Chapter Text
This was fine! Truly! There certainly wasn't anything strange about being settled on a sofa next to his boyfriend. Perfectly normal! So... why did Klug feel perilously close to fainting? As though the beating of his heart wasn't already too loud for his liking, the rush of frantically-pumped blood blocked out every other sound to his weary ears. If Sig said anything to him, asked him something, he wasn't confident of picking it out from the cacophony already causing a ruckus in the privacy of his own aching head.
Even worse, his cyan-haired companion had been looking at him benignly as ever, mismatched eyes occasionally blinking from behind the hap-hazard arrangement of bangs. It wasn't that he minded being looked at, just… he didn't know what it meant, if it meant anything at all. How could he respond appropriately without divining the intent..?
The only two options available were either to ignore the curious stare or… or give in and simply ask about it. Between the possibly cruel and the unromantic, Klug was realistically left with a single course of action. Clearing his throat in preparation, the celestial mage swallowed his pride before finally opening his mouth.
"S-Sig, do you, ah, want something? N-not that I mind, you understand, only… it's b-been a few minutes, and…" Hitting a mental roadblock, the scholar quieted, now uncertain of what he'd intended to say. As it was, it sounded as though he were complaining, which couldn't be further from the trut-
"Mhm..? Maybe." Antenne-like puffs giving a subtle twitch, the bug catcher hummed, still watching the increasingly fidgety mage. As the bookworm wriggled, Sig seemed to have a change of heart as he murmured, "maybe not. Seem kinda stressed…"
It wasn't an inaccurate assessment. Klug lived much of his life in a self-inflicted state of near panic. The tension would remain even if the quiet demi-demon did nothing, choosing to zone out or nap or a number of other options that didn't involve the green-eyed magic user at all.
If he was doomed to fall victim to his anxiety either way, Klug figured he might try to get something for his worries, so he protested. "N-no! It's fine, I'm fine, and… and I'd like to do, ah, s-something. If you wanted to, I mean."
"You sure? Don't need to, Klug. Hanging out's good." The peaceful tone, the unexpectant hint of a smile… was Sig even aware that they only made him more interested, more desperate to do something, anything with the sleepy-eyed student?
"I'd… I'd really like to do more. This is just… I'm still not used to being with someone. It's a bit stressful, but I want it regardless, if that makes any sense." To desire and to dread at the same time… Klug's innermost workings were a mystery to himself, sometimes. It was unlikely that anyone could make sense of the twisted, tangled ball of his emotions.
Sig paused, unblinking, either in silent contemplation or indulging in a sudden cat-nap. Much to his chagrin, the academic had yet to discern many hints to tell one apart from the other. It remained a mystery until the half-soul spoke again. "Mhm, 's hard for you. Don't mind being hugged..?"
That
was all Sig had wanted of him?! He'd gotten so wound up over such a minor act of affection?! To merely be hugged… it seemed disappointing, somehow. Anticlimactic. He'd still accept it, anyway, sliding a little closer to his friend with open arms. "I don't mind, no. Honestly… you don't need to ask me for this, Sig."