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Genba woke in the morning to a strange feeling. He yawned and blinked open his eyes. A strand of white hair fell in his face, making him scrunch his nose up on contact.
Wait... white hair?
Genba's eyes shot open as the realization set in. He had... accidently undone his disguise. That wasn't meant to happen. Guess he horribly miscalculated his timing.
His ears twitched, something rubbing against them. Like... something was petting them.
That was when Genba remembered he wasn't alone in the bed. He had company. And it seemed said company had decided to take advantage of the situation.
"What are you doing?" Genba asked, mostly sounding confused.
The perpetrator of the act, Jou, let out a startled noise and the feeling faded from Genba's ears. "I..."
Genba pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at Jou. The other had also sat up after being caught. He looked embarrassed. Kind of cute, Genba mused.
"Why were you touching my ears?" Genba questioned, seeing as Jou had yet to explain.
Jou sheepishly spared a glance at him. "I... I was curious. I'm sorry, Genba-san. I should've asked first."
Genba let out a small chuckle at the confession. "Is my appearance that intriguing?"
"I mean... you never really let us see you like this for long." Jou mumbled. "I wanted to know what they felt like."
Genba shifted, moving to place himself in front of Jou. "Well... if you ask nicely... maybe I won't mind you doing so."
Jou's eyes widened and he turned visibly red in his face.
"What? Don't you want to keep going?" Genba teased, running a hand down Jou's cheek.
"I... I..." Jou swallowed hard. "C-can I... touch your ears again...?"
"Of course." Genba tapped him on the nose. "Was that so hard?"
"No... sorry..."
"Apology accepted."
Jou hesitantly reached a hand up and ran it over Genba's ear. Genba's ear twitched at the contact.
"Does it feel weird?" Jou asked.
"A bit. I'm not... used to this." Genba replied, shifting to actually sit across Jou's lap. "Kind of a very taboo part to touch, you know?"
"It is?"
"Yeah. You don't really mess with someone's ears unless you're very close to them. Since they can be quite sensitive. It's... the most common spot bullies would go for when they got physical without wanting to leave marks." Genba explained.
"Did that happen to you?" Jou asked.
"A little. Being who I am... I was a target. But, I didn't let them get away with it so they stopped pretty fast."
Jou nodded along. He was gently running his finger across Genba's ear. He seemed quite in awe still.
"It's still sometimes hard to wrap my head around other life existing." Jou said.
"Earthlings are one of the most isolated planets out there. I'm not surprised." Genba replied.
"Do you... like this or are you just tolerating me?"
Genba moved to rest his chin on Jou's shoulder. "It feels nice. Soothing. Not much different from just playing with someone's hair. As long as you don't travel too high up."
"So... do you mind if I..." Jou trailed off and then there was an entire hand scratching at the base of one of Genba's ears.
"Petting me like an animal." Genba retorted with a slight laugh.
"Do you... mind it?"
"I guess not. It's nice..." Genba whispered.
"This isn't a side of you I expected to see."
"Figuratively or literally?"
"Both, I think."
"I'm glad that none of you really cared about this. I was afraid that you'd all judge this look." Genba said quietly.
"Why would we? I think you look cool." Jou questioned.
"I guess I was just afraid since Earthlings don't tend to like strange beings."
"Well, I do."
"I'm glad."