Scorp10

Kosmo was not understanding the assignment.

Seventh had been trying for the last several minutes to teach him how to sit on command, but the wolf pup either stared at him blankly or immediately climbed halfway into his lap instead, paws pressing insistently against his chest the moment Seventh tried to put distance between them.

“No,” Seventh corrected patiently, lowering him back onto the bed once again. “Sit.”

Kosmo’s ears twitched.

Then he dramatically flopped onto his side across the blankets.

Seventh stared at him.

“…That is not sitting.”

Kosmo wagged his tail exactly once, entirely pleased with himself.

Seventh sighed quietly.

At least he was healthier now. Big enough to properly balance his weight without tumbling off furniture every few seconds and energetic enough to cause problems intentionally instead of accidentally.

The hotel room was warm compared to Belobog’s streets outside, soft yellow light spilling across the bed where Seventh sat cross-legged while Kosmo sprawled beside him, chewing lazily on one of his sleeves.

Marion had insisted on helping before Seventh returned to the hotel.

Actually, “helping” was perhaps not the correct word.

The child had stared at him very seriously after noticing Kosmo’s markings, declared that the Starlight Knight and his companion needed “matching battle paint,” and then somehow convinced Seventh to sit still long enough for him to carefully apply eyeliner beneath his eyes.

The result was…surprisingly decent.

The light blue lines curved beneath Seventh’s eyes in the same shape as the markings framing Kosmo’s face, subtle but noticeable enough that the resemblance was obvious whenever they sat side by side.

Marion had looked incredibly proud afterward.

Kosmo seemed to approve, too.

The wolf pup lifted his head from Seventh’s lap now, staring up at him before giving an approving bark and nudging his hand insistently for attention.

“You’re biased,” Seventh informed him calmly while scratching behind his ears.

The hotel room door opened before Kosmo could respond.

Seventh looked up automatically.

And paused.

Lance had clearly been in the middle of removing his jacket when he entered, but the motion stopped immediately the second his eyes landed on Seventh.

His gaze shifted slowly from Seventh’s face to Kosmo curled against his side and then back again, like he genuinely could not process what he was looking at.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?” Seventh asked after several seconds of silence

Lance opened his mouth.

Closed it again.

Then pointed vaguely toward Seventh’s face while continuing to stare with an expression Seventh could not fully identify.

“Your eyes,” Lance said weakly.

At that, Seventh just smiled proudly and sat on the bed, petting the little pup that barked proudly.

“Yes. We match”

Lance nodded and covered part of his face with one hand while making a small strangled sound under his breath, at which Seventh frowned and tilted his head in slight confusion, while Lance walked towards him and sat next to him.

He smelled ‘guilty’ but also with other mixed fragrances that Seventh wasn’t able to discern. Then, Lance took him by his jaw with his long and warm fingers, with so much care but also firm, as he smiled and used the sweetest voice possible.

“My supposedly intimidating samurai boyfriend can’t be this cute.”

Seventh stared at him with wide eyes at the absurdity of his words. Because he was sure that sounded like one of the titles of the novels March read, but…

Never mind, that could wait.