☆ ⁞ Itogi. 

  ^{a little too much soap for one plate, scrubbed off with a hiss when the rinsing water grows hotter  (  he’s still figuring out that left means warm, right means cold  )  but his scowl is quick to slide back into its content smile from before when he hears the chair legs squeak against tile. there are many features he likes about jonathan, not all of which he has words for but one specific little thing is that he LISTENS, he believes him  (  and knows how nasty humans can be  )  &  that is what matters the most.}

^{he shakes his head, loose strands of hair falling into his face only to be blown back up with a puff of air through pouted lips.}

                                                                ^{❝ I’m learning. ❞}

^{remembering every detail of how jonathan does it  (  okay, maybe not the extra soap part  )  , he’s settling two plates into the dish rack when he looks over his shoulder. this is how it always goes — he begins something only to be distracted by another, always saying he’ll go back to it when in reality it ends in sleeping tucked behind the couch. this, he tells himself, will be finished.}

  ^{for now itogi steps away from the sink, faucet still going, and doesn’t think about drying his hands before they’re against jonathan’s cheeks & he’s sitting on his knees next to him, foreheads pressed together. his  ‘ good morning ’  ,  his  ‘ don’t worry ’  .}

                          ^{❝ do you have places to go ?  I’ll stay here today. ❞}

^{Jonathan slouches in his seat with a content sigh. He knows Itogi does need to learn these things and he’s been getting better and better as time passes by. Jonathan would even say he’s proud of him. Itogi’s far from belonging here, and yet he’s adapted so easily. Of course, his attention span is something that still needs work.}

^{It doesn’t make him smile any less, though, when Itogi decides he wants to pay attention to Jonathan now. In fact, it makes his cheeks feel suddenly warm and his heartbeat speed up ( though that’s not unusual ) as the other gets closer to him.}

^{He glances behind Itogi at the still running sink, but before he can even comment, there are wet hands slapping against his cheeks making him flinch back, but not enough to get the hands off of him. It was a surprise, sure, but he doesn’t have it in him to deny Itogi of anything he wants. So, he simply stares up at the other as dishwater slides down his neck and starts making wet spots on the collar of his shirt.}

                                                 ^{❝ no, nowhere to go. I’m all yours today. ❞}

^{With Itogi hanging around more and more, Jonathan’s learned to start buying things in bulk. If he were to leave Itogi alone, there’s absolutely no telling what he’d come back to. The house could be up in flames for all he knows. So, he makes his shopping trips quick and enough to last more than a week.}

                                ^{❝ — anything you wanna do today ? It’s your turn to choose. ❞}