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“Do humans always spend their treasure on useless junk or is it just you?” Ryousuke asked, his brow furrowing as he glared at the object in Kuramochi’s hand with suspicion.
“It’s not junk,” Kuramochi said, highly affronted. “It’s a bath bomb.” He held the bath bomb out to Ryousuke, who immediately flinched and hid behind the walls of the bathtub. Some of the water splashed out of the tub in the process. “It’s not poisonous or anything—I swear.”
Ryousuke sat back up, adjusting his position in the tub and leaning forward. “Well,” he said, still a little cautious, “if you promise…”
“I promise,” Kuramochi assured him.
With that, Ryousuke plucked the bath bomb from Kuramochi’s hand with his long, webbed fingers, before leaning back in the bath. Ryousuke made quite the picture as he sat there, examining the blue bath bomb with his long pink fishtail draped over the edge of the white clawfoot tub. The sunlight that shone in through the window flattered his pale complexion. Hell, he was even beautiful when he simply tilted his head and brushed a strand of pink hair behind his fin-like ears.
It made Kuramochi want to paint again.
Ryousuke moved the bath bomb closer to his nose, taking a cautious sniff. “It smells good,” Ryousuke said, wrinkling his nose.
“You say that like that’s a bad thing,” Kuramochi chuckled, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his jeans and stepping closer to the edge of the tub.
“Well, it isn’t really,” Ryousuke said, frowning. “It’s just… Are you positive that I’m not supposed to eat this?”
“Oh, God, no,” Kuramochi said quickly. “You are definitely not supposed to eat that.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t poisonous,” Ryousuke said. He tilted his head back and raised an eyebrow at Kuramochi. “Don’t tell me you’re lying to me now, Youichi.”
“No, I swear, Ryo-san!” Kuramochi said quickly. “You’re not supposed to eat it. You, uh, you put it in the water and it’s… Good for your skin? Or something like that?” Kuramochi scratched the back of his head. “I’m not really sure about all this science-y stuff, but I’m not lying to you, I swear.”
Ryousuke laughed at Kuramochi’s flustered state. Kuramochi would normally be upset when someone laughed at his misfortune, but he couldn’t help but be enamored with Ryousuke’s laugh and how it sounded like the melodic ringing of bells.
“I’m joking,” Ryousuke said, tilting his head back up again to smile at Kuramochi. “I trust you—even if you do sound like a blathering fool.”
“Don’t pull my leg like that, Ryo-san,” Kuramochi complained.
“You just make it so fun,” Ryousuke said, looking back down at the bath bomb. “Alright,” he finally said with a sigh. “Here goes nothing, I suppose.”
Ryousuke dropped the bath bomb into the water with a plop and the two of them watched in wide-eyed and open-mouthed awe as it fizzed in the water. The bath bomb was dissolving into pure ocean blues and the bubbling white of sea foam around the tub. After a few moments, Ryousuke was surrounded by the sea.
Kuramochi looked up at Ryousuke expectantly, but Ryousuke was quiet for a very long time. Fuck, maybe this was a bad idea after all. Why would Ryousuke like this sort of stuff anyway? What if this actually hurt more than it helped? Kuramochi opened his mouth to make a joke—to apologize, but then Ryousuke’s lips parted.
“Oh, Youichi,” he said with a sigh filled with such fondness that it made Kuramochi’s heart soar. “This is beautiful.”
It took Kuramochi another moment to respond. He was glad that Ryousuke was happy, but he was caught so off-guard by the genuine adoration and appreciation in his tone that he found himself flustered once again.
Kuramochi laughed sheepishly. “I found it at the store while I was out with my Ma the other day and I know you’ve really been missing home lately,” Kuramochi explained. Ryousuke looked up at him and Kuramochi felt his face flush almost immediately. He tore his eyes away from Ryousuke, trying to keep himself from teetering in this daze that Ryousuke always seemed to put him in. “I mean, it doesn’t compare to the real sea or anything,” Kuramochi continued. “But, I mean, I thought you’d like it.”
“I love it,” Ryousuke said quickly. He smiled at Kuramochi softly and Kuramochi could have sworn his heart stopped right then and there. “Thank you, Youichi.”
“Hyaha! It’s no big deal, Ryo-san,” Kuramochi said, his grin as wide as ever. He turned towards the door. “I’ll just leave you to enjoy yourself then—“
Ryousuke reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Kuramochi turned to see Ryousuke looking at him with an eyebrow quirked. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Kuramochi stared at him for a moment, not quite sure if there was a “right” answer to this one. “Out? So you can enjoy your bath bomb?”
“And you expect me to enjoy this without you?” Ryousuke asked. When Kuramochi still looked confused, Ryousuke’s smile turned mischievous. “There’s enough room for two of us in this tub, you know,” he added, his voice low and seductive.
The way Ryousuke looked at him sent a shiver up his spine and Kuramochi was honestly on cloud nine right now. Kuramochi smiled, leaning forward as he began to unbutton his shirt.
“You sure you’re not trying to drown me once and for all or something?” Kuramochi asked. “’Cause I’m pretty sure that’s more effective in the actual ocean, Ryo-san.”
“Of course not,” Ryousuke said, reaching out of the sea blue water to wrap his arms around Kuramochi’s neck. “You trust me, don’t you?”
Kuramochi answered by pressing a kiss on Ryousuke’s lips.