katsuki jumps, startlingly, when you rub a hand up his back.
he's leaned too far down, bent over the counter at an angle that will give him an ache he'll complain about later, and his head whips up as you come to stand beside him. an e-mail on his phone is what previously had his full attention, but now he looks at you, eyes softening as you lean into his shoulder.
he's never been a very touchy guy. even after a year into your relationship, it's most often you reaching for his hand as you walk down the street; you pressing a kiss into his cheek while watching a movie on the couch; you running a hand through his hair as his breath steadies out beside you in bed.
it's not something you really complain about. you know how he is, knew before anything developed between the two of you, and you can't say it's a deal-breaker. there's little you know about his previous relationships or if he even had any, but you have the painful-gut feeling that affection just isn't something he's used to.
you press a smile into the sleeve of his shirt and his spine relaxes under your hand, finds that awful curve again. he watches you like he's waiting for something, tracing the tender details of your face.
"love you," you say, because do and you want to voice it aloud, put it into his mind even though you know he knows. as expected, his lips flatten into a wavering little line, shy suddenly, and your teeth wet the fabric of his shirt when you smile.
all you get is a little grunt in response and he dips his chin down in a wordless nod, accepting your lovey-dovey assault. it makes him feel a little helpless, you know, but you bring up an arm to wrap around him as he turns back to his phone, ears pink.
katsuki straightens with a dull pop!, stretching his arms up and allowing you to shuffle closer, so that your head is resting on his chest. you press your ear to it and wait, eyes closed, until the heavy promise of his heartbeat echoes like a drum in your ear. it's loud, and after a moment, your own falls into sync, right where it belongs.
"'s'wrong?"
"hm?" you glance up at him, the frown on his pink face, before breathing in the clean scent of his laundry soap. your laundry soap. and then you shake your head. "nothin'. just missed you."
"been home all day."
"i know," you sigh, letting your eyes fall shut again. the sound of his phone locking clicks and you can feel the slight down-slide of his sweatpants when he pockets it. "sometimes i miss you even though you're right here."
you expect — something; another grunt or laugh through his nose, a raspy little noise that voices his confusion. things like this can be hard for him; you know how he is, knew before anything ever developed between the two of you — but you don't think it makes him any less deserving.
katsuki steps back from you a little, and you feel the hesitant rise of his arm before you feel it. his hand comes up to your face — pink and scarred in your peripheral vision — and he tilts your head up, waits until you open your eyes.
when you do, it looks as if a million things are running through his head. his poker-face is good, it has to be, but you can see little bits of his vulnerability shining through. you wonder how long it's been since he showed it to anybody. he almost looks sad.
katsuki squeezes your cheeks until your lips pucker, and his frown deepens when you laugh. "y're so...damn weird."
that's along the lines of what you were anticipating: one of his teasing little insults, warm with a fire he's still learning how to kindle. you don't get the chance to say anything before he's kissing you, eyes shut tight, lashes brushing against your own.
you expect something soft, because affection is a fickle thing, from him — but his hand never falls from your face and his tongue is sliding with yours suddenly, a heated gesture that throws your heart out of whack. you let him kiss you as deeply as he can, until your back arches painfully backward over the counter as he leans into you.
when he pulls away, his lips are a little swollen and his cheeks are burning, as he presses one into yours. "i—jus'—" katsuki tries and then abandons it, a hand curling into the material of your shirt. "i get it." he murmurs, there, into the heated skin of your face, heart beating in time with yours.
things like this are hard with him — but he makes them so, so worth it.
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Is keeping sea slugs difficult? I love them and probably won't get them anytime soon because cats but if I ever do...
i’d say it’s pretty difficult, yeah. depends on what species you’re looking at, but all nudibranchs (and ‘things-that-get-labeled-as-nudibranchs-even-though-they-technically-aren’t, like the blue velvet slugs i just got) are very picky eaters and will often Exclusively eat one type of food down to species. the ‘easiest’ are probably lettuce slugs, as they’re algae grazers, but even then some say they’ll only eat certain species of macroalgae.
i have two species of slugs in my nano reef right now— berghia nudibranchs and the blue velvet slugs. i bought them because i have an excess of pest animals that they both prey on exclusively (aiptasia anemones for the berghia and flatworms for the velvets) and can’t control these pests via chemical means (for the safety of the other animals in my tank) or mechanical (they’re very hard to fully remove and i have hand tremors anyway), but it’s often accepted that if you don’t have a good supply of what these guys eat, they’ll starve to death pretty fast.
of the two, i’d honestly say the berghia nudis are generally easier to keep - lot of people will breed them and just keep a separate tank full of aiptasia to feed them with, since they’re very fast growing anemones. blue velvets are a bit harder because they’ve got short lifespans as-is and flatworms are hard to get ahold of except for by accident, while some people purposefully culture and sell aiptasia as feeders.
i’m taking a STRONG gamble with my slugs, and honestly i’m only doing it because i have a fair amount of confidence in my ability to maintain good water conditions, but even then it’s not bulletproof. they’re one of those things where even if you do everything “right”, they still might not thrive because we don’t really know them as well as we know, say, shrimp or corals just yet. for me this is really my only option for handling my flatworm problem, so i’m taking that risk, but it may not work out and i’m prepared for that outcome.
i’m hoping the will continue to improve when it comes to getting better at keeping and breeding these animals, though, because they’re very cool! while i can’t say i’d want to see them wild-caught in the pet trade, the ability to aquaculture them would be a huge step. and it would be wonderful to see them in aquariums more often :)
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