#dictus.

     Boredom had prodded Lu to leave the dull comfort of his library and come to a place where socializing was inevitable - or so he thought. The bath house was nearly barren, with only a few sleeping elders sprinkled around the main rooms and businessmen with towels glued to their fat faces. Accepting the prospect of a quiet bath, Lu navigated to one of the nicer rooms and settled in with a long brush of air. Maybe being alone wasn’t entirely bad. Still, his towel remained submerged at his hips, arms draped over the rough cement and head tilted back to watch orange splashes unfold beneath his eyelids.

     Then there was movement. The smaller perked up hopefully. That hope drowned with the poor boy that fell face-first into the water. Lu would have yelped if this man wasn’t thrashing so vividly, his brown eyes widening despite the upheaval and hands moving underwater to try and steady him. He jumped in his seat when the other finally surfaced, his rose lips parted and gaze truly striking of a deer. He didn’t notice the fact that his towel was missing until it was tossed at him. The stranger’s embarrassment was contagious, causing Lu to stand from the water and stammer, but still he persisted, holding the towel between his legs.

     “W-- wait,” He replied, reaching a hand out to touch the taller male’s shoulder. Now that Lu looked at him(with a painfully raised head), he resembled a tree. This made him spit out a bubble of laughter. His face alight with ivory teeth and glass eyes, he moved to sit again, motioning to the space next to him.

[ `the only reason Kai hated taking the bus was because of how crammed it got sometimes, and this particular night it was bad. He was half tempted to just get off at the next time and walk home, but that would take an hour, maybe more– on top of that, he had fallen victim to a poor stranger falling asleep on him, but as much as he wanted to wake him up, he felt bad and let the guy sleep on him. He had been too busy reading something on his phone when he suddenly felt movement next to him, glancing over towards the stranger, biting back a laugh. ] Have a nice nap? [ `he snorted out a laugh after a moment, unable to help it. He wasn’t as annoyed as he thought he would be, which was odd. He ended up scooting over a bit to give the other a bit more room with the empty seats next to him, stretching out a little bit. ] Didn’t think I was that comfy.

[ ‘ Lu brushed out a sigh of relief, thankful that his former pillow was taking his blunder light-heartedly. His hand moved to rub his eyelids, shaking the rest of the sleep away as he straightened to sit tall against the bench, then trying to pat his cheeks awake. He appreciated the extra space, a small, groggy smile covering his pink lips. ]

Thanks. I mean, I’ve fallen asleep under the hood of a piano before...and on bleachers...and rocks. [ ‘ He stifled a yawn with his palm and blinked his eyes wide and attentive, gaze whipping to the stranger. ]

( 🔗 ) Purgatory. Meaning, they both died.. Chase supposed the good part was neither one of them was sent to the flaming pits of excruciating torment, but still what on earth could he had done to be sent to purgat– never mind. It came to him. He knew he shouldn’t have given advice to Lu regarding revenge and the like. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten involved in that whole situation because now they ended here. It wasn’t like they had murdered anyone or killed anyone. They just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time - coincidentally where Lu’s bullies were. ❝ I knew I shouldn’t have followed you there. If I hadn’t, I’d still be alive. ❞ The therapist sneered and scowled at the younger male. That whole situation cost them their lives and now they had to repent and cleanse themselves of their sins. 

   If Lu had to guess why he was here, he’d attribute it to the sheer balance of noble lives versus terrible ones he’d led. But he was here, awaiting some kind of decision, given a chance he was never offered throughout his existence.

   Death. Rebirth. Amnesia. Recollection. Reunification. The cycle had gone on repeat for as many years as he could muster in his head. Here it had broken. First was complete and utter confusion. Then came worry. His other half - his thread who would always enter new bodies with him was not in purgatory. Instead, this therapist.

   He prickled at the insult, but only offered a sour look in rebuttal, kicking up a rotten leaf from the cold ground.

     Lu's eyes widened. His throat bobbed with a heavy swallow, fingers edging at the smooth wooden surface that glazed the round table between them. He had to choose his words carefully before presenting another question. He wanted to ask them all at once.

13 : Stomach Kiss.

    “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” A prayer he must have recited a thousand times was pulling at his tongue. The church was empty, despite the two men staggered before the giant cross against the wall. Won Bin was praying lucidly. Lu could only liken it to the emotion he felt when dragging a bow over tightly wound strings. His almond eyes were open. The elder’s were devoutly closed.

    Prayer always bored him to death. He couldn’t get into it without the surrounding pews being filled with different people to mask his disbelief. Now, the only thing to keep his interest was the unbuttoned end of Won Bin’s shirt beneath his robes, exposing a cute bead-sized belly button. It was like a vortex that Lu couldn’t be bothered to break from. His lips were already curving into a mischievous grin. He crept forward on his knees, freeing himself of the large hand placed on his forehead, and smothered the round blip of skin with two odd lips, closing around it and sinking his tongue against the shape, his fingers crawling to grip the shiny lacquer of Won Bin’s shoes.

    “Button up, Father. You can’t be indecent in the House of the Lord.”

   Mir didn’t want to think about it anymore.  He simply moved his face closer to the other’s, looking into those deep eyes one more time before giving in to his need.

   The kiss felt heavenly.  Everything inside him was shaking.  He wasn’t used to feeling– not so strongly, not like this.  And yet, he couldn’t will himself to pull away.  It was somehow intoxicating.

     Lu had asked a simple question. Five words, each caned with a polite tone and a pair of curious brown eyes. Silence was returned. At first he wondered if the man was lost - he certainly didn’t look like a student, stripped of an instrument and caught with a blaze on his cheeks. Lu’s brows creased. He gave him a few more moments before pressing another question.

     He was about to, but the stranger had already parted his lips. Lu closed his with another small smile and waited patiently - but what he received was beyond words. Lips were warming everything above his chin, the tip of a curved and foreign nose digging into the light skin of his cheek. His fingers crushed the score of music in his hands to get to the stranger’s shirt and grip it, squeezing so tightly that he couldn’t convince himself if it was to push the male away or to fall into the strange turn of events.

     He couldn’t decide, his small body growing rigid and hands now wrinkling the fabric of this man’s shirt, eyes wide open and brow creasing once more. He only closed them when the male stared back, letting out a low groan of embarrassment and pulling his face away, one sleeve wiping his now damp mouth.

     Lu had never been fond of video games. He wasn’t good at them, nor did they work his brain in a productive manner, but the bunched crowd hovering outside of his favorite store dictated otherwise. He’d stopped for a moment - only a moment, to take a peek at the new gaming system set up near the center of the marble flooring. He’d only caught the brunt of a girl with long hair and a man with a hoodie moving in front of a sensor. Some kind of karaoke?

     He had been filtered to the front of the crowd. Another shove came when a cheerful question fluttered out of the victor’s lips.

     “Who’s next?”

     Truly, he looked like a deer caught in headlights when his shoes hit the improvised carpet, glancing quickly around and giving a flustered smile.

     “Does this look like five apples? I think he gave me six” The tutor’s lips bunched at the side of one curved cheek, his head looming over the plastic bag until he could offer a glance for the other, looking up at him for confirmation. After a period of counting, Lu plunged a hand inside the bag and grabbed a ripe apple, rubbing it against the front of his shirt as a courtesy and flashing a bright smile, offering the fruit in the palm of his hand.