2676/Balance

Balance
Date of Scene:	05 July 2025
Location:	Moon Palace
Synopsis:	Izou and Kazuo find each other at the tail end of the reception. Plans are considered; places are considered; promises are made. Even made out loud, this time.
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Zoisite

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Kazuo Saitou has posed:
In the end, it's not surprising where Izou finds Kazuo. Quietly, unobtrusively doing the work - deftly clearing away empty plates and glasses, collecting them to make it easier for the people who actually volunteered for cleanup. He has the time, after all, and it's an excuse to avoid being asked for a dance by anyone else who's had a crush on him. Literally all of whom, so far as he knows, are here. He'd like to avoid Mamoru's wedding ending in an explosive fight.

That does not mean he'd like to avoid Izou, and the moment he sees that Izou's set gaze on him, he in turn sets down the stack he's carrying and comes to meet him partway.

(There is not so much as a crumb on his outfit. Failing to live up to Izou tonight would be unforgiveable.)

"You'll be pleased to know that most of what I've been hearing all night is how much you took everyone's breath away."

Zoisite has posed:
Behind him, the smell of roses lingered, having just left Makoto with the promise of them reaching out to one another once back on Earth. Possibility for another friendship, and one he was pursuing on his own instead of finding through a conflict. There was a hope that this was a positive thing, especially with how she would definitely be around Masato.

Which also made him consider a few things on his own. The awkwardness of where he was now living and if his communication with his roommate could still be left at hieroglyphic emojis alone.

Such thoughts went silent for a moment when he looked ahead and found Kazuo cleaning up one of the tables before their eyes met. Heart skipped and hand gripped the bouquet a little tighter as he began his approach, to meet his lover partway with a glow to his eyes that was warm and welcoming.

"Is that so?" He smiled, looking up to Kazuo. "I mostly wanted to take your breath away tonight. I hope that's still the case."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Yes. I'm only glad I don't have to hold the rest of them in contempt for lack of taste for the next decade." There's a little curve to Kazuo's mouth, a gentle hint of laughter shared - not laughter at Izou. Not that at all.

He offers his own hand to Izou, on the side where the bouquet is not. "Is there anything still to do tonight, that would make you happier?"

Zoisite has posed:
Smile reaches his mouth at Kazuo's comment, finding the charm and making him feel some heat bloom on his cheeks. Accepting the offered hand, Izou steps close to close the small distance and to place a kiss on the other's cheek in return.

"Maybe. But nothing that you need to do now. Or soon." Pulling away only to look back at Kazuo's face, hopeful. "I talked some with Mamoru before I took him to bed. He suggested I tell you what I wanted, and we three should talk about it before taking another step. But..."

"Do you see me next to you? Forthe rest of your life, I mean... Would it make you just as happy, if that were to happen?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Izou." It's not just his name; it's his name made into an endearment, as if the syllables he chose for himself were to be savored like wine. Better than wine; Kazuo's never shown any sign of being interested in drink. The taste of it might still be lingering as he bows over Izou's hand, and lifts it to touch his lips to the back of it, gently, reverently.

"You've seen the answer to that," he murmurs when he straightens. "It hasn't changed. But if you need it in words - yes. For as long as it brings you joy. For our lives as long as they last." There's another twitch of an almost-smile, and his eyes gleam silver as he adds, "If I don't bore you before them. You are light, beloved; you move so much more swiftly than I can."

Zoisite has posed:
It stings, the back of his eyes--tale tell sign of tears wanting to come, and it would be the second time he felt close to them falling that night. The warmth of the kiss to his hand, how respectful and gentle Kazuo was in one's reply. No tears fall though, not yet.

Hand still remains in Kazuo's, squeezing back just enough like he looked for that anchor again. "I move fast, yes. I know. But I can move fast enough for both of us, if you need me to. And as fast as I can go, I still need someone to steady me, keep me still when it becomes too much. I will still need that shadow to balance out how bright I get."

"I would never be bored of you, my love. Never."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There's the urge to kiss his hand again, but that would be getting repetitive. Kazuo takes a half-step closer instead, not close enough to endanger the bouquet - close enough that his free hand comes up to touch Izou's shoulder. "You should know," he murmurs, just for Izou to hear instead of any other slowly-tiring attendees, "that - I am waiting to be sure we are both seeing each other, not our dreams of each other. We've tested that a little, but only a little. It takes time. Is that all right? Will your patience stretch that far?"

Zoisite has posed:
A nod, gaze locked in place and taking in every word. The glow does not fade. "I am wanting the same, so yes. It will stretch as long as you need it to." There was more for the two of them to discover, to understand about one another. Perhaps it was foolish how Izou seemed so certain this was what he wanted--but he was.

"We still need to talk to Mamoru, make sure that his comfort is included. He depends on you, and I want you both to be happy as well."

Gaze averts a little, mostly to look within his earlier plannings. "I also have things to do on my end. Give Masato his space to feel comfortable with Makoto and find a place of my own." Greens return to silver. "That includes considering you, and Mamoru."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Then we'll talk, the three of us, as soon as he's recovered from tonight. It may be a little while." And Kazuo laughs outright, quiet and low and just for Izou. "After all. He'll want to see if we can find a place in the building that suits you, and neither of us will want to put up with his showing us diagrams and constantly explaining the current state of the rooms in terms of how Usagi would like them and how pretty her hair would look in the light. It'll go faster if we wait till he's through that stage."

He pauses to admire Izou's hair once again, the carefully patterned casual tumble, the intricacies of the glints hiding within. Stars on the Moon. Stars in a flame on the Moon. It's a breath or two before he remembers he had something else to say. "In the mean time. Do you want to stay a little longer? Or is it time for you to slip out of those shoes, and perhaps let me do something for your feet?"

Zoisite has posed:
Smiles, brightly, listening to how mirth tumbled from Kazuo. "You're right. His mind has been nothing but beaming stars, a moon full of rabbits. It'll be some time, but I can wait for that too. He deserved this night more than anyone." Grins, not bothered by any of this. It was worth seeing Mamoru happy and finally able to relax. And his thoughts on Usagi seemed to have finally found a quiet crescendo where no anger resides.

It was comfortable.

At Kazuo's question, the bloom of heat grows just a tad redder, the small aches on his feet coming to the forefront of his mind. "I can last a little longer if you wanted to stay for a bit. I think I will definitely be feeling my feet tomorrow either way." At least the cool waters did some wonders when he soaked them next to Ami.

"But if you think we should go home, then I will definitely not say no to what you have in mind for my feet." One foot turned slightly on it's ankle, like a child's gesture of bashfulness. Discreet, present if one knew where to look.

"Kazuo, when you feel we're sure and ready, you will ask me to be yours?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
A moon full of rabbits. That strikes Kazuo as funnier than Izou perhaps meant it to be - because all he can imagine, now, are generations of Chibiusas running around, causing trouble for each other, scolding each other for causing trouble, being Pointedly Upright about helping clean up the messes ten minutes before creating a new one. His hand on Zoisite's shoulder slips to the back of it; he doesn't embrace properly, not with the bouquet there, but it's implicit in the press of his hand against shoulderblade.

"If it's at the point of 'last a little longer,' then we should certainly get you off your feet." Casual, there, masking a trace of concern; only a trace - if Izou had real problems, Kazuo trusts him to mention them. "Will you need a hand with the - I don't know how to describe it. With your back." With the glory. The faintly creepy glory, given the skeletal hints, but from Izou, Kazuo scarcely notices the creepy - it only makes it more Izou.

And then there's that question, which is not casual at all.

"Yes," he says quietly. And takes his hand back from Izou's, only to touch the flower that Izou placed on him earlier. As if to say: yes; accepting that was already a yes. "I will."