[She's just going to have to be the one to dishevel him and find out, won't she.......
Minato smiles a little as she holds up the box, eyebrow arching. He highly doubts she's forgotten how to play, but... it's charming, the way that she encourages him to go for it.
So he plucks a pocky stick from the box, and puts it between his teeth, giving her the frosting side.]
... The idea's to get as close as possible, right? I'd definitely like to see if you've gotten any better at this game. I'm feeling a bit more confident myself.
[Which is Minato code for "I really, really want to take the excuse to kiss you some more".]
[ No, Minato!! It's been some time and she's a forgetful person, she really did forget, apart from the main idea of "keep eating the pocky." ]
Oh, you're feeling more confident, hm? Well, I won't back down, of course.
[ A more confident Mimi... Now that will be a sight to see! Juniper has no choice but to rise up to the challenge of course, and she's as competitive as ever.
Tipping her head down a bit so she can gaze up at him coyly, she takes the frosted end of the snack up between her lips. ]
[ A lot has happened for Juniper, too, since their very first day on the show together when they played this game. For worse or worst, she's learned how to demonstrate more patience when it comes to things like this... Because she's often been on the receiving end of Childe's mischievous teasing by now.
She's learned how to at least seem like she's keeping her cool, even if there are so many butterflies fluttering about in her stomach.
So, she meets his small bite with a bolder one, hoping to stoke his impatience just a bit. ]
[She succeeds, honestly. Her bolder bite forward gets his cheeks to flush a little. After all... now that he knows just how soft her lips are, knows what it's like to kiss her without having to worry about a TV show or if they really mean it or anything like that...
This game feels like it means a lot more.
... He leans in and... perhaps cheats a little, by taking two bites forward, bringing their noses to the point where they're practically brushing.]
[ It truly does mean a lot more, for both of them, all the more so for the fact that here, they're hidden away, and her focus is on Minato and only Minato. On how cute he looks when he's blushing, on how his blue hair frames his face, how nice it is to be in such close quarters with him with no Cameraman-kun crew or show or anything to pay heed to.
Juniper leans in, too, to take another bite - a smaller one - but in doing so moves her arm to support herself with one hand firmly pressed onto the bed, beside where Minato sits. Their noses are very much touching now... ]
[... It would take someone with a lot more willpower than Minato has to keep him from closing the distance.
So.
He doesn't hesitate at all.
He leans in to take on the remainder of that pocky stick, pressing his lips against Juniper's firmly and warmly.
The pocky game was always an excuse, after all... an excuse to make up for the way it panned out before, on that TV show, when Minato was less confident, and his feelings were less firm.
[ She's anticipating the kiss, although she does have to wonder what this means? Did she win? That competitive spirit is so difficult to quash sometimes...
Although, really, since she's kissing him back, and since this kiss is just as lovely as all of the ones they've shared thus far and will continue to share... She can concede that they've both won.
Juniper can feel Minato's newfound confidence and certainty burgeoning behind the kiss, and oh, does it make her heart do another little bunny kick in her chest. Of course she's matching that confidence and certainty with her own. She lifts her other hand and cups Minato's cheek gently, pressing in just as firmly. ]
[It absolutely means she won the game. But Minato feels like he won everything else--she's kissing him back, warm and firm, and her lips are just as soft and sweet as he remembers them being.
Maybe... even more so, now that he can just enjoy the moment, without worrying about the cameras or stepping on toes or either of their feelings, or any of the feelings of their friends.
He tilts his face into the touch of her hand contentedly, lips parting to encourage that kiss just that little bit more. Is this moving too quickly, too hopefully? Maybe, but--he told Juniper that he would be more honest with her about his own feelings too, and allowing himself to want this? That's part of that.]
[ Even against their kiss, Juniper can't help the way that her lips curl at its corners at Minato's encouragement. It's wonderful, she thinks, to see, feel him open his heart more, to let his feelings shine when they had to be hidden away before.
So, of course, she matches his honesty with her own, parting her lips in kind and letting her hand slip around behind his head, fingers threading into his hair and the fingertips fluttering over the back of his neck. Right where he's always rubbing at whenever he's feeling shy or sheepish. ]
[Oh... that feels nice, actually. It isn't a particularly scandalous place for her fingers to settle, but Minato's pretty sure... nobody's touched him there before, at the same time.
His breath hitches against her lips, just a little, and then he dives in to deepen the kiss again, his own hands coming to rest lightly against her hips. If they're starting to be a bit bolder with that exploration, then... admittedly, if he's honest with himself, the thought of being able to touch her properly, just like this (and more) is very exciting.
... Still, he wants to be sure.
So he finally pulls away from the kiss enough to take a few breaths, cheeks a little flushed as he looks at her, and softly:]
[ There's no harm at all in wanting to be sure, and well... It's nice, too, to hear these kinds of words spoken when they were so far out of the realm of possibility before. Not an ounce of hesitation on Juniper's end when at last they must part for air, and she answers his question while thinking about how nicely his hands rest on her hips... ]
It's all okay with me... What about you, Mimi?
[ This goes both ways, after all, and she wants him to be sure, too. ]
[It does go both ways, and it makes his heart flutter to realize, as soon as she asks... that he knows his answer immediately.
That she's here, right now, because she came back to him--that he's here to spend this time with her, both of them sitting on his bed with their lips already red from kissing...
He knows.
So he smiles at her, lips curved into a contented expression.]
I'm... really happy right now. There isn't anywhere I'd wanna be right now... more than right here, with you.
So... yeah. Everything's good with me.
[Wherever they take this--he knows he'll be happy.]
[ Truly, when and where they are right now couldn't be any more perfect, in Juniper's mind. It simply feels right, and her instincts have rarely failed her when it comes to what makes her smile warmly, and what makes her heart fill up with fluffy, fluttery dandelions... ]
Ahh... I'm really happy too! I don't care what happens, Mimi, as long as we're together.
[ No matter how far they go tonight, she knows the journey will be worthwhile, an adventure, because of him, because of his smile. Leaning back in, she plants a kiss on the corner of his (more visible) eye. ]
Don't be quiet for this, okay? I want to know everything that you're thinking...
["Don't be quiet", she says, and Minato's cheeks flush red at the insinuations.
They've been relatively subtle about it, all things considered. Both of them with smiles and soft warmth, happy with wherever this goes... but Minato can't help but think that if he really thinks about what he wants, then...
He lifts his chin a little to meet her eyes, one hand leaving her hip to gently cup her cheek.]
... Okay. I'll try. I'll... be as loud as I know how to be, just for you.
[And the first step in that, he thinks, is:]
Because I really want... to explore all of this with you. So I'm gonna kiss you some more, okay?
[Pocky doesn't need to be the excuse for this; he ignores the box as he leans in for another kiss, sweetly lingering for a long moment.]
[ Of course she is hoping to hear such words, having been the one to encourage him to speak freely, yet hearing him actually give voice to those thoughts and wishes thrills her all the same, makes heat flare through her cheeks beneath his touch.
She doesn't need to say any more, for now. She's said plenty enough. All that's left is to return that sweet, lingering kiss in kind, to press her fingers into the back of his neck once more. It's not long before she gets a little bit bolder in the spirit of exploration, angling her head to better slot their lips together so that she can seek permission to taste him on her tongue. ]
[Her bolder, and yet still so gentle nudge for permission draws a contented little smile out of Minato. Truly--Juniper is such a stunning person. She's sunshine and boldness, exuberance and thrills, and yet when it counts, she's also so gentle and kind...
He's so lucky right now.
His lips part for her willingly, other hand sliding around her waist to gently but insistently tug her closer to him. It's... nice, he thinks. Better than nice, really, to be able to feel her body warmth and know that she's really here with him right now.
He promised he'd be louder for her, so he hums an encouraging and already-somewhat-wanting noise into her mouth, tilting his head on instinct to try to encourage her all the closer, all the deeper.]
[ She goes where she is bid to, pressing in closer. Though they're not quite flush with one another, they're certainly close enough to feel each other's warmth all the more, close enough for her to continue treating him to the gentleness seems to be admiring and that he so deserves.
Because where Juniper is sunshine and boldness, Minato is moonlight and steadfast like the ocean's tide. He is strong, quietly so and in a way that is so different from her own outspoken, chaotic strength, and she admires him so much for it. Surely, Ajax sees the same in him and has been drawn to him in the same way...
The moment he makes that soft, pleading noise, Juniper responds, deepening the kiss duly to let her tongue to mingle with his, leaning forward to urge him to lean back a bit... She wants nothing more than to gaze down at his face with him beneath her, but it can happen slowly... ]
[The thrill of being able to taste Juniper like this on his tongue is so exciting. It makes Minato's heart thrum in his chest, loud enough to hear it in his own ears, and briefly, with them this close, he wonders if Juni can hear it too.
Then she pushes against him, deepening the kiss and nudging at him, and Minato leans back obediently slowly, cheeks going a little red as he slowly lays back against the bed.
Despite himself, he falls back a bit to the bed, breaking the kiss accidentally, staring up at her with rumpled hair and red cheeks and lips--
And then he leans up to bury his fingers into the hair at the back of her head, insistently tugging her close again for another needy kiss.]
[ She follows along his every movement; Juniper isn't content to be anywhere but so close to him at the moment, and even when he leans back enough that their kiss is accidentally broken, she is already leaning forward in kind and chasing his lips—
Only to find her herself momentarily captured by the sight of him, already a little disheveled and his skin flushed, his lips well-kissed... Oh. He's so pretty like this, she thinks, she can't take her eyes off of him.
He doesn't give her much more of a moment to dwell on it, though, as he pulls her in close once more. Juniper is all too happy to oblige, kiss him back just as hungrily, at least until she drags her mouth down to the line of his jaw, and then to the delicate slope of his neck, where she murmurs quietly against his skin: ]
[Like this, with Minato on his back, and Juniper on top of him (and hello, her thighs pressed on either side of him, and the view he gets from here, wow--), it's pretty safe to say that there is nowhere he would rather be right now than her.
Her lips trial along his neck, and Minato shivers beneath her, his hands sliding down her sides almost reverently as she explores his skin.]
Yes. You can--you can do anything you want, Juni.
[He smiles a little then, fingers dipping to slide just beneath the hem of her shirt.]
I trust you... okay?
[He knows that as they pursue this, and as they discover this together... Juniper will always keep his happiness in mind, so it's so easy to trust her. After all, even before they were like this--that's exactly what she always did.]
[ Truly, it fills her heart to be like this with him, to feel him writhe beneath the press of her body, and his fingers fluttering along her sides and over her skin and leaving warmth in their wake. She huffs out something like a sigh, given both in response to what he says and what he does, while she softly nuzzles at him. ]
It's the same for me...
[ She trusts him in the same way, and he can do anything he wants, too. With that, she plants a gentle kiss onto his neck, and then another, before the tip of her tongue presses against his skin to taste him there, too. ]
[It's the same for her, huh...? So they're on the same page with this. That feels... right, to Minato. They've been on the same page since the moment Juniper arrived here. From the moment of their kiss, to their cuddling on the bench, and now here, with Juniper pressed against him and her lips and tongue warm against his neck.
He breathes out a shaky breath in response, shivering beneath her, feeling the way that heat pools in his gut immediately.
He tries to think of something to say, but... the words slip from his grasp, distracted as he is instead by the press of Juniper's body--and so he stops bothering to try, instead taking her permission for what it is and slowly slides his fingers underneath her shirt properly, slowly but certainly trailing his fingers up her spine, basking in being able to enjoy that touch.]
[ They are on the same page about this, and Juniper can only hope that it feels as freeing for him as it does for her. After all of this time left wondering and hoping and longing from the very beginning of the show through its conclusion and all of the time that has passed since then... They are, at last, of the same feelings, of the same mind.
She has certainly been very talkative today already, but now is the time to fall back to instincts, she thinks. With a gentle graze of her teeth against the column of his neck she nips ever so slightly while his hands roam up her back, drawing skin between her teeth to suck and leave a mark on him. She punctuates it by nuzzling him there again, as if to soothe that little bit of pain with her sweetness, even while her thighs press up against his sides and she revels in the feeling of his touch on her bare skin. ]
[The way his breath hitches in response to the graze of her teeth against his skin is probably very satisfying, especially when it's followed by a noise that Minato's not sure he's ever made before. It's soft and low but undeniably pleased as she presses even closer.
Damn, Juniper's thighs pressed against him are really dangerous, and it makes him realize... he'd really like there to be much less clothing between them. It is not the first time he's had this thought, of course; he has eyes, and Juniper is gorgeous, all toned muscle and beautiful curves. But he has the thought a lot more urgently this time, and it's with that in mind that he tries to hitch her crop top up and over her head.
This is easier said than done when she is still lavishing affection against his neck, but he's Trying.]
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Minato smiles a little as she holds up the box, eyebrow arching. He highly doubts she's forgotten how to play, but... it's charming, the way that she encourages him to go for it.
So he plucks a pocky stick from the box, and puts it between his teeth, giving her the frosting side.]
... The idea's to get as close as possible, right? I'd definitely like to see if you've gotten any better at this game. I'm feeling a bit more confident myself.
[Which is Minato code for "I really, really want to take the excuse to kiss you some more".]
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[ No, Minato!! It's been some time and she's a forgetful person, she really did forget, apart from the main idea of "keep eating the pocky." ]
Oh, you're feeling more confident, hm? Well, I won't back down, of course.
[ A more confident Mimi... Now that will be a sight to see! Juniper has no choice but to rise up to the challenge of course, and she's as competitive as ever.
Tipping her head down a bit so she can gaze up at him coyly, she takes the frosted end of the snack up between her lips. ]
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But!
That coy look, and the way she delicately draws that snack between her lips naturally drags his gaze to her lips.
And the memory of their kissing before is... very fresh in his mind. He'd really... like to experience that again, but--well, but more.]
I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got.
[And with that? He takes a small bite forward. He's impatient right now, so the chances he's going to do well with this game is... slim.]
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She's learned how to at least seem like she's keeping her cool, even if there are so many butterflies fluttering about in her stomach.
So, she meets his small bite with a bolder one, hoping to stoke his impatience just a bit. ]
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This game feels like it means a lot more.
... He leans in and... perhaps cheats a little, by taking two bites forward, bringing their noses to the point where they're practically brushing.]
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Cameraman-kuncrew or show or anything to pay heed to.Juniper leans in, too, to take another bite - a smaller one - but in doing so moves her arm to support herself with one hand firmly pressed onto the bed, beside where Minato sits. Their noses are very much touching now... ]
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So.
He doesn't hesitate at all.
He leans in to take on the remainder of that pocky stick, pressing his lips against Juniper's firmly and warmly.
The pocky game was always an excuse, after all... an excuse to make up for the way it panned out before, on that TV show, when Minato was less confident, and his feelings were less firm.
... Now, he's so much more sure.]
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Although, really, since she's kissing him back, and since this kiss is just as lovely as all of the ones they've shared thus far and will continue to share... She can concede that they've both won.
Juniper can feel Minato's newfound confidence and certainty burgeoning behind the kiss, and oh, does it make her heart do another little bunny kick in her chest. Of course she's matching that confidence and certainty with her own. She lifts her other hand and cups Minato's cheek gently, pressing in just as firmly. ]
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Maybe... even more so, now that he can just enjoy the moment, without worrying about the cameras or stepping on toes or either of their feelings, or any of the feelings of their friends.
He tilts his face into the touch of her hand contentedly, lips parting to encourage that kiss just that little bit more. Is this moving too quickly, too hopefully? Maybe, but--he told Juniper that he would be more honest with her about his own feelings too, and allowing himself to want this? That's part of that.]
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So, of course, she matches his honesty with her own, parting her lips in kind and letting her hand slip around behind his head, fingers threading into his hair and the fingertips fluttering over the back of his neck. Right where he's always rubbing at whenever he's feeling shy or sheepish. ]
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His breath hitches against her lips, just a little, and then he dives in to deepen the kiss again, his own hands coming to rest lightly against her hips. If they're starting to be a bit bolder with that exploration, then... admittedly, if he's honest with himself, the thought of being able to touch her properly, just like this (and more) is very exciting.
... Still, he wants to be sure.
So he finally pulls away from the kiss enough to take a few breaths, cheeks a little flushed as he looks at her, and softly:]
Is this... all okay?
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It's all okay with me... What about you, Mimi?
[ This goes both ways, after all, and she wants him to be sure, too. ]
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That she's here, right now, because she came back to him--that he's here to spend this time with her, both of them sitting on his bed with their lips already red from kissing...
He knows.
So he smiles at her, lips curved into a contented expression.]
I'm... really happy right now. There isn't anywhere I'd wanna be right now... more than right here, with you.
So... yeah. Everything's good with me.
[Wherever they take this--he knows he'll be happy.]
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Ahh... I'm really happy too! I don't care what happens, Mimi, as long as we're together.
[ No matter how far they go tonight, she knows the journey will be worthwhile, an adventure, because of him, because of his smile. Leaning back in, she plants a kiss on the corner of his (more visible) eye. ]
Don't be quiet for this, okay? I want to know everything that you're thinking...
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They've been relatively subtle about it, all things considered. Both of them with smiles and soft warmth, happy with wherever this goes... but Minato can't help but think that if he really thinks about what he wants, then...
He lifts his chin a little to meet her eyes, one hand leaving her hip to gently cup her cheek.]
... Okay. I'll try. I'll... be as loud as I know how to be, just for you.
[And the first step in that, he thinks, is:]
Because I really want... to explore all of this with you. So I'm gonna kiss you some more, okay?
[Pocky doesn't need to be the excuse for this; he ignores the box as he leans in for another kiss, sweetly lingering for a long moment.]
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She doesn't need to say any more, for now. She's said plenty enough. All that's left is to return that sweet, lingering kiss in kind, to press her fingers into the back of his neck once more. It's not long before she gets a little bit bolder in the spirit of exploration, angling her head to better slot their lips together so that she can seek permission to taste him on her tongue. ]
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He's so lucky right now.
His lips part for her willingly, other hand sliding around her waist to gently but insistently tug her closer to him. It's... nice, he thinks. Better than nice, really, to be able to feel her body warmth and know that she's really here with him right now.
He promised he'd be louder for her, so he hums an encouraging and already-somewhat-wanting noise into her mouth, tilting his head on instinct to try to encourage her all the closer, all the deeper.]
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Because where Juniper is sunshine and boldness, Minato is moonlight and steadfast like the ocean's tide. He is strong, quietly so and in a way that is so different from her own outspoken, chaotic strength, and she admires him so much for it. Surely, Ajax sees the same in him and has been drawn to him in the same way...
The moment he makes that soft, pleading noise, Juniper responds, deepening the kiss duly to let her tongue to mingle with his, leaning forward to urge him to lean back a bit... She wants nothing more than to gaze down at his face with him beneath her, but it can happen slowly... ]
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Then she pushes against him, deepening the kiss and nudging at him, and Minato leans back obediently slowly, cheeks going a little red as he slowly lays back against the bed.
Despite himself, he falls back a bit to the bed, breaking the kiss accidentally, staring up at her with rumpled hair and red cheeks and lips--
And then he leans up to bury his fingers into the hair at the back of her head, insistently tugging her close again for another needy kiss.]
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Only to find her herself momentarily captured by the sight of him, already a little disheveled and his skin flushed, his lips well-kissed... Oh. He's so pretty like this, she thinks, she can't take her eyes off of him.
He doesn't give her much more of a moment to dwell on it, though, as he pulls her in close once more. Juniper is all too happy to oblige, kiss him back just as hungrily, at least until she drags her mouth down to the line of his jaw, and then to the delicate slope of his neck, where she murmurs quietly against his skin: ]
Mimi...? May I...?
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Her lips trial along his neck, and Minato shivers beneath her, his hands sliding down her sides almost reverently as she explores his skin.]
Yes. You can--you can do anything you want, Juni.
[He smiles a little then, fingers dipping to slide just beneath the hem of her shirt.]
I trust you... okay?
[He knows that as they pursue this, and as they discover this together... Juniper will always keep his happiness in mind, so it's so easy to trust her. After all, even before they were like this--that's exactly what she always did.]
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It's the same for me...
[ She trusts him in the same way, and he can do anything he wants, too. With that, she plants a gentle kiss onto his neck, and then another, before the tip of her tongue presses against his skin to taste him there, too. ]
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He breathes out a shaky breath in response, shivering beneath her, feeling the way that heat pools in his gut immediately.
He tries to think of something to say, but... the words slip from his grasp, distracted as he is instead by the press of Juniper's body--and so he stops bothering to try, instead taking her permission for what it is and slowly slides his fingers underneath her shirt properly, slowly but certainly trailing his fingers up her spine, basking in being able to enjoy that touch.]
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She has certainly been very talkative today already, but now is the time to fall back to instincts, she thinks. With a gentle graze of her teeth against the column of his neck she nips ever so slightly while his hands roam up her back, drawing skin between her teeth to suck and leave a mark on him. She punctuates it by nuzzling him there again, as if to soothe that little bit of pain with her sweetness, even while her thighs press up against his sides and she revels in the feeling of his touch on her bare skin. ]
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Damn, Juniper's thighs pressed against him are really dangerous, and it makes him realize... he'd really like there to be much less clothing between them. It is not the first time he's had this thought, of course; he has eyes, and Juniper is gorgeous, all toned muscle and beautiful curves. But he has the thought a lot more urgently this time, and it's with that in mind that he tries to hitch her crop top up and over her head.
This is easier said than done when she is still lavishing affection against his neck, but he's Trying.]
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