Ezykiel blinks slowly the sleep out of his eyes, a soft shiver running along his exposed back. When he rubs his face in the pillow, he can hear a soft chuckle right beside him. The blur finally dissipates and he can see Kotyan sitting beside him with his hair still untied just like his own. With a little stretch, Ezykiel chases what remains of his slumber and raises himself on his forearms to playfully glare at Kotyan. “Care to tell me what’s so funny?” Ezykiel grumbles with a pout on his face, only to receive another chuckle from the Au Ra sitting in the bed with him. “Rubbing your face in the pillow just made your bed hair even wilder than it was” simply states Kotyan with amusement in his eyes. With a sound between a sigh and an exasperated groan, Ezykiel just buries his face back where it was. The sheets moves beside and around him, and before he could lift his head again, Kotyan’s finger carefully ran through his red strands, untangling them one by one. Considering what they just had done earlier in the bed, it shouldn’t be this strange but the gesture is suddenly… so much more intimate that Ezykiel cannot help another shiver, definitely not because of the cold this time. Kotyan’s hand lingers a little close to Ezykiel’s ear before his voice slips into the silence, far smaller than usual. “Ezykiel…” he starts, and it’s not just smaller, it’s also so much more fragile, “did you ever consider that we could be… more.”. Now, his pillow is a way for Ezykiel to hide, to not show how he bites into his lip, repeating in his mind no, don’t say it, don’t ruin this.
“I… I think I’m starting to fall for you.” The silence is louder than the words. Ezykiel has stopped breathing, hoping that it would stop Kotyan’s words but it didn’t. Fingers stills in his hair and for a moment, none of them know if they can breathe in this heavy atmosphere. Slowly, Ezykiel raises his head and looks at Kotyan. He can see the moment where Kotyan realizes the answer he cannot voice, the small spark of hope flickers and dies, disappearing into nothingness. “Koty, I…” Even if he had anything else to say, it would’ve died on Kotyan’s lips as he just kissed him, his fingers lingering only a few more seconds before he detaches himself completely, with the smile Kotyan uses to reassure children, for the strangers and the others. A smile warm and hollow. “Forget I said anything” he finally says before stretching and reaching for the closest piece of clothes lying around. Ezykiel just nods and watches Kotyan dress himself before leaving his room, just like any other time they saw each other. And yet, the taste that lingers on Ezykiel lips is bittersweet. Tasting like a goodbye.
#eorzeaverse #ezylore #kotyanlore #writing
For a prompt challenge I did some years ago, I had one for Kotyan & Ezykiel. I literally took 5 expensions to get their shit together to finally GET together. Have a little snippet of how things (sort of) started.
The prompt was "Goodbye Kiss".
