[ It wasn't a hard conclusion to make that Ed had probably never truly had a family. He never once spoke of them. That left Oswald with nothing to assume except that they had either abandoned him or been unspeakably cruel. It's a sickening realization to discover that the person you adore and love so passionately has never genuinely been loved by anyone else but you. That meant Oswald had to do even better. Try even harder. Do whatever he could to give Ed what he had so severely been deprived of but so very much deserved.
Oswald hadn't exactly factored the washcloth he'd been holding into consideration when he'd gone to hide his embarrassment, so when he hit the unexpected damp surface he'd immediately jerked his head up. It was quick enough to see the look on Ed's face as he said that. The wink. If there's supposed to be butterflies in your stomach when you look at the one you love, Oswald was pretty sure his butterflies were suffocating. It was also possible that his cheeks had just burst into flame. ] You know what. Saying those -- those things. You need to be-- [ Be? ] You should-- [ Should...? He exhaled shakily, his fists clenched. He looked conflicted. Like he was holding himself back from doing something. He didn't want Ed to stop at all. For at least a minute, he didn't say anything at all. Then finally, barely above a whisper: ] I don't know what to do about the way you make me feel.
[ Ed would suspect there could be a sickening possessiveness that could come with knowing such a thing. That any love given was from a single person. All matters of the heart are his to mold any way he pleases and Ed would lack experiences to compare. That the claim of "no one will ever love you as much" could hold true and the proof would be that no one has.
Oswald just hit himself in the face with a wet washcloth and Ed couldn't help letting out a laugh at it, loudly and matching the toothy smile on his face. He's twisting him up. This must be some sort of form of torture. Look how red his face is. ] Should...? [ What should he be doing? Sleeping, probably. The current situation overrules the tiredness and is distracting enough from the pain. He tilts his head, presses his lips together for a moment in thought. Oswald doesn't know what to do here. He stumped him. ]
I am just two and two. I am hot. I am cold. I am the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I am a gift beyond measure, a matter of course. I am given with pleasure, or taken by force. What am I?
[ The laughing certainly didn't make the hue on his face any less intense, but the sound of it produced a very small and extremely bashful smile from Oswald. Was it at him or with him? He wasn't sure that mattered. He just wanted to hear it. As long as Ed was laughing everything felt a little better, even if it did only make him fall harder with every passing second. If only it had lasted. When it stopped the smile slipped away and he was left feeling vulnerable again. He wasn't sure how to respond. Oswald knew what he'd meant and sleep had indeed been the correct answer, but he paused. Ed was posing a riddle. For all of a millisecond he looked uncertain.
A penny dropped. His eyes widened. Oswald didn't need to hear the whole thing to know what the answer was. Where it was going. For a moment it felt like everything had completely frozen and nothing else around them was real. Ed... was telling him to kiss him? That couldn't be right. It sounded too good to be true. But would he invite such a thing to satisfy Oswald's desires alone? Ed was sacrificial, but he had never lied. Never led him on. Unable to find the words to ask what his heart was begging to know, Oswald searched his face, desperately looking to glean an answer from his gaze.
He found what he'd been looking for.
What had been in his hand was immediately dropped and forgotten. Before he could question himself any further he was just a breath away from Ed's face, staring more deeply into his eyes than he ever had before. There were no more questions to be asked; rather, there was one to answer. Oswald's gaze flickered downward and back up again, both gathering his courage and asking permission despite that it had already been given. It was now or never. He inhaled before he leaned in completely and closed his eyes, titling his head ever so slightly. Both hands found their way to the sides of Ed's face, completely in sync with the moment that their lips gently met. It was modest and without fanfare, but the emotion put into it was immense. If the first time they had been here was beautiful, this time was breathtaking. Oswald was helpless to hold back the urge to smile into it.
The butterflies weren't suffocating. They had died to the rest of the universe and ascended to paradise. ]
Edited (me: still editing this bc im being picky af) 2017-07-01 10:03 (UTC)
[ As long as he's smiling, Ed can keep saying things. Keep teasing. Keep joking. Laughing at his silly little acts in a completely un-cruel manner. It's embarrassing when you hit yourself in the face but it's okay to laugh at yourself. If it hurt, Ed wouldn't laugh. Oswald can laugh if he did it. And that's an important distinction. A certain line they never cross that others easily leap right over. It's not funny when it hurts.
Ed knows what he said and he can't back out of it now. (You never wanted to.) There's a drumming sound in his ears. A trap set up by nature. A natural occurrence that he shouldn't be fighting as hard as he has been because it's impossible. Various studies show that the mind of a person takes between 90 seconds to 4 minutes to determine whether it became infected with a word Oswald can verbalize at him with such sincerity.
The riddle is said. He doesn't know what brought it out - well... he does but it's nothing he was ready to admit or discuss further in his head until a second ago. It's a funny little thing. And he doesn't really think he can blame it all on medicine kicking in. The blood loss. The adrenaline rush from winning a death match. The thrill of victory. It wasn't all that but those might have factored into the certain boldness he was feeling to pull him in.
He's on top right now. Come join him.
Oswald doesn't hesitate too long. He wasn't expected to. The moment he leans in, Ed's arms are around him. It isn't a deep intensity, fire threatening to engulf them. Not on the surface. It doesn't feel dangerous. Such a move can be. Terrifying. Granting permission to have it all. Anything for him though because it feels more like a cog turning and setting everything perfectly in motion. How it's supposed to go. There's a smile in there, he can feel it. It says more than a full night of the only thing he has to compare. How little he truly understands.
It isn't long - though it feels so. He has to pull back to breathe, an action that was already a little hard to do. This isn't the most comfortable position but he's keeping him there. Moving a hair back for him. Running a hand along his face. Taking things in. Never looking elsewhere. ]
[ As long as they were smiling and laughing. He definitely wanted that. He wanted Ed to feel safe enough to do those things so much more often. His smile was beautifully infectious and his laughter just as much. It was so wrong that the course of life had attempted so violently to steal those things from him. Oswald swore to himself then if he could do anything about it, that would never happen.
There was a part of him still afraid to believe. But things between them had gone further than he could have ever anticipated. From the start Ed had been a diligent ally and soon after a good friend. For the first time in his life Oswald had even had a best friend. Then... then he'd become even more. Not an ally, nor a friend, nor a best friend. He'd become everything important in Oswald's life. Ed had never stopped himself from getting closer. Oswald had been afraid once he realized his feelings, but he'd never wanted to stop getting closer either. So that's exactly what they'd become and now they were here. Neither of them had begun with this as a calculated result, yet it was one that had manifested regardless. It had become the one thing he wanted above even power and vengeance. How could he hesitate?
Feeling Ed's arms wrapped around him in an entirely new and exciting way was absolutely thrilling. He was actually reciprocating! Could he even identify all the positive emotions bubbling up inside of him? He wasn't sure. He didn't think he could. That was just fine. Everything did feel right. Perfect. Immeasurably wonderful. Had Ed not pulled back first, Oswald might have forgotten that he needed to breathe himself. He was completely trapped in Ed's gaze and he was positive the affection in his touch had made him experience a surprisingly pleasant chill himself. Nothing in the world could hold him back from smiling fully now. ]
Remarkable. [ Why did he sound so out of breath for an action so simple? Maybe it was shock. Disbelief that what he'd only been able to have in fantasies had just transpired in reality. Even then his excitement was shining through. ] I mean -- what I mean is you're remarkable. Amazing. Everything about you is so... so... [ Oswald laughed, a paradoxical mix of shyness and a newfound sense of freedom fueling it. But when he stopped and the laughter grew quiet, his voice was the utmost in sincerity. ] I really love you, Ed. [ He peered down as if it was the first time he was admitting it, but his hand moved to grasp the one Ed had so delicately ran along his face. He would remember that sensation forever, he thought. He held his hand in place, squeezing it affectionately and allowing himself to melt into the feeling. It wouldn't be so bad if they just stayed that way forever. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action;
Oswald hadn't exactly factored the washcloth he'd been holding into consideration when he'd gone to hide his embarrassment, so when he hit the unexpected damp surface he'd immediately jerked his head up. It was quick enough to see the look on Ed's face as he said that. The wink. If there's supposed to be butterflies in your stomach when you look at the one you love, Oswald was pretty sure his butterflies were suffocating. It was also possible that his cheeks had just burst into flame. ] You know what. Saying those -- those things. You need to be-- [ Be? ] You should-- [ Should...? He exhaled shakily, his fists clenched. He looked conflicted. Like he was holding himself back from doing something. He didn't want Ed to stop at all. For at least a minute, he didn't say anything at all. Then finally, barely above a whisper: ] I don't know what to do about the way you make me feel.
action;
Oswald just hit himself in the face with a wet washcloth and Ed couldn't help letting out a laugh at it, loudly and matching the toothy smile on his face. He's twisting him up. This must be some sort of form of torture. Look how red his face is. ] Should...? [ What should he be doing? Sleeping, probably. The current situation overrules the tiredness and is distracting enough from the pain. He tilts his head, presses his lips together for a moment in thought. Oswald doesn't know what to do here. He stumped him. ]
I am just two and two. I am hot. I am cold. I am the parent of numbers that cannot be told. I am a gift beyond measure, a matter of course. I am given with pleasure, or taken by force. What am I?
action;
A penny dropped. His eyes widened. Oswald didn't need to hear the whole thing to know what the answer was. Where it was going. For a moment it felt like everything had completely frozen and nothing else around them was real. Ed... was telling him to kiss him? That couldn't be right. It sounded too good to be true. But would he invite such a thing to satisfy Oswald's desires alone? Ed was sacrificial, but he had never lied. Never led him on. Unable to find the words to ask what his heart was begging to know, Oswald searched his face, desperately looking to glean an answer from his gaze.
He found what he'd been looking for.
What had been in his hand was immediately dropped and forgotten. Before he could question himself any further he was just a breath away from Ed's face, staring more deeply into his eyes than he ever had before. There were no more questions to be asked; rather, there was one to answer. Oswald's gaze flickered downward and back up again, both gathering his courage and asking permission despite that it had already been given. It was now or never. He inhaled before he leaned in completely and closed his eyes, titling his head ever so slightly. Both hands found their way to the sides of Ed's face, completely in sync with the moment that their lips gently met. It was modest and without fanfare, but the emotion put into it was immense. If the first time they had been here was beautiful, this time was breathtaking. Oswald was helpless to hold back the urge to smile into it.
The butterflies weren't suffocating. They had died to the rest of the universe and ascended to paradise. ]
action;
Ed knows what he said and he can't back out of it now. (You never wanted to.) There's a drumming sound in his ears. A trap set up by nature. A natural occurrence that he shouldn't be fighting as hard as he has been because it's impossible. Various studies show that the mind of a person takes between 90 seconds to 4 minutes to determine whether it became infected with a word Oswald can verbalize at him with such sincerity.
The riddle is said. He doesn't know what brought it out - well... he does but it's nothing he was ready to admit or discuss further in his head until a second ago. It's a funny little thing. And he doesn't really think he can blame it all on medicine kicking in. The blood loss. The adrenaline rush from winning a death match. The thrill of victory. It wasn't all that but those might have factored into the certain boldness he was feeling to pull him in.
He's on top right now. Come join him.
Oswald doesn't hesitate too long. He wasn't expected to. The moment he leans in, Ed's arms are around him. It isn't a deep intensity, fire threatening to engulf them. Not on the surface. It doesn't feel dangerous. Such a move can be. Terrifying. Granting permission to have it all. Anything for him though because it feels more like a cog turning and setting everything perfectly in motion. How it's supposed to go. There's a smile in there, he can feel it. It says more than a full night of the only thing he has to compare. How little he truly understands.
It isn't long - though it feels so. He has to pull back to breathe, an action that was already a little hard to do. This isn't the most comfortable position but he's keeping him there. Moving a hair back for him. Running a hand along his face. Taking things in. Never looking elsewhere. ]
action;
There was a part of him still afraid to believe. But things between them had gone further than he could have ever anticipated. From the start Ed had been a diligent ally and soon after a good friend. For the first time in his life Oswald had even had a best friend. Then... then he'd become even more. Not an ally, nor a friend, nor a best friend. He'd become everything important in Oswald's life. Ed had never stopped himself from getting closer. Oswald had been afraid once he realized his feelings, but he'd never wanted to stop getting closer either. So that's exactly what they'd become and now they were here. Neither of them had begun with this as a calculated result, yet it was one that had manifested regardless. It had become the one thing he wanted above even power and vengeance. How could he hesitate?
Feeling Ed's arms wrapped around him in an entirely new and exciting way was absolutely thrilling. He was actually reciprocating! Could he even identify all the positive emotions bubbling up inside of him? He wasn't sure. He didn't think he could. That was just fine. Everything did feel right. Perfect. Immeasurably wonderful. Had Ed not pulled back first, Oswald might have forgotten that he needed to breathe himself. He was completely trapped in Ed's gaze and he was positive the affection in his touch had made him experience a surprisingly pleasant chill himself. Nothing in the world could hold him back from smiling fully now. ]
Remarkable. [ Why did he sound so out of breath for an action so simple? Maybe it was shock. Disbelief that what he'd only been able to have in fantasies had just transpired in reality. Even then his excitement was shining through. ] I mean -- what I mean is you're remarkable. Amazing. Everything about you is so... so... [ Oswald laughed, a paradoxical mix of shyness and a newfound sense of freedom fueling it. But when he stopped and the laughter grew quiet, his voice was the utmost in sincerity. ] I really love you, Ed. [ He peered down as if it was the first time he was admitting it, but his hand moved to grasp the one Ed had so delicately ran along his face. He would remember that sensation forever, he thought. He held his hand in place, squeezing it affectionately and allowing himself to melt into the feeling. It wouldn't be so bad if they just stayed that way forever. ]