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A splash, a wave of red, and everything in the room stilled.
Rodion paused, and Chuuya could see his eyes widen. Chuuya’s own body had frozen up as well, locked into its position as he stared at his hands incredulously.
It had started with teasing, Rodion poking at Chuuya with his words in a lighthearted fashion. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but it had evolved from there.
Chuuya had been in an irritable mood since earlier that morning, his shoulder twinging with his every movement and an empty coffee cup awaiting his arrival.
Apparently, Chuuya had run out of espresso already. He usually got it after missions, a quick visit to the nearest store always had something, and since he had been dismissed right after his last one, he hadn’t even thought to go pick anything up.
There were more factors than just these two things, of course. Being cooped up and away from work for so long –and yes, a week was a long time– was bothering him, and he could feel a rise of energy just begging to be spent welling up in him.
It had just so happened that Rodion was the person to set him off. Being around the Russian so often, along with the others' provocative personality, had just about guaranteed that Rodion would be on the receiving end of his inevitable blow up.
Rodion had seemed aware of this as well, though he hadn’t seemed to care, with how he kept up with his usual banter and attitude. What he wasn’t expecting, Chuuya was sure, was that Chuuya would throw food at him. To be fair, Chuuya hadn’t been expecting it either.
Rodion had brought along sides with him for lunch today, mostly just cups of different fruits, as per usual, and Chuuya seemed to have unconsciously decided that they would be the perfect ammunition against the noisy Russian.
This was evidenced by the deep red staining Rodions forehead, looking almost like a bullet wound as it dripped down along the side of his nose and cheeks. Chuuya watched with apprehension as Rodions pale fingers reached up to touch his forehead and came away stained red, the color already soaking into his skin.
The Russian stared at it for just a moment, seemingly astonished that Chuuya had stooped as low as to throwing food at him in frustration. To be fair, Chuuya was shocked as well. He hadn’t even registered what he was doing until scarlet was unfolding against Rodions skin, and by then it was far too late to stop himself.
Chuuya felt a wave of shame and embarrassment wash over him. Red coloring his cheeks as a feeling of humiliation crept into his mind and he shrunk back slightly. It was such a childish thing to do, petulant and petty.
If there's one positive to the situation, it’s that Rodion seemed just as dumbfounded as Chuuya was, staring blankly at his fingers as if he was processing the entire situation.
A second, then two, and Rodions entire face scrunched up in what could be confusion. He shakes his hand off, and a few red bulbs fly off his finger, squishing against the table.
Rather than looking offended, Rodion appeared to be both befuddled and amused. It was a strange reaction, and did nothing to stop the flush from spreading across Chuuya’s entire body, but it was better than anger or indignation.
It was silent, but just for a moment before the sound of soft, breathy laughter filled the room. Chuuya looked up, shocked, and found that Rodion had his head ducked over, one hand cupped over his mouth and a smile curled on what Chuuya could see of his lips.
Strands of silky black hair fell over his face as dipped forward, softly shaking with what Chuuya could only presume to be laughter.
Rodion’s laughter was a soft, raspy sound that contained a surprising amount of gentleness and an unexpected tinge of mirth.
“You really are unpredictable, Solnishko.” Rodion murmured, calming down as he steadied himself against the back of the chair, gazing at Chuuya with slightly crinkled eyes and a light, amused look dancing across his face.
It was the most relaxed Chuuya had ever seen him, and the most genuine as well. There were no hidden emotions layered underneath a teasing facade, in this moment. Just delight and soft amusement.
There was a sense of levity to the man that Chuuya had never seen before, and it mesmerized him, drew him in like a moth to a flame.
It took a moment before Chuuya realized he should respond. Apologize, maybe, despite how Rodion seemed to find it funny instead of offensive.
Still, he floundered for a moment, lost in pleased purple eyes and red-stained skin. For all that Rodion was more sticky, more messy then he usually was, Chuuya thought this might be the most beautiful the other man had ever looked.
It was with this thought that Chuuya immediately came back to himself, slamming that line of thought to a stop with all the force of a freight train. He was sure his whole face was turning a bright cherry red, something to match Rodion’s own trails of scarlet.
Before the Russian could notice how oddly he was reacting –too occupied with trying to wipe away the fruit from his face, and only succeeding in smudging it– Chuuya whipped around and stalked over to the kitchen, willing his skin to return to its normal pallor as he grabbed a black towel out of one of his drawers.
He moved to the faucet, hoping that with the time it would take for the water to warm up to an acceptable temperature, Chuuya would be able to calm down enough for him to go back.
It took a minute before his skin felt cool enough for him to return to the living room, and by then Rodion had fully calmed down, now looking more disgruntled with the sticky mess on his neck and face as it set in.
Chuuya walked towards him quickly, avoiding the others' eyes as he brought the towel up to Rodion’s face, gently cleaning away what was left of the crushed raspberries.
It was difficult, at first, with Chuuya’s hand being rigid and stiff and his avoidance of Rodion’s eyes leading him to avoid looking at Rodion’s face, but as time went by, the two of them fell into an almost peaceful silence.
Chuuya was gentle, patiently working at the stains in Rodion’s skin with the warm towel in hand, feeling calm and serene. The stillness between them was peaceful, this time, a tranquil air surrounding them both as they seemed to simply take in the moment.
Rodion’s eyes were trained on Chuuya’s face, but he made no move to pull away from the ginger and his care, and so Chuuya took that as a go-ahead to continue.
He felt calmer than he had in a long while, with the smell of raspberries and wine permeating the air and only Rodion’s soft breath acting as sound in the room.
The light was low, with the sun retreating from the sky, and Chuuya was leaning close to Rodion to clean off the Russians porcelain skin, brushing against the other's cool neck and pale cheeks as he worked.
Perhaps he stayed there longer than he needed to, perhaps the stain was long gone by the time the towel had dried, and perhaps Chuuya ghosted it over the other’s forehead despite there being no stain, but only Chuuya would ever know the truth, and he would never admit it.