#i hate sentence rythhmg or whatever its called

[normal-person-i-promise]

chapped lips

short little thing to get back into writing after not doing it for five thousand years (5 months)

"Want a taste?" You ask in a teasing tone, capping the lip balm and pointing it in his general direction.

Your heart flutters when you see his cheeks flush, and he averts his gaze quickly.

"As if I want a taste of your horrible lip balm," he shoots back, a grin playing on his lips as he looks at you, his head turned to the side.

★ ★ ★

God, are your lips dry.

You rifle through your bag, pulling out the stick of lip balm and uncapping it.

The office is rather empty today — there haven't been any customers, so it's just been you and Arataka. He'd struck up a few simple conversations, nothing more than a little "how are you" and a small "weather's been nice".

It breaks your heart a little to see him so... Disinterested in you, his gaze transfixed on the window, the golden light of the setting sun making his eyes glimmer gold.

You bring the stick of lip balm to your mouth, pressing it to your lips and dragging it across them. It's scented (and flavoured!) vanilla, and you find your tongue darting out to lick the oily residue.

It's at this moment that you find that Arataka's watching you, his gaze fixed on your mouth, his eyes following your tongue as you run it across your lips.

You decide to tease him.

"Want a taste?" You ask in a teasing tone, capping the lip balm and pointing it in his general direction.

Your heart flutters when you see his cheeks flush, and he averts his gaze quickly.

"As if I want a taste of your horrible lip balm," he shoots back, a grin playing on his lips as he looks at you, his head turned to the side.

"I bet it tastes horrible. Just like you do."

You gasp dramatically, feigning offence.

"I do not taste horrible! How could you be so heartless?"

You're stifling giggles, fighting back a grin as Arataka just arches a brow at you.

God, he's so...

"I doubt that."

He's grinning wide, now, leaning forward on his desk, resting his chin in his hands, his elbows on the table.

You make a strangled noise, half faking and half actually surprised.

"I taste lovely, thank you very much!"

You shove the lip balm back into your bag and narrow your eyes at him. He snickers, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not going to believe you until you prove it."

It takes a moment for you to compute what he says before you get up from your chair, walking over to his desk and resting your hands on it, leaning your weight onto the wood.

"Is that a challenge?"

You lean in close to his face, staring right into those eyes of his. He narrows them in delight, grinning at you.

"I doubt you're brave enough."

Those are the last words Arataka manages to get out before you close the distance — you're almost lying down on the desk as you press your lips onto his. You feel him startle, surprised, but he's quick to kiss you right back. His eyes flutter shut as he sighs into you.

He's gentle with it, cupping your face in one hand and tangling his fingers in your hair with the other.

The kiss is clumsy and inexperienced, but when you pull away, your faces are both red and your bodies are both hot.

When he looks at you, his eyes are heavy with desire.

"You taste horrible, just as I thought," he remarks as he licks his lips, humming in thought as he cups his chin in a hand.

He grins, narrowing his eyes as he brings them back to look at you.

"I'll need another taste to make sure."

You sigh in fake annoyance.

"Fine, fine," you say, leaning on the desk and kissing him again.

This time, it's a lot better: he seems to have learnt from the previous kiss as he moves his lips to slot themselves comfortably against yours, his hand trailing down from your neck to the small of your back.

You can hear him bite back... Noises, as he grips your waist. He pulls you into him as he tilts his head to the side, pressing his mouth onto yours gently.

When you pull away, Arataka's hesitant to let you go, his hand gripping your upper arm, his thumbs drawing small circles on your skin. His touch sends shivers down your spine as you sigh.

"Is that enough?" You ask, trying to make your voice sound annoyed, trying to keep it from sounding like a moan.

"Hmmm..."

He cups his chin in a hand, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"...Third time's the charm."

He gets up from his chair, dusting off his suit for a moment before snaking his hands behind your back, pressing your body up against to his as he dips you, kissing you again.

His hand travels up to your head, holding it in place as he deepens the kiss. You hear... Sounds, coming from him — loud ones at that — just as the door opens.

"...Shishou?"

Mob's confused voice breaks the intimate moment you and Arataka had been sharing.

He immediately pulls himself away from you, making you more than a little disappointed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ah, yes, Mob—"

Arataka clears his throat, and you can almost feel his embarrassment.

...

It's quiet for a long while.

Mob just... Wordlessly takes his seat at the little table in the corner, not looking either of you in the eye.

Your gaze flickers from him to Arataka.

Continue this later?

You mouth, studying his face for a reaction.

He nods briskly.