel safe in your hands, and I think... I think I'd just like to feel them. [ A beat, and his cheeks start feeling hot. ] Anywhere you want to touch, I want it too. If that's okay...
nsfw from here down >:3b
[He whispers to Maruki, the only other soul in the world:]
Like this...?
HheueheuehEUEHEUE I TRICKED YOU INTO UNLOCKED ERERUKI NSFW
With Eren's head craned down over his shoulder, Maruki barely has to move his own to press a kiss to his cheek. He doesn't move far away to speak, lips brushing against skin as he does. ]
Yes. Like that. Please...
[ His own hands raise up to begin undoing the buttons at the top of his collar, just as slowly. ]
I... I promise I'll do something for you too, I just...
[ Maruki's flushed, self-conscious of being selfish. He just wants this. So, so very badly. ]
I KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN
You don't have to do anything. This is what I want...
[This, just the way they are, and...
[...one hand slipping ever-so-slightly over the hem of Maruki's trousers.]
Let me take care of you...