Unbothered Kings

Tohma: 

You open the door without knocking. Big mistake. “I see,” Tohma says calmly. “I still have much to teach you.”  “I-I’m sorry.” You leave immediately.  For a while there’s only silence.  Then, a quiet laugh escapes from the other side.  “Pfft...What an expression.”   

Alan:

You open the door.  And immediately freeze.  Alan looks up.  For a few seconds, the two of you just stare at each other??? Being half-dressed around Vagastrom is nothing new to him.  But the way you’re looking at him (or more like his abs), is making him feel a little flustered too.  “...You gonna keep staring?”  “No! I wasn’t— or I didn’t mean to—”  You cover your face.  “Sorry!” And escape as quickly as possible. 

Ritsu: 

You open the door. “Oh, MC.” Ritsu glances up at you, then down at himself, evaluating the situation.  “It’s common courtesy to knock.”  You turn quickly.  “Y-you’re right. I’m sorry.”  You grab the handle. “Where are you going? I’m not finished.” HUH??? “I must educate you on the laws regarding trespassing.”  OH. Fabric shuffles as he dresses.  “Entering private spaces without warning can lead to many misunderstandings but there’s also legal implications to consider—”  He pauses. "MC." "Y-Yes?" "Please look at me when I'm talking to you." He waits for you to turn around to continue. "As I was saying..." He doesn’t let you leave till he’s finished. 

Haru:

You open the door. He flinches in surprise. But immediately smiles. “You’re here early.” “S-Sorry.” ... “Gahaha! What’s that look on your face? You gonna watch me change too?”

Visible Blush Damage

Kaito: 

You open the door. “KYAAA!” Before you could process what's happened, Kaito put on his clothes with lightning speed.   “D-Did you see anything? “N-No?”  “Good." He scratches his neck. "J-Just so you know, my bodyisn’t in the best shape right now.”  "...I didn't see anything."

Lucas:

You open the door. “M-MC.”  "Sorry!" You turn around quickly. He also turns away, covering himself.   The tips of his ears are red. “W-What can I help you with?” 

Rui: 

You open the door. He’s genuinely flustered.  “Wait! Wait! Wait! You can’t see me right now! I haven’t worked on my beach body yet!”  "Sorry?" Afterwards... He keeps casually bringing up old surfing photos. "That one was last year." "Don't I look so cool in this one!" "This angle's bad but you get the idea."

Zenji:

You open the door. “Ah— Girl.” He covers himself shyly. Blushing a deep red. “I see you’ve come to see art. But I am not a gallery.”  lol.

Lyca:

You open the door and enter without looking.  “What are you doing here?”  When you see him, you gasp.  “S-Sorry!”  “Whatever. It’s not a big deal." Thankfully, it seems he didn’t take it too seriously.  But afterwards, when he walks out, he’s bright red. His ears tucked back.  “...Let’s go.” 

Mio:

You swing the door open. “Oh.” “Oh.”  Silence.  “I can tell you’re a craftsman.”  Wait. Did you just say that out loud? Mio’s eyes widen. His cheeks blush.  “Thanks?”  You leave immediately.

Reverse Uno

Haku: 

The door opens. You take one step in and you hear a soft awkward laugh. “Haha. Just wait outside. I'll be done soon." Your eyes widen.  “Oh! Sorry!”  You shut the door fast.  Silence. “So...did you enjoy the view?”  “I didn’t see anything.”  You can’t see it, but you know he’s smirking. “Mm. Sure you didn’t”  “Haku…” 

Leo: 

You don’t even have a chance to react.  “Wow.” You freeze.  “I didn’t know the honor roll was such a perv.”  Your soul leaves your body.  “I–I didn’t mean to!”  Leo smirks, completely unbothered.  “You just walked right in. Didn’t even hesitate.” “I thought no one was in here.”  “Mmhm.”  “I swear!”  “Are you dragging this conversation out just to get a few more peeps in?”  You turn and leave with a grunt.  He doesn’t let it go for the rest of the day.  “You knew I was changing in there, didn’t you?” 

Sho:

You swing the door open without thinking. Half-naked Sho blinks at you. Frozen. “Oh– Sorry!”  You flip around and exit immediately.  For a moment there’s only silence.  Then the door opens.  “Senpai.”  You freeze.  Sho leans against the doorframe casually, a few of his buttons left undone. “If you wanted to see me naked, you could’ve just asked.” 

Since You're Here...

Jin: 

You open the door. It’s a mistake you realize immediately. “Don’t you know how to knock?”  “S-Sorry.”  You turn to leave when— “Stop.” You slowly glance back.  Jin takes a seat on his couch, half-dressed, looking amused.  “What are you doing servant? Come here.”  “I—no, I really should–”  “Help me change.”  Your brain stalls.  His lips curl into a smirk.   “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” 

Jiro:

You open the door.  “Hello.”  You gasp.  “S-Sorry. I didn't see you there.” He glances down at himself. "...I don't really mind." He looks at his shirt.  He walks over to you. “Could you help me with these buttons?” 

Ed:

You open the door.  He looks at you like he expected you to be there. “S-Sorry.”  You turn to leave but– “Now, now. Don’t be in such a rush.” He purposefully slips the shirt off his shoulders, showing off his pale skin.  “Help this old man with his clothes, will you?"

Elias: 

You open the door.  You freeze. “Inspector...Are you here for a performance?”  “S-Sorry.” “Oh, I really don’t mind if you stay.”  “N-No thank you.”  He chuckles. “Well…that’s a shame.” 

No Escape

Taiga:

You open the door.  “Brave of you,” Taiga says lazily, “to come in without warning.” Your brain blanks.  “I’m sorry. I’ll leave.”  You turn. Open the door.  But he shuts it just as quickly.  You look back to find he's already behind you.  “...Taiga.”  With his hands pressed against the door, he leans in closer.  “You can’t just come in and leave whenever you want. This is my territory.”  Instinctively you step back but there’s nowhere left to go.  “Come on,” his voice drags, “Entertain me, kitty-cat.”  

Towa:

You open the door. His face lights up.  “Towa?!”  “Dandelion~”  “S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to walk in.”  You turn to leave.  “Dandelion!”  You look back to see he’s already lunging at you. You escape out of the room just in time, but you hear rapid footsteps from behind.  He laughs, chasing you with no shirt on and just underwear.  “Why are you running?”  “BECAUSE YOU’RE CHASING ME!” Despite the head-start, he catches up easily.  He hugs you from behind, twirling you around.  “Got you!”  “TOWA!”  

Shion:

You open the door. Shion stands menacingly in the middle of the room.  “S-Sorry.”  You try to leave but– “Vepar.”  You switch places with the cardboard box right next to him.  “Shion–” “You barged in and try to leave? How irresponsible..”  He pulls you closer by the wrist. “I like that look on your face. Show me more of it.” 

Permanent Memory

Subaru: 

The moment the door opens, something moves.  Fast.  You blink.  Was it a mouse? A cockroach? “Subaru? Are you in here?”   You scan the room for the source of the sound.  Finally you look down at the corner. Beneath a desk. Subaru crouching. He covers his chest with the shirt.  "I'm sorry!" he blurts. "I should've put a sign! Or locked the doors! Or-" “Don’t apologize, I’m the one who barged in!" ... And for the rest of the day, Subaru doesn’t stop apologizing. "I'm sorry you had to see that." “I hope your eyes are ok.” 

Yuri:

You open the door. He freezes. Reddens. And nearly collapses.   When you try to help him, he gets even redder.  “You insolent, indecent worm. Leave at once!”  ... Every time your eyes meet after that, he looks away quickly, immediately red. 

Ren: 

“S-S-S-Senpai???”  “S-Sorry. Haru said that–” Before you can utter another word— “GET OUT!”  He pushes you out himself and slams the door.  … He’s in a terrible mood for the rest of the day.

Romeo:

Jin

He’s back out on the patio again.  His back always looks so lonely. You wrap your arms around his waist. “Oi. What are you doing?”  “I’m cold.”  “Then why’d you come out?”  You sigh. “Fine.”  You start to let go, but he grabs your hand and wraps your arms back around him. He takes a long drag before exhaling.  “Whatever. Do what you want.” 

Tohma

Hug.  He keeps brewing his tea. Unfazed.  “Do you not want tea?”  “I want you.”  That makes his hands stop. “It seems that somebody is craving for my attention.”  “Well, are you gonna give it to me, or not?”  He chuckles.  “Now, that’s no way to ask.”  But he turns in your arms and pulls you closer. 

Luca

Hug.  “M-MC? What’s wrong?” “Nothing.”  “Are you hurt?” “No.”  “Are you feeling unwell?” “No.”   “Has something–” “Luca. Do I need a reason to hug you?”  He actually ponders it for a second.  Then carefully wraps his arms around you.  “...No. I guess not.” 

Kaito

Hug. “Kyaaa. Wh–What is happening?” “Just felt like it.” He grips the counter in front of him to keep from passing out.  His thoughts are rampant: OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! She’s soooo cute. She smells so nice. But I can’t say that. She’ll think I’m a creep and she’ll never hug me again!! Act normal! Act normal! So just the words, “Umm. ok,” come out.

____

Alan

Hug.  He becomes as stiff as a board. His hands up in the air like he’s been caught by the police.  “What are you doing?”  “Ever heard of a hug?”  “Yeah but–” “You’re doing it wrong.”  You flip him around and guide his arms to wrap around you.  “There.”  It takes him a few more seconds to relax.  “...Isn’t this nice?”  “...Yeah.”

Leo

Hug.  “Huh? What are you doing?”  “Hugging.”  He tries to push you away but you hold on.  “Did you lose a bet? Is there a camera here?”  “Don’t worry. I’m not you.”  He gives up (not that he was trying his best anyway). “Can we at least do this on the couch? My legs are tired.” (sure Leo) 

Sho

Hug.  “Senpai, I can’t work like this.”  But you don’t let go.  “Or maybe that’s what you want?”  He takes your silence as a yes.  “If you wanted my attention, you could’ve just asked.”  “Just…hug me.”  He laughs a little before turning around and holding you tight. 

____

Haru

In the midst of feeding peekaboo... You hug him from behind.  “What is this?”  “A hug.”  “Gahaha! Let me finish and I’ll give you a proper one.” After a few minutes, he sets the bottle down and gives you a nice bear hug.

Towa

Usually, he's the one to hug you first. But you catch him off guard and... Hug. That gets him excited. “Dandelion!” He immediately turns the back-hug into a piggy-back ride.  He takes you to his favorite tree and snuggles with you there. 

Ren

Hug.  He immediately panics. “S-S-Senpai, what are you doing?!”  “Hugging.”  He tries to rip you off. But you’re just too strong.  “Ever heard of personal space?”  “Your space is my space.”  “Ugh. Gross.”  But slowly, he turns and wraps his arms around you.

____

Taiga

Hug.  He smirks. “You wanna play again, Kitty-cat?”  You sigh.  “No. Just a hug.”  Surprisingly, he becomes obedient.  And just lets you hold him wherever he goes, whatever he's doing.

Romeo

Hug.  “BB, what do you want this time?”  “A hug.”  “Can’t you see I’m working? I don’t have time for this.” “And yet, you’re not pulling away,” you mumble. “HUH? What did you say?”  “Nothing.” “Tch...I should charge you for every second.”

Ritsu

This guy has been glued to you like a parasite ever since he transferred.

So what? He’s new to the school. Aren’t there any other NPCs that can show him around? 

You don’t notice Leo glaring holes at you. 

“Oh. Just a sec.” 

You slip out of his fingers to take the call.

Now that pisses him off even more. 

“Oh, you can’t find the classroom?” 

Leo scoffs. "He doesn't even know that?" he mumbles to himself.

“You know where the convenience store is?” He rolls his eyes. “Keep walking past–”

Your phone disappears. 

“Huh?” 

It’s in Leo’s hand. 

“Leo, what are you–” 

He lifts it up to his ear. 

“Hello~ Tomoya was it?” 

“Leo!” 

“MC is busy right now spending time with me. Leo Kurosagi.” 

You try to grab the phone, but he simply dodges your attempt. 

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bother us.” His voice drops to a alluring tone, “We’re doing something very important right now.” 

Click. He hangs up. 

“Leo!” 

“What? I was being polite.” 

“That's not the point!” 

The phone rings again. Tomoya…again. 

Leo groans.

“Ugh. Seriously? Does he call you every other minute?” 

He clicks the red button.

"Hey!"

“You know, I haven’t had five uninterrupted minutes with you all week.” 

“Leo. Give it back.” 

But he just smiles. That stupid smile. 

“Then come get it.” 

You bolt. He dodges.  You jump. He lifts it higher. 

He’s clearly enjoying this. 

You make one last desperate reach.

Miss. Of course, he doesn’t let it happen. 

Instead he catches you. Wrapping his arm around your waist.  Till you’re flat against him. 

“What the–” 

You try to pull away and push against his chest, but he doesn’t budge. 

“Leo, I’m not playing your stupid games!” 

"That's too bad."

He points the phone slightly behind him. 

“Smile, honor roll.” 

“Huh?” 

Your stomach twists. He’s planning something. 

His face comes closer and closer.  

Your eyes widen as his nose touches yours.  

Your lips tingles from the warmth of his breath. 

Snap. 

He lets you go, causing you to stumble backward, frozen in shock. 

He fidgets with your phone some more. 

“Ok. And send.” 

That snaps you out of it. 

“Leo…what did you do?” 

“Just set some boundaries for you.” 

He hands the phone back. Already open.  To a chat. With Tomoya. 

A message from you. The picture Leo just took. 

From that angle, it looks like you’re kissing. 

Your soul leaves your body.  You try to delete it.

Too late. Read. Tomoya has already seen it. 

Seething. Slowly, you look up. Only to see the perpetrator smiling. He gives you a wink. “You’re welcome.” 

“Leo…” Your hands clench into fists. “You are so dead.” ____

A garden. That’s what he’s sure he looks like. 

A garden of reds and blues and purples, spanning from behind his ears to between his thighs. From a single scratch of your teeth, his pale pallor would give rise to blooming red anemones, blue hydrangeas, and violet petunias. In a way, the two of you were matching, mutually littered by blooming oases of color born from curses alike. The only difference was that your flowers were real, vines snaking across the skin of your back, burrowing into your veins, blooming with anomalous reds and whites and purples, signaling an untimely death. His were mere bruises, placed at random on his skin, signaling both your temporary possession of him and the truth of who he was, the curse of desire he’d been born with. 

He doesn’t think, in all his years, he’s quite been taken like this. 

Subaru has experience. He is no blushing virgin. But, everything about this encounter was a stark contrast to any of the previous ones he’d had, before he began to abstain. The way your fingers run over his skin is so mind-numbingly gentle, and simultaneously, the way your nails pierce into his skin is so mind-meltingly gratifying. The visions that plagued him with every touch were nothing short of vulgar—even if you weren’t undressed and thinking of him. He would see your point of view of your interactions, and he’d watch as your eyes would hungrily rake over his form, hear the lascivious thoughts about him bouncing around your head, and feel the heat spread through your body if he so much as glanced your way—all while he was none the wiser. They were embarrassing visions, but satisfying. He could finally read your intentions, even if said intentions left him trembling and unable to form coherent sentences, sprawled out on your bed. He felt completely and utterly pliant underneath you, as though he were just a toy to be played with. He was a mere puppet on a string, pulled into position after position, stretching even his wits far past what he believed he could take - and then some. 

He couldn’t be bothered to count how many times now that he’d been close, so close, just for you to pull it all away from him, smirking at him, daring him to protest. 

“Come on,” you’d say, holding his chin ever so gently between your fingers and directing his gaze to meet yours. “Don’t pout. I’ll give you everything you want very soon.”

“Yes,” he’d reply, his voice weak, quiet, and stuttered; sometimes muffled by your lips or your breasts or your fingers or his own teeth biting down hard into his own lips to prevent him from crying out. “I’ll be good, Miss.”

“Good boy,” you’d reply. Every time you said that, he would want to come undone under you, further than he already has. He would feel the knots piling up in his groin, tightening, begging for release. 

Eventually, after hours of leading him on what felt like a hopelessly dry journey full of denial, you give him everything he wanted. His thanks cannot come out in words, his throat too occupied spouting forth deep groans and salacious whines—rather, his thanks come out in fluids—saltwater tears and bitter cum flowing from him all at once.  Your continued ministrations send him into overdrive - because of course, you wouldn’t stop now. 

He’s seeing stars, his peak prolonged past what he thought possible. His whole body is shivering, his hands desperate to find something to cling to. The mix of pleasure and pain overwhelms him so terribly that he feels like he’s seconds away from imploding, his mind collapsing in on itself. When he manages to gather himself enough, he speaks through his pornographic moans, pleading with you to stop your movements and give his unwinding brain a moment to collect its spilling senses. He is more than aware that his begging falls on very deaf ears, but he does it anyway—knowing, only after a few hours, how you like to see him cry. 

After all this, when you hurriedly press your lips against his as you ride out your own high, your walls squeezing around him and your nails digging into his scalp as you pull on his hair, he happily melts into you, almost forgetting for a moment that after this, he would have to make himself scarce. He decides he’s going to miss this - the feeling of your nails on his skin, the pain of the bruises you left behind, the pleasure of finally coming undone after years of holding it together. But he had a reputation to uphold, a promise to himself he needed to fulfill. 

When the sun rises the following morning, the pungent smell of his arousal and the lingering taste of you on his tongue only serve to strengthen his resolve. He doesn’t bother waking you, and in moments, he’s dressed and headed for the door, ready to leave the previous night behind him. He doesn’t stop himself from giving you one pitying glance before he leaves, figuring it was the kinder thing to do. 

Unfortunately for Subaru, you’re far more persistent than he thought you would be. He continues to have to find excuses to avoid you, citing that he was preoccupied or busy, or having Haku relay any messages of importance. He pretended to bury himself in a project, as most Hotarubi students do, hoping you’d recognize that he wanted this to go no further. The “project” technically wasn’t an excuse, especially since he was working on his own recovery. His voice was still rough from overuse, his skin was still covered in bruises and hickeys and your fingerprints, and he still had trouble walking in a straight line if his mind so much as wandered to an implication of that night. He constantly felt distracted, so much so that, if he even chose to go to class, he would end up staring aimlessly at the walls or through windows. He would try not to let his thoughts find their way to you, but they always did. Anyone who noticed thankfully chalked it up to his poor excuse of a project, but the balance was still disturbed. Things were still wrong. He couldn’t find his previous footing any longer. He has to resist the urge to knock on your door again and plead for some form of freedom. 

It’s becoming frustrating to him. This was not the plan. 

He was not supposed to flinch. He was not supposed to falter. He was not supposed to break. And yet, here he was. He flinched every time he heard your voice, trying his best to shoo off the memory of how your voice transformed into moans above him. He faltered every time you made eye contact with him, quickly glancing away and hoping you wouldn’t consider his silence impolite. There were more cracks forming in his facade than before, rapidly spreading throughout his body, threatening a nearly inevitable break. He was flinching. He was faltering. He was breaking. This was not at all appropriate, not in the slightest. He had thought that, from indulging once, his mind would finally be clear of it. But the bruises wouldn’t go away, clear evidence of his disobedience and ignorance and straying sight. The proof of his desires, littered over him in bright color, red and blue and purple. The ghost of the taste of you remained on his tongue, and the sounds you mutually made at your bodies entwining replay in his ears like a broken record. At night, he’d have to resist the urge to press on his bruises, attempting to reignite the pain and pleasure you’d so masterfully enacted on him then. He’d never been so far gone.

He was supposed to be good at resisting temptation. This was supposed to be a slip-up to remind him of his role to play and the rewards that come with discipline and self-control. And yet, his brain always seemed to stop at the same question: why did the indulgence feel so good? So liberating? If the indulgence was forbidden, by his own hand no less, how long had he deprived himself for the slightest bit of freedom to feel like heaven itself? Would it feel like that every time he gave in? 

Indulgence had not been the cure-all he’d expected. How could he be such a fool? Of course, temptation was never to be followed. Desires were never to be fed. Indulgence was the opposite of control. There had to be a way to salvage this. There had to be.

Thankfully for Subaru, inspiration comes in all forms, and there were spaces open and secluded enough for him to practice his old performances. There was a small open studio in Hotarubi. It was occasionally used for painting, though when it was empty, the mirrored walls and railings served as a perfect place to dance, stretch, and clear his head. He enjoys how muscle memory takes over when he dances, the familiar stretch of his muscles comforting and limbering.

He's in a front stretch currently, feeling the satisfying burn in his inner thigh as he leans forward, clasping his left foot with both hands. He bends into the stretch, leaning his forehead on his knee.

Subaru isn't the sporty type. While he understands the importance of building endurance, he prefers to do so by increasing his core strength or engaging in stretching exercises. His flexibility was something he prided himself on. Though he didn't mind being out of practice every now and again, as he was now. It provided him with a much-needed refresher, and the stimulating burn in his muscles may prove to distract him from the desire that threatened to consume him.

He could also calm his mind and think while stretching. Approaching this with a clear head may be the better option, all things considered. Perhaps indulging had been a mistake. He still bore the bruises, and his failing to resist pressing on them persisted them into delaying their healing. Despite how he was aware that the blame was his to bear for failing to resist you, he still found bitterness towards you. You were beautifully tempting, but he shouldn't have attempted to turn you into a lesson for his own benefit. It'd only backfired, and now he was just bitter instead of persistently harboring and quelling his arduous desire. It would've been better to hold it all in.

His lesson wasn't learned fully, as he still felt bitter, but at least he knew to resist you.

He hears the door to the studio click open, and he perks up, looking in that direction. Sometimes, Lyca or Zenji and Haku would come by while he was stretching to keep him company, so he wasn't too alarmed by it.

His mood sours rather quickly when he sees you peering in, faux curious innocence plastered on your face. Since knowing you in more ways, he's gotten better at seeing through you.

He straightens up, sliding his leg around and switching to a seated position, resting his elbows on his knees. He does the best he can to shift his face into a guarded, but polite expression. "MC!" He nods at you politely. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Sorry for interrupting," you step inside, nodding to him. "Haku told me where you were. I have something to ask you." Your smile is deceptively innocent, as is his.

He stands, rising to properly greet you. He takes note of how your eyes swish over his form, and he has to resist the urge to shrink into himself. Maybe he should have worn gym shorts over his ballet tights. He crosses an arm over his torso, holding his elbow for some semblance of comfort. "Go on, ask me anything." His face is in his ever benevolent smile. Of course, it's insincere, and he really doesn't want you to ask him anything, but since you're playing the innocence game, he can too.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

The bluntness of the question puts Subaru off a little, but your face remains in that mask of innocence, so he figures he'll play along. "Oh, my apologies, I didn't mean to make it seem that way!" A white lie. He was sure you knew it. "As I'm sure you've heard, I've been working on a project. It happens to take up the majority of my time." He does his best to sound and seem flustered, waving his hands in front of him and shaking his head. He even perfects his voice, trembling just slightly. Perfectly convincing, he was sure, but maybe not to you.

"Oh, right! A project!" Your eyes light up with curiosity as you take a step towards him. "What's the project about?"

He takes a step back. His anger spikes at your gall, though he manages to keep himself even with a deep breath and a reminder of where anger got him. He huffs a small laugh, putting on a friendly air. "I can't reveal that yet."

"Aww, come on," you say teasingly, and Subaru feels his smile twitch unseemingly. "Can't spare any details? Not even for the honor student?" You step towards him again, trying to close the distance.

He takes a larger step back, replacing the distance, and then some. For a minute, he's sure his ire is showing on his face clearly. He can feel his eyebrows quirk downwards minutely and his eyes lose all spark before he quickly covers it up with a whelmed smile. "Unfortunately not, MC—"

You interrupt him with a wider step towards him, forcing him against the mirrored wall and placing your hands on the railing on either side of him, boxing him in. "Not even when you were in my bed just a week ago—?"

"DON'T EVER MENTION THAT AGAIN, YOU FUCKING—" His teeth sink into his thumb, stopping himself. Slut. Whore. Skank. Tramp. Harlot. Bitch. Jezebel. He wonders which one he would have used if he hadn't managed to stop himself in time.

Despite your iron grip on the railing, his ghoul strength makes it easy to push your arm out of the way with ease, walking several steps away from you, keeping his teeth lodged into his thumb. When he begins to taste copper, he releases his thumb, wiping some of the blood from his lips.

After a few deep breaths, reminding himself of what happened the last time he lost himself, he turns to you, genuinely apologetic. He doesn't meet your gaze. "…I apologize. Forgive me for lashing out like that." And he does mean that. Losing his mind is never something he wants to do. The last time he'd failed to get a proper handle on his anger, it had cost him a fair bit of his reputation and self-respect. Indulgence. That was what led him here.

Indulgence in you.

When he raises his gaze to meet your own, he wishes he could say he's surprised to find you smiling placidly at him, perhaps a little shaken from his earlier outburst. "Don't apologize," you start, moving towards him again. You approach and speak slowly, as though soothing him. "I pushed you to react."

He wants to ask why, but he knows you're going to explain anyway. Despite himself, he allows you to back him up against the mirrored walls again, feeling the curve of his spine hit the railing again. He sighs, holding his hands to his chest, his thumb fully healed already. He has to resist the urge to bite it again in hopes it would distract him from you.

"I deserve your anger, don't I?" You close in on him, getting as close as you can without touching him. "I purposely ignored a significant boundary you've placed."

As true as that was, he didn't want to go down the path of justifying his own anger. You were undeserving of his outburst, even if he couldn't really be blamed for it. He finds himself shrinking away, pressing himself further into the railing.

Subaru forgets that you're persistent, but you never fail to remind him of that, especially when you go so far as to press your torso against his, peering up at him. Your gaze was knowing, and Subaru's reminded that just as he can read you, you can read him. "There's nothing wrong with being angry over that, right?"

His heart is beating so loudly he can feel it in his ears and throat. He feels color rise to his face all at once, starting in his ears and quickly spreading to his face. He takes shallow breaths, scared that inhaling too deeply will press his chest further into yours. He bites on his tongue, not stopping when he tastes copper again. He has to resist. Resist the urge to blame. To give in. To let his bitterness and anger and desire rule his actions. It infuriates him that you're right. There is nothing wrong with his anger. But not finding fault with his anger could lead to not finding fault in his other destructive emotions.

"Maybe your outburst was a bit much," you tease. He flinches as you press your chest against him further, rolling your lip between your teeth. He reaches behind him and grips the railing. His eyes flit between your eyes, your lips, and your chest pressed flush against his. He hardly dared to breathe any longer, fearing the way his body would react if he was stimulated any further. "…But, your anger is valid. It's a normal feeling."

Your words shouldn't be comforting to him in any way. He should condemn them, even though they were true. And yet, part of him feels slightly lighter at that. Even though this line of thinking could lead him to overindulgence, maybe you were right. Maybe it'd be okay to give himself some leeway, if only a little.

"Desire is also a valid feeling too, you know." Your words are slower now, hypnotic. Subaru finds himself watching your tongue move in your mouth as you pronounce the words, reigniting the memory of how that tongue felt on his body. He clenches his fists around the railing harder. He falls right back to where he was previously, reminding himself of the pleasures of control and the dangers of indulgence. Desire was to be controlled. Anger was to be controlled. Nevermind how good any of it felt, nevermind the way his bruises seem to light on fire when you're near, or how his mind seems to scramble like it did when he was underneath you, or how the memories of the sensations he felt that night replay themselves on him in real time. He could feel your teeth, your tongue, your hands, your lips, your chest… everything was replaying itself, over again, just from this.

"You've still got some blood on your lips, by the way…" He doesn't move as you inch closer, feeling his body light up with anticipation as you drag yourself higher up his body, tilting your chin closer to his. He sees your tongue peek out of the corner of your lips.

He knows better than to give in here. The entire reason he's here is to avoid you. But oh, every time he inhales, his chest presses against yours further; he can detect a strangely intoxicating floral scent, and the lust swimming in your gaze only draws him in further. Your breath just barely reaches his chin, and he fails to resist the heat spreading through his body, causing a stirring in his abdomen.

"…Where?" He encourages you, despite himself. His voice doesn't come out any higher than a whisper, but it seems to penetrate the silence in the studio. All that can be heard is your heavy breathing and his shallow breaths in response.

"Right… there…" You bring a finger to your lips, dragging the tip of your finger in a small circle to indicate where it was on his face. He exhales, clinging so hard to the railing he fears it may creak from his strength.

He remains unmoving as you draw closer still, his gaze flickering over your lips and your gaze, glued to his lips. He doesn't roll his lips between his teeth, or even purse them. Instead, he parts them, just slightly.

You move closer, your tongue slipping from between your lips. He hesitates, but doesn't decide soon enough.

He doesn't move, doesn't flinch, doesn't breathe. He stands completely still, staring, waiting.

He should push you away. He should yell at you again. He should remind you of the precarious positions you both held at this school, and how your recklessness threatened the balance. He should know better. He shouldn't give in.

But then he feels your tongue gently graze his bottom lip, and it all falls apart. He tries not to moan, instead letting out a throaty exhale. He savors the feeling of it dragging across the length of his lip and feels his body shudder. He clenches his thighs together, trying to keep from getting too excited.

When you pull back, tucking your tongue into your mouth, Subaru expects more. He knows you're not done. And he's proven right when you bring your finger to your lips again, pointing to a spot just below the corner of your lips. "Here, too…" Your voice is breathy, your eyes are lidded, and Subaru feels himself drawn in all over again.

He holds still, waiting as you lean in again, quicker this time. Your tongue drags along the corner of his lips, tracing the border as though lapping up the blood. Knowing what he wants, he parts his lips, wider this time. He can't tell if your tongue slipping inside is an accident or on purpose, but he doesn't care. He moves his tongue to join yours, pressing his lips to yours in an open-mouthed kiss.

He pulls you into him all at once, circling an arm around your shoulders and pressing his body flush against yours. His other hand reaches up to hold you by the back of your neck, his thumb pressing harshly into your jaw. The visions come pouring in all at once, and they're all exactly the same as they were before. It's a repeat of you yearning for him—all over again. He can feel his familiar bruises bloom with heat as you press against him, a sickening warmth spreading from his front to his spine. He allows himself to cling to you, as though his grasp slipping for a moment would ruin the trance. His eyes, feeling like lead, close heavily, focusing all his feeling to every point where your bodies connected—his thighs slotted against yours, his stomach and chest shifting in tandem with you, and his hands and lips pressing into your skin. It was all the same, like nothing had changed. If he kept his eyes closed, he could almost imagine he was back in your bed, arching his back and pressing himself against you with urgency, partially pleading to get it over with and partially enjoying the way you made him wait.

He leans away from you for a moment, catching his breath, admiring the string of saliva connecting your lower lips. He inhales deeply, trying to calm his heightened senses. Faintly, he smells flowers—light and sweet, deceptively charming. He shifts, pressing his nose into your neck, inhaling again. Your natural scent mingles with the faint scent of flowers. A shiver runs down his spine, feeling himself growing tense with need again. He lifts himself from your neck, hurriedly kissing you again, drowning himself in your feeling, your taste, your scent.

Your hands move from the railing and dig into his hips, and he groans, jerking them forward and grinding into you. The motion draws a soft moan from you. Though the noise is nearly swallowed by Subaru's louder gasps in comparison, the sound isn't any less tantalizing to him. He pushes his hips forward again, feeling his already hardened length stiffen further from the friction against your thigh. He feels you grind against him in response, pulling his hips closer to yours, separated only by thin layers of fabric.

Subaru gasps for air when you pull away again, trailing kisses down his neck instead. He whimpers, feeling your tongue trace gentle circles on the sensitive skin. He wraps his arms around you, his fingers curling into your blazer. He bites his lip to quiet himself, but he's unsuccessful—your soft, open-mouthed kisses drawing whimpers, groans, and whines alike from him. He felt like he was putty in your hands, perfectly compliant and pliable to whatever you desired. He hesitantly opens his eyes, blinking away tears from how overstimulated he was, when he sees his reflection in the mirror.

There he was, backed up against the wall, you pressed up against every inch of him. You were buried in his neck, your hands shifting his hips to your liking. His face was flushed a deep red, both from building heat and arousal. His hands were pulling desperately on your blazer, overwhelmed by the pleasure you kept subjecting him to. His expression was slack-jawed and comical, his eyes clouded with lust. And god, he hated it.

A sinking feeling settles into his abdomen. Suddenly, his reflection feels grotesque. His clouded expression changes, becoming one of fear before hardening into anger. He had fallen for it all over again. The feeling of you pressed against him at every inch shifted from intoxicating to disgusting. Your mouth on his neck feels violating. And the faint scent of flowers becomes nothing short of repulsive. He doesn't even bother trying to process his anger, acting on it before he can fall again.

He rips his hands from your blazer and pushes you away from him, almost forgetting to reel in his strength. As a result, you stumble backwards several paces, almost losing your balance. He turns away from you, steadying himself against the railing. He cradles his head in one hand, feeling a pounding headache coming on.

He'd done it again. He'd fallen for it again. He almost retches, feeling the taste of you swim in his mouth. He knew, somewhere in him, that he only had himself to blame, but his body rejects the idea, shivering. He swallows deeply, resisting the urge to vomit at the scent of flowers still in the air. Unable to accept the fault as his own, he turns back to you, anger flashing in his gaze.

You flinch at his sudden change in demeanor, already looking confused from when he'd pushed you away. "Subaru, what's—"

"Get out."

You tilt your head questioningly, frustration working its way into your expression. "What? Why—"

"Get out, MC." He repeats himself, holding a hand up in your general direction. He's not sure whether this is to protect himself from your allure or to feel like he could widen the distance between you, but he does it anyway. It's futile, but a comfort nonetheless.

You scoff, and Subaru feels his ire rise. "What's your problem?!" Your voice lifts in volume, your face contorting in anger. Subaru is sure his expression matches yours. "Why do you keep pushing me away? I haven't even—"

"Get out," Subaru snarls, the words dripping with disgust. He tries to ignore the bile in his throat that rises just from looking at you.

"Subaru—"

"GET OUT!" He shouts at the top of his lungs, chest heaving with the combined effort of reeling in his aggression and forcing himself to keep standing. The message must now be clear, because your face falls immediately, settling somewhere between annoyance, anger, and dejection.

You turn on your heel and march out of the studio. Subaru listens to the clack of your shoes on the wooden floor and rejoices at the sound of the door opening and slamming closed behind you. He collapses onto the floor, weakness in his legs from witnessing the visions catching up to him. He covers his mouth with one hand, swallowing over and over again to keep down his urge to vomit at the scent of flowers, still in the air.

This was beginning to feel like a cycle. Subaru could've sworn he'd repeated this, somewhere, at some point.

You were avoiding Subaru. This should feel unfamiliar, but he almost feels as though this is a path he's traversed before. The way you have begun to seem just out of reach—leaving moments before he enters a room, ending a conversation if he happens to be nearby, neglecting to wave at him when you cross paths—this has happened before, but in the opposite direction. He recognizes your actions as almost exact carbon copies of everything he did to avoid you.

To say he's pissed off isn't accurate, but annoyed doesn't cover enough ground. Doing this feels like going in circles. He could predict it already. He would find himself chasing, you would resist, he would find you, you would tease him, he would pin you down, and—

He bites down on his tongue harshly, wincing slightly, halting the depraved, violent fantasy that threatened to curve his trajectory.

No, actually. He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't chase you to begin with. If he knew at all what was good for him, he would sit still and let this distance persist. It was better this way. This had to be the answer. He'd felt no regret when he pushed you away after staring at his abhorrent reflection with a level of disgust he'd never felt before. Your lips pressed sloppily into his neck, reigniting week-old bruises in just the right way, his fingers curled helplessly into your blazer, his eyes clouded over with lust—the image has bile rapidly rising to his throat. He swallows it down, thoughtlessly chewing at his gloved thumb, failing to flinch when the taste of copper leaks over his tongue.

"Hey, Suba, you're bleeding," Lyca warns, grabbing Subaru's sleeve and ripping his thumb away from his teeth. He shocks awake from his stupor, staring down at his ruined glove, bitten through, crimson blood oozing from a cut on his thumb. "What's up with you?" Lyca grumbles, wrapping his hand around Subaru's wrist, careful not to touch his skin.

The light rain of Hotarubi plips on his cheek, bringing Subaru back to reality. He was walking with Lyca to the secluded hut on the outskirts of the dorm. Bamboo and mist surrounded them on all sides. He'd been so far gone he hadn't noticed he was beginning to veer off the path, his footsteps heading for the exit instead. He was losing it; he knew it. If he couldn't even keep his cool around Lyca, how had he been acting around the other students? He shakes his wrist from Lyca's grasp, apologizing. "I'm sorry, Lyca." He rubs his wrist with his other hand, observing the cut on his thumb as it heals. "I've just been distracted."

Lyca hums absentmindedly in response, watching him carefully. "Is it that project you were working on?" He asks bluntly, looking at Subaru expectantly.

Subaru stiffens, swallowing thickly. He guesses, in a way, it could be considered a project. Though he's not sure what the finished product will be. "Ah… I suppose you could say that, yes."

From the look Lyca's giving him, Subaru knows he's unconvinced. Subaru hopelessly plasters a nervous smile on his face, hoping it's either convincing or conveys the message, 'Don't ask'. Lyca, as expected, does not pick up on it. "Why are you smilin' all weird? Is the project hard or something?"

Subaru grimaces, shaking his head. "No, it's—" He stops, considering his words. He's not sure what, but something presses him to be honest with Lyca. "…Kind of." He starts walking again, and Lyca follows, turning down the hidden path to the hut.

"What's making it hard?"

"Ideation," Subaru answers, the word slipping out before he could think about it. Lyca gives him a quizzical look, so he continues, "I would like for this project to…" He trails off, considering how to phrase this. Stay in line? Obey his vision? Go the right way? He should be the first one to know that art hardly ever turns out how you want it to. He himself was a project; one borne of his inherited ambition and perfectionism that had failed miserably and needed to be isolated to prevent further inflammation and, hopefully, be salvaged. It was why he was here, at Darkwick, practicing performances rather than back in the heart of Tokyo, feeling the pressure of a crowd under blinding lights and several layers of makeup to alter his masculine appearance.

He sighs, stopping in his tracks right before the entrance to the hut, unintentionally shrinking into himself, shyly crossing his arms over his body. He was usually in perfect control of his reactions, emotions, expressions, and the like. Impulse was a word in his dictionary, but it was usually used to describe the actions of others rather than himself. Even when he gave himself to you, he had complete control over the situation—he had set it up, he had carefully planned his words, he had intentionally served you a certain flavor of tea, he had even presented himself a certain way to elicit his desired response from you—it was all under his control. But now, you were being unpredictable, an undesirable outcome. He felt like he was no longer in control, like he once was—you incited his deepest desires, beckoning them forward, when he'd wanted them to stay sated after learning all there was to gain was the temporary bliss of an orgasm. You also incited his worst emotions, somehow able to pierce through his placid exterior to the tumultuous rage that lay within. It wasn't part of the plan. He felt as though it was all quickly spiraling out of control.

"…Suba?" Lyca's hesitant voice brings him back to reality again, and he nods quickly, grimacing at the way his head spins from the sudden movement.

"Right, yes. Um…" He hesitates, carefully piecing the sentence together before speaking it. "I… I would like for this project to stay under control."

Lyca kicks at the ground, scuffing up the dirt path and ruining his sneakers. "Is it not stayin' under control?"

"Not at all," Subaru allows his posture to sag with these words, displaying the stress it's put him under. "I'm working with…" He recoils at the thought of saying your name, and his lips waver before forcing out "…a partner. I would like for it to follow a plan, but my partner…" His mind flickers back to you. Memories of your insatiable insolence plague him. He swallows before he can retch out of disgust. "My partner isn't going along with the plan." He frowns, turning his gaze to the ground. "I'm not sure how to convince them… to obey the plan." Their insolence irks me, lingers on his tongue, but remains unsaid. He's almost certain the words would come out rancorous and terse, which would shatter his current demure image.

Lyca tilts his head, looking away from Subaru for a few moments. He soon turns back to Subaru, oblivious to the inner turmoil he's about to cause. "Then, you can just take back control, right?"

A jolt passes through Subaru. Lyca doesn't notice.

"I mean, it'd be easy," Lyca continues, placing a hand to his chin, thinking it over. "You're captain, right?" Lyca nods to himself, seemingly agreeing with his own train of thought. "And a ghoul. The humans are all scared of us." Lyca hesitates, a conflicted look passing over his face, before waving off his concerns and shrugging heedlessly. "I don't think they'd argue if you showed them who's boss."

Lyca phrased it callously, but Subaru understands what he means. He'd never thought of doing that before. Taking control from you. Technically, he could do that. He was stronger, he held more authority, and he could naturally command you if he desired. He just had to pull the strings the right way. But it was possible. It was possible. A wave of hope and euphoria passes through him before being replaced by a second wave of reminders.

You were still intentionally avoiding him. How could he lure you to him again? He clicks his tongue in annoyance, giving a tight smile when Lyca glances at him, confused. Humans were annoyingly fickle. Much to his dismay, he was no exception.

He wasn't even certain he wanted to reignite what had previously been. What was the point of chasing you again? It would make him feel desperate, especially when you hadn't shown any desperation capable of justifying or matching his own. Chasing you would be a hapless endeavor, unrewarding and unsatisfactory. He'd already seen his reflection and the disgust it wrought from him. A repeat would be nothing but torture.

He steps inside the hut after Lyca, stooping low to fit through the small door. His mood had been utterly soured by his revelation, so much so that he hardly felt like keeping up his persona. Still, trained for perfection, he carefully lowers himself to one side of the table, kneeling politely. Lyca haphazardly tumbles to the floor, stretching out his legs to the side of the table.

"Lyca," Subaru whispers before he can stop himself, tensing his jaw to force the question out, "how would you go about chasing something you can't catch?"

Lyca turns to him, frowning. "What? What is that s'posed to mean?"

Subaru shakes his head, a conflicted smile on his face. "Humor me, please."

"Uh…" Lyca swings his head away, tilting his head back to gaze at the ceiling. "I dunno…" He puzzles over the question, tilting his head to one side. "I'd just keep goin' after it."

Subaru's gaze clouds over, memories of your relentless search for him resurfacing in his mind. His gloved hands curl into fists in his lap, feeling a flash of anger. Of course, Lyca would continue chasing it, even if he couldn't quite reach it. You acted similarly, continuing to pester Subaru even after his repeated dodging and avoidance. Worse, you'd managed to catch him and drive him further towards what felt like his own undoing.

He didn't want to chase you. That wasn't the way this project was supposed to go. He preferred to trap or cage you, as he'd done before, but breaking into your dorm was no longer an option. That would reflect poorly on his predictability. He had to bait you, somehow.

Subaru preferred setting something up and waiting for someone to fall for it. Luring someone. He wanted to lead you on, straight into his trap again, and help you realize that this was supposed to go a different way. He was always meant to be in control.

Perhaps that itself was the answer. Reciprocating your actions. Ignoring your presence. You were too arrogant in your own abilities not to notice that if he tried. He could simply do what he did before—avoid you. You would come crawling back to him… and everything would fall back into place, right as it was before.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a thread snaps.

"Suba?" Lyca questions him, tilting his head close to the table. Subaru startles slightly, lifting his gaze. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Subaru answered hurriedly, waving Lyca off with a smile. "I'm fine," he repeats, a light mumble under his breath, clenching his jaw. He just had to make this work.

Subaru must be down on his luck.

Unfortunately, the plan he'd formed, heavily based in seeming uninterested, had failed him. He couldn't pretend to be uninterested now, not in front of other people. He had to maintain his facade.

Haku nudges him for the umpteenth time, the look on his face somewhere between concern and exasperation. Wordless communication passes through them for a moment before Subaru smiles sheepishly, hoping to alleviate Haku's concern. When Haku appears satisfied, he goes back to dressing himself in faux shyness, keeping his glass close to his face, watching the red liquid swirl.

One of the Hotarubi first years had attempted brewing anamolous wine as their first project, using tools from Mortkranken to perfect it. Subaru had received a bottle as a gift, along with pleas from the student to let him know how it tasted. Subaru, ever the upstanding house captain, agreed and thanked the student with grace. He'd initially planned not to have any and to pass it off to Haku instead, but when he finally found Haku, conveniently, he found you and Zenji, too. Haku wouldn't turn down a free drink, and you nodded enthusiastically, and now, Subaru couldn't take back the offer. So here you all were, and Subaru hoped the wine would swallow him instead of vice versa.

Zenji was deep into one of his melodious poems, strumming his biwa and reciting them in a deep, dramatic, booming voice. You were hanging on to his every word, halfway through your wine glass. Subaru doesn't think he's ever seen anyone so engrossed in one of Zenji's poems before, and wonders if the alcohol is playing a part in this. As his eyes trail back to his glass, however, he's quickly reminded that he has yet to take a single sip, and isn't sure if he wants to. Wine could be potent, and if he didn't play his cards right, he had more to risk if he ended up under the influence.

Just as he demurely puts his glass down, fixing his face into one of slight exasperation and about to cite a half-hearted lie so he could leave, you swing your arms wide open in shock at a twist in Zenji's poem, your glass accidentally colliding with his. It tips over, splashing its contents over Subaru's uniform, your glass shattering as it drops to the table. You turn to it in a panic, reaching for it, before hissing and pulling back, blood oozing from a cut in your palm. Haku immediately starts, setting his glass down and pulling your hand towards him. Subaru blinks a few times, gathering his bearings.

He's beginning to wonder if all the prior incidents were you using your clumsiness to your own advantage.

"Alright, princess," Haku voices, examining the cut on your hand, face pulled into a frown. Subaru can hardly hear him over Zenji's tutting. "That's enough for you."

You don't voice a reply, staring frustratedly down at the cut on your palm. Haku turns to Subaru, and he turns to him on autopilot, blinking confusedly. Haku raises a brow. "Are you alright?"

Subaru's not sure if he nods or continues staring, but whatever he does, Haku accepts it, nodding and turning back to you.

Ending up drenched in wine is really not how he wanted to spend today, but alas, fate has other plans. He sighs, rising to his feet, surveying the damage. You hurriedly stand to your feet, pulling your hand from Haku in the process. "I'm sorry!" Subaru stares, almost surprised at the genuineness of your apology. Your honesty felt foreign to him.

Before long, he shakes his head, smiling timidly. "It's alright." He's not sure how genuine his forgiveness is, but he doesn't bother considering it further. His eyes cast down to your palm instead. "Here, follow me," he smiles kindly, the picture of innocent intentions. "I'll walk you to Professor Nicolas." Maybe he could spend the entire walk there ignoring you. How cathartic that would be.

Haku shakes his head. "You don't need to do that." He gestures vaguely at Subaru, red wine staining the white of his collar. "I can take her. Shouldn't you get cleaned up?"

"No, it's fine." Subaru cuts Haku off, perhaps a little too quickly, eager to get this over with. "I won't be long, and I can wash the clothes when I get back." He looks up at them, putting on his best performance of selflessness. "I'm the one who brought the wine in the first place, so it's my responsibility." Hint of shyness in his voice, slight twinge of embarrassment, faint blush dusting his cheeks. It was perfect. He could applaud himself for how well he upheld his facade.

He turns to you again, a pitying smile on his face. "Shall we?" He doesn't wait for an answer, striding out of the room, confident you would follow him.

He's a decent number of steps away when he hears you catching up; your pace quickening to match his. He doesn't so much as turn back to acknowledge your presence, continuing on his way down the halls of Hotarubi. He feels tension building, and your gaze boring into him, but he ignores you easily, determined to lure you just as he'd done before, albeit unintentionally. But he should have been prepared, because you haven't even exited the main building before you tap him on the shoulder, singsong voice accompanying the fleeting touch.

"Subaru," you speak cloyingly, walking on his right side. "You can't ignore me forever."

He almost scoffs, but prevents himself from reacting, turning down a corner instead. He was wondering when your manipulative personality would rear its ugly head again, and here it was—ready to drag him right back into depravity.

He continues to ignore you, pretending not to feel your tapping or hear your voice. He could laugh at how easily it irks you, presenting in how your tapping becomes more insistent.

"Come on, Subaru," you tease him. He already knows you want a reaction out of him, and he refuses to give it. "At least be nice to your guest."

He doesn't see any reason to perform for you any longer, so why bother with that? As far as he was concerned, you didn't deserve an ounce of kindness from him. He ignores you still, nodding politely as a Hotarubi student passes to rub it in.

He thinks he's finally managed to subdue you when he doesn't hear anything from you for several moments, rejoicing in the silence as it finally settles in that he won't cave to your desires any longer. At least, he does until you appear in front of him, having quickened your pace to stand in front of him and block his way.

"Subaru," you aren't yelling, but he can hear the insistence in your voice. "You look up at him, smile betraying your intentions. "You can't ignore me forever."

Before he can step around you, you step out of his way, not to continue down the hall, but to slip into a narrow closet in Hotarubi's halls, demonstrating you wouldn't cooperate unless he followed you. He grinds his teeth in fury, having half a mind to continue down the hall without you and make his way to his room instead. But he knew you would follow him once you figured out his destination, and he didn't feel like leading you in circles around Hotarubi.

He turns to look at you, your teasing gaze seeming to gloat in how you know you've got him. He relents, anger twisting his expression as he steps towards you, disappearing into the closet with you as you pull him by his shoulder.

He shrugs your hand off of him once you're in the closet, immediately replacing the distance between you, blinking and adjusting his eyes to the low light. "I'm supposed to be taking you to Professor Nicolas." Even he knows his words are empty. They don't hold the conviction of a reminder. Rather, they thinly veil his growing anticipation, forcing his irritation to take center stage. He always felt conflicted when it came to you, but at some point, he'd stopped fighting it. He's not sure why.

"It's only a scratch," you say, a smile full of unsavory intentions spreading across your face. "I'd be more worried about the wine soaking your clothes."

"Then, why have you pulled me in here?" Subaru cuts to the chase, already tired of dancing around the topic. He turns back around to face you, honest confusion and exasperation coloring his expression. He'd stopped hiding his true feelings around you, too. It made no sense to even try when you could read him at a glance.

"Don't play coy."

"Don't dodge the question." Subaru flicks his fingers in a show of waving you off, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Please," he adds as an afterthought. He wasn't sure whether or not he was genuinely pleading with you for clarity, and he didn't really care. He frowns, the furrow between his brows deepening when you only smile in response. He presses his lips into a thin line, shifting his gaze away from you towards the floor. He could leave, right now, if he wanted to. But he knows that you know that he knows he doesn't want to, so why bother trying?

He levels his gaze with you again, recoiling internally at the wave of sickeningly sweet stench of flowers that hits his nose. His teeth dig into his bottom lip. He's not sure when, but something about you had become repulsive to him. As much as he felt like he craved your fingers over him again, something about imagining that brought bile to his mouth as much as it set his skin on fire. Your very presence infuriated him—but he knew to keep a cool head by now. Blowing up on you would set him back at square one. It didn't matter whether or not he was repulsed by you. He was realizing he couldn't get by anymore without some depraved encounter with you, if only to temporarily bring some quiet to his yearning mind, keeping it from replaying the events like a broken record.

It'd been too long. Far, far too long. And you were far too willing to indulge him now, but he wasn't going to question it.

You step towards him, and he steps back in tandem, keeping the gap until his back pressed against the wall of the closet, and he could go no further. He doesn't shrink back, simply watching you make your way towards him. He knew what you wanted. An insatiable appetite swims in your lascivious gaze, and he was certain that, despite his disgust, he mirrored your desires.

'Disgusting,' he thinks. 'You're disgusting.' He bites back the urge to say it, well aware of his own hypocrisy. If you were disgusting, then he was too, for craving you.

Your fingers press into his sternum, following a slow path up his chest, to his neck. "It's soaked," you whisper, hooded eyes landing on his throat. He swallows, a shiver running down his spine as your gaze watches the movement. You begin to press harder when you reach his collar.

He'd love to remind you that his being soaked in wine was your fault, but the words die on his lips when you hook your fingers underneath his tie, pressing your knuckles into his throat and pulling him towards you. He follows without much qualm, bending forward until your faces are a mere hair apart.

He swallows again, trying to force down the bile that threatens to ruin his anticipation. God, he felt sick, with no one else to blame for it but himself. He can feel your breath fanning across his lips. Every time he inhales, he feels your chest just slightly press into his. Your thigh was gently pushing his legs apart, guiding itself to his waiting arousal. It simultaneously tightens the knot in his abdomen and stokes his nausea. He wanted you so much that it made him sick.

Your eyes were still trained low on his neck, and he could feel you loosening his tie, prying at the buttons underneath. Common sense regarding time and place dimly strikes him, but he doesn't react to it. Right now, it didn't matter. He was too sick with desperate arousal to care.

"Aw," you hum, moving your face away from his and closer to his chest instead, studying the areas where the wine had soaked through to his skin. "It's all sticky…" You murmur. He sighs at the feeling of your breath on his exposed chest, closing his eyes, preparing to submit to whatever sensations you would put him through. It'd been far too long.

"It'd be a shame…" You slowly draw closer. Subaru feels his chest grow warm as he waits. "…If it all went to waste." You hum, feigning deliberation over what to do. He bites his tongue, suppressing the urge to plead with you to hurry up. His teeth dig into his lower lip, and his thighs clamp over yours, still shoved between his legs. You laugh, and the sound is as beautiful as it makes his ire spark. "What do you think?"

He's barely managed to hum out a shaky "Yes," before your lips are on his chest, tongue dragging at the sticky red residue. He moans, purely out of bliss, collapsing onto the wall behind him. Your hands snake around his waist and he curves into the touch, squeezing at your shoulders as you lap up the wine on his shoulder.

Here you were again, pressed flush against him, using lips and tongue to tease moans out of him all over again.

You're disgusting. He's disgusting. His grip on your shoulders tightens, desperate to push you away and regain some semblance of control or sanity. Your tongue on his neck alone shouldn't weaken his resolve this strongly, but he can't find it in himself to push hard enough.

Something between a confused moan and an angered growl sounds from his throat when you suddenly push away, wiping your lips, smirking at him mockingly. "But that's not what you want, right?" You hum, pulling yourself further away and stepping back. His bleary gaze finds yours, still reeling from the residual pleasure and shift in tone. "You don't want me."

Rage simmers within his abdomen, threatening to burst forth. Here you were again, acting as though this wasn't your fault. This was the opposite of what he had planned. He was to be the one trapping you, and yet here he was, back against the wall, dress shirt half-open, neckline drenched in wine, staring at you with nothing but antipathy.

You only giggle at his obvious contempt and shrug half-heartedly, rolling your eyes, continuing your backwards prance. "I guess you just don't fit."

'Liar,' burns on his tongue, but all that comes out is an exhale. There had to be a way to turn the tide in his favor; he was certain there was. He just had to—

'Then, you can just take back control, right?' Lyca's words echo in his brain, reminding him of their earlier discussion. He could take back control. A sinking feeling settles within him. He swallows thickly, noting the tightness of his throat at the thought. This had not gone the way he had wanted. None of it had. Originally, he'd wanted to trap you with his own feigned disinterest, making you feel just as conflicted and as misguided as he had, completely without direction. However, here he was, still conflicted and misguided, likely right where you wanted him. How abhorrent. Everything was falling apart, nothing was going according to plan—and it was your fault. It was all your fault.

He finds himself rapidly spiraling, digging up reasons to pin the blame on you. You'd been the one to touch him first, then proceeded to continue touching him, purposely, revealing more and more of yourself to him… Luring him. Bile begins to rise in his throat, a harsh burning threatening to tear him from the inside out. He should have realized it sooner, but no, he was too busy falling for it—the delicious depravity of it all.

A short, crazed laugh sounds from him before he can stop it, freedom and hopelessness washing over him all at once. "Of course…" He buries his face in his hands, feeling close to tears. Finally, it all made sense. Now, he just had to rectify it. "I've been such a fool…"

"Goodnight, Subaru." The finality of your voice startles him, and he lifts his head to gaze at you. Your visage was hazy, blurred by tears threatening to spill forth. "Sorry it didn't—"

In a flash, he's already across the room, standing before you, iron grip on your wrist, moments away from opening the door. When he looks at you, he's not sure what he's feeling, but he knows, for once, the smile on his face is far deeper than genuine. "No," he says, pulling your wrist away from the door, tightening his grip with every passing second. The fear in your gaze is truly something to savor. He shakily inhales, feeling himself begin to shiver with glee. "You don't get to do that to me anymore, MC."

He registers the panic in your expression, and it only spurs him on further. He lifts his hand to your chin, gently redirecting your gaze to his, and harshly gripping your chin so it stays in place. Finally. He had you trapped, and he knew you knew it. His grin widens, a deceptively soft, kind smile spreading across his face. "I'm sorry," he starts, beholding you with a unique softness, "and I really do mean that. But," his expression darkens, his smile shrinking. "I can't let you get away this time."

He carefully releases your jaw from his grip, noting the bruises already forming from his strength. He would control his strength, but where's the merit in that? He still wasn't done.

"Lie down," he orders, like it was the easiest thing in the world. He lets go of your wrist, bruises on your wrist forming in the shape of his fingerprints. You stand stock still, frozen like a deer in headlights. He notes your disobedience, but idly figures he should have expected this. He turns to face you fully, his face devoid of any kindness or leeway. "Lie down."

You shift your position, and Subaru sees it coming from a mile away. He grabs your hand before it can connect with his face, squeezing until you groan in pain. He sighs and shakes his head, voice full of false pity. "I should've known you would insist on making this harder than it needs to be." Your look of defiance is enough to break his facade right back into his haunting smile. "Very well."

He shoves you to the ground, and you don't have the time to think of moving away before he's kneeling over you, caging you in. He stares down at you impassively, as though you were something uninteresting, but he's sure you can read him like a book. Finally, he had you. He takes a moment to savor it, feeling his heartbeat pick up in his ears as he stares down at you. This was nothing short of depraved, violent, and perverse, but he wasn't going to stop. The idea of this made his skin crawl as much as it turned him on. Finally. No more excuses. No more running away. No more flipping the script. He would make sure this was inevitable and permanent.

His thoughts are rudely interrupted by a blow to his stomach, causing him to recoil. He tumbles backwards, groaning in pain, while you hastily shuffle away from him, limbs uncoordinated from shock. He spits and curses under his breath, thankful for his quick recovery. He watches you struggle for a moment, sighing to himself disappointedly. He should have known you wouldn't make this easy, and you should have known that you weren't going to be fast enough. He grabs your legs, pulling you back to him almost effortlessly. You don't cry out of shock, but you look up at him, and oh, it is the sweetest expression he's seen on your face in some time.

Here you are before him, completely demoralized. The look you're giving him is one he can only describe as pure defeat. From your pursed lips, he knows you're finally accepting it, but the look in your eyes is captivating—still holding some semblance of defiance. He smiles kindly, noting your stillness. He knows better, however, than to assume you've given up. He won't fall for that again.

He breathes shakily, feeling heat pool in his lower abdomen as he spreads your legs apart, reveling in the minimal resistance. As much as he would like to savor this moment, pinning you down is the priority. He pulls your thighs apart as far as they can go, noting the growing discomfort on your face with glee, before kneeling on your thighs, pressing all of his weight forward, and pinning you to the ground. Leaning over you, he takes your wrists and holds them above your head, pinning them firmly in place.

He swallows thickly, feeling heat crawl down his groin and up his neck. He surveys your body, eyes flitting from one spot to another—your tense expression, fiery eyes gleaming with defiance, your wrinkled blazer, dress shirt pulled askew underneath, your skirt—his teeth dig into his lower lip with anticipation. His eyes trail over your lifted skirt and panties, his tongue flicking over his lips in excitement. He slowly trails his free hand over the outline of your panties, twisted smile forming on his face.

He doesn't comment on how wet you already are, certain you feel shamed enough. He does, however, smile in satisfaction at how you squirm, feeling his fingers trace familiar patterns over the thin cloth barrier. He soon hooks his finger under the gusset, pulling it to the side, revealing your twitching core. A throaty exhale sounds from him, his gloved fingers prodding at you, watching you for your reaction. He remembers the exact pattern to rub your clit in, and presses his thumb into it, going in soft, gentle strokes. His face breaks into an eager smile as you arch your back, several jolts passing through you. Your teeth dig into your lip, desperate to keep quiet, but Subaru doesn't care, too caught up in enjoying the way your anger and defeat melt into pleasure. Your arousal seeps through his gloves, the warm liquid staining his fingers. He shivers, finally pulling back, observing his stained glove.

He thinks he's kept himself waiting long enough. He pulls the glove from his hand with his teeth, still holding down your wrists. He tosses his glove to the side, making direct eye contact with you as his hand snakes down to his belt buckle. "You could scream," he states simply, gazing at you, flushed cheeks the only thing betraying his neutral expression. "Why don't you?"

The clink and slide of his belt coming undone are the only sounds in the closet before you finally speak up, hints of trepidation betraying your discomfort. "Would you even let me if I tried?"

Subaru's face breaks into a smile in response, his eyes so deceptively kind. He hums contentedly, undoing his zipper and pulling down his boxers, sighing in pleasure as his length is freed, poking long and tall from his pants. "No," he answers, directing himself to your folds, sighing sweetly again as the tip makes contact with you, flinching at the onslaught of visions he was sure to experience. "I wouldn't have."

He sinks into you, and all at once, the visions come pouring in. He struggles, trying not to collapse on you, keeping his eyes shut tight as he sinks further in. A moan slips out of him once he bottoms out, laying himself into your chest and pressing his lips to your ear. He repositions his knees, the bone digging into your thighs as he starts thrusting, pistoning his hips back and forth at a nearly punishing pace, his free hand stroking your clit. You don't cry out, instead letting out a strangled gasp, to which he smiles, continuing his pace. You refuse to make much noise at all, keeping your moans deep in your throat, staying as silent as possible.

He sees it all, the visions refusing to fade. The dejection you'd felt after your encounter at the studio, the contempt you felt for him after, and the pleasure you'd felt in knowing you were driving him into a wall, each and every time. Unable to keep himself from making some noise, he muffles his moans just behind your jaw, mouthing lightly at the sensitive skin there. He can feel his strength begin to slip as a result of the visions, his thrusts becoming stuttered and erratic.

He tilts his head until his lips are by your ear again, swallowing his moans and whispering in your ear instead. "This could have been avoided." He hears your teeth grind in annoyance, bringing a soft smile to his face. He exhales on your ear, feeling you shiver in response. "All you had to do," he starts, lifting his free hand from your clit and gripping your jaw again, pushing his thumb past your lips and pressing down on your tongue, "was refrain from interfering."

'And yet, here you are,' Subaru thinks, lifting his head to catch your gaze, anger and the final bits of defiance still flaring through, tears pricking at the edges of your eyes. Your mouth was still open, tongue flat under Subaru's thumb, coated in remnants of your essence and your saliva. Small sounds escaped you with each driven thrust, your body jerking in unwanted pleasure. Here you both were. Your interference was inevitable; he should have known.

'And that is what makes this inevitable,' he thinks to himself, burying his face back into the crook of your neck, his hand releasing your jaw. He presses his lips into your neck, feeling his peak begin to approach. His thrusts grow more erratic, just as harsh but growing less coordinated. His free hand slides down to your clit again, thumbing it in gentle strokes, bringing you to the edge just as he was.

"I'm sorry," he whispers in your ear, voice shaking with arousal. He's breathing heavily, his words punctured by moans and uncontrollable whimpers. "But you've left me no choice. This had to be done." He speeds up his thrusting, muffling his moans into the crook of your neck as he nears his peak. He groans at the feeling of your twitching walls reaching a similar peak, keeping the steady pace of his thumb stroking your clit.

He pumps into you a few more times before he cums, his hips stuttering as his orgasm washes over him. His cum gushes into you, warm and sedating, his cock twitching as it forces the last drops out. His moans are muffled in your skin, his eyelashes fluttering against your ear. He feels you reach your peak soon after, clit trembling under his fingers as your walls clench around his length, sending one last spark of pleasure through him. He slows his thumb until his movements ease to a halt, letting himself catch his breath. His grip on your wrists was already slipping, and his knees were beginning to wobble, unable to hold himself up anymore.

Before any more of his strength can leave him, he hurriedly lifts himself off of you, releasing his grip on your wrists and slowly pulling himself out, collapsing backwards into a seated position.

The repeated visions finally cease, and his weakened state catches up with him. He stays seated, panting, his hands flat on the ground behind him in an effort to keep himself upright. He suddenly becomes aware of the uncomfortable feeling of sweat trapped under his collar, on his forehead, and between his shirt and blazer. His length, still twitching from aftershock, was sticky with his release and yours mixed together. His entire body was unusually warm, and he was sure his face and chest were visibly colored a deep red, even in the dim light of the closet. And yet, despite all these uncomfortable sensations, a wave of satisfaction passes through him, especially when he looks over to witness your twitching form, still leaking his release.

Finally, it was over. He closes his eyes, savoring his earned victory. He hardly stirs until he hears movement from you, finally lifting yourself up.

From the way you barely move your legs, he can tell they're weak from the aftermath. You slump over, shakily holding yourself up on your arms, eyes trained on the floor. A pang of guilt spreads through Subaru's stomach as he looks at you pityingly. Despite his guilt, he says nothing, turning away from you, instead focusing on the weakness in his limbs. Unable to hold himself up much longer, he leans forward, his arms resting in his lap instead.

Eventually, he'd have to leave the closet, but he couldn't see himself doing that while he was still so weak. A strong orgasm paired with multiple visions had completely drained him. Still, once his strength returns, he supposes he'll be alright.

Out of permeating guilt, he turns to look at you again, only to find you right next to him, staring at him. He startles before recognizing the anger flashing in your gaze. He exhales, the bitter side of the victory making itself known. Yet, as far as Subaru was concerned, he had nothing to say to you. He'd said everything he needed to you when he explained this was inevitable, so if you were waiting on an apology, you would be waiting a long time.

But, he supposes it was kinder to provide you with some semblance of closure. He turns to you, ready to don his best pitying smile, before you suddenly push him to the ground, keeping your hands on his shoulders.

He blinks up at you, dazed, unease creeping into his stomach. "MC…" He starts, hoping this isn't what he assumes it will be. He's never met anyone as completely unsatiable as you are. He puts on his best pathetically pleading voice, hoping you'll listen to reason. "I'm too weak from the visions. I couldn't—"

"Shut up!" You interrupt him, clapping a hand over his mouth. Subaru twitches, feeling himself become overwhelmed with your residual thoughts from the encounter. You climb on top of him, and for a moment, Subaru recognizes the wild look in your eyes as the one he'd had prior. "You—" You lean over him, vitriol hanging on to every syllable, "You are going to lie here and take it." Subaru feels the unease creeping into his stomach twist itself into fear. "Just like I did." He tries to reach for your hand and force it off of him, but he's unsuccessful, his grip too weak to do anything, his brain swimming as he witnesses what he did to you from your point of view.

The fear overwhelms him immediately, anger following suit. Helplessness, betrayal, and panic all seep into him, mirroring your emotions. Blinded by the visions, he watches himself from your point of view as he took you, his face barely visible in the low light, shrouded in darkness, his smiles more haunting than kind. He feels your rage boiling throughout the entirety of the encounter, your initial fear only fueling it. His vision swims, images of you and of your perception of him melding. He blinks repeatedly, swallowing thickly as the reality of the situation from your perspective dawns on him.

He gasps, and he's back, watching you mount him. His arms lay above his head, pinned down by you. He panics, lifting his knees to his chest to try and protect himself, but he's too late. He can hardly fight against you in this state, his mind still a jumbled mess between his own emotions, yours, his memories of the encounter, and your memories of it bleeding into each other.

He pants, his panic and fear rising in his abdomen. "Get off!" He stammers, trying futilely to pull his arms from your grasp or buck you off of him with his hips. Previously overwhelmed by visions, his arms shake when he tries to pull his wrists from your grasp, and his hips stutter and jerk under you. His fear escalates upon realizing he can't physically escape you. "W-Wait, MC—!" Panic and desperation color his tone, rapidly rising in volume. His panting turns into heaving as he finds himself squirming and shifting as much as he can to fight against the events.

He's not even sure his words are reaching you. The look on your face mirrors his prior, too far gone to interpret his pleas or cries for it to stop. You keep holding him down, reaching for his length, still sensitive and twitching with aftershock. He tries to twist himself out of your grasp, but he can't move—your full body weight seated just under his groin.

"Ugh!" He tries to stifle his moans, pain and pleasure coursing through him as you line him up with your fluttering heat. Despite himself, he watches with bated breath as you descend onto him, your heat engulfing him in mere moments. He whines, still feeling the intoxicating post-orgasmic bliss despite the pain from overstimulation and the fear from the act. "P-Please…" He begs, biting his tongue and groaning when you slowly lift your hips, setting a pace. "Mmngh, please don't do this…" His heels dig into the floor, desperate for at least some facade of stability among the instability in his mind. He lets out a low moan as you slide yourself back down, speeding up. "Ah! Oh, fuck, please—"

His pleading is brought to an immediate halt when you slap your hand over his mouth, muffling his words. Your nails dig into his cheek, forming crescent-shaped bruises in his skin. You whisper harshly to him in a low voice, not even acknowledging his begging. "Keep quiet! It's like you want to get caught."

Subaru whimpers, the horror of it all finally settling in. There was truly nothing he could do. Just as his actions against you were inevitable, so too was this. A sickening pit forms in his stomach, realizing all he can do is watch.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem you'll last long, not with how each bounce has your thighs shaking with effort. Not that Subaru would last long either, his sensitive cock twitching as your walls slide back and forth over his length all over again. His cries from overstimulation remain muffled by your hand, and he begins to get lightheaded from the intensive strain on his body and reduced oxygen getting to his brain. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to ride it out, waiting until this violating ordeal is finished.

This was torture. His hands curl into softened fists, his body tensing as he feels himself drawing close for the second time, under much less favorable conditions. His eyes begin to burn, tears pricking at the edges, and a lump forms in his throat. He wishes his body wasn't responding the way it was; cock twitching and nipples pebbling and body flushing and sweating with heat and arousal. He wishes he hadn't fallen for your bait, expertly designed to string him along until he fell from grace. He wishes he weren't here, under you, participating in a losing battle, being forced to take it. He wishes he hadn't lost.

Shame ends up serving as the greatest reminder of why he shouldn't have fallen, coursing through him as he rapidly approaches his peak. His muffled whimpers and groans grow louder, and so do your quiet gasps and throaty exhales. He squeezes his thighs together, hands trembling, his breathing quickening and worsening his dizziness. When you finally reach yours, slamming your hips down on his and squeezing your walls against him, he cums, a loud moan sounding from his throat. He shivers, feeling himself pump and twitch inside you, his peak melting his brain a second time.

You ride out your orgasm, rolling your hips back and forth until you're satisfied, settling into stillness. The only sounds heard for a moment are your heavy breathing until you release Subaru's wrists and face. He immediately takes a deep inhale, coughing at the sudden influx of oxygen. He turns away the best he can with you still on top of him, hiding his face with his hands as his coughing slowly devolves into sobbing. It's only a few sobs, but it's mortifying nonetheless, feeling shameful as he keeps himself turned away, refusing to look at you.

He groans when you slide off of him, though he doesn't turn to look, instead turning his hips over to hide himself from you fully. He hurriedly wipes his eyes, peering at your stumbling form from the floor. You were standing shakily over him, most of your weight resting on the narrow closet wall.

A moment passes between you as he gazes at you, saying nothing. There is neither fondness nor disgust in your gaze, rather something he can't name, though he's sure he looks much the same. Neither understanding nor disagreement passes between you. It would be wrong to call it a compromise. Eventually, Subaru looks away.

There's a shorter stretch of silence until he finally hears slow footsteps, and watches you walk towards the closet door out of his peripheral. You spare him one final glance, to which he twitches, before opening the door. He notices the light catch on a thin trail of white sliding down your inner thigh before you step out, the door closing behind you.

He turns on his back, staring at the ceiling again. He would have to get up eventually.

well. there's that. god i have a headache everyone enjoy 4r im. on the brink of death.

the flowers i listed 4 subaru had a specific purpose btw: red anemones: forsaken love, expected love, anticipation; blue hydrangeas: regret, rejection; violet petunias: resentment, residual anger.

ANYWAYS please enjoy this i put my blood and tears in2 it. no sweat but i was certainly sweating while queuing.

anyways. sources for help with dealing with sa or violence:

Rainn

Wanna talk about it?

songs i listened 2 while writing this:

tongue - girlfriend of the year (you make me feel like im always in my mind, always in my mind, mind...)

colors - halsey (everything is blue and subaru is out of his mind.)

nervous - the neighbourhood (nervous? why? we knew we would end up here anyway.)

mind brand - maretu (in a way, haven't you branded each other's minds?)

taglist: @cupcakesmoothie @aayakashii @sunskosh @glamorousspoon @mmy-meow @dailyvahine @diluxama @madamedesalaunier @gulaaren-123 @otaku-explosion @maruayase @giigiselleee @genevathekitty @ox-ren-xo @justaclusterofnothing

i double checked the taglist but i could be wrong due to recent spring cleaning. let me know if i forgot you!!!!

want 2 join or be removed from the tkdb taglist? let me know!

The man’s face splits into a wide, sleazy, grin. “Hah. So, you had that asshole lie for you, huh? What a fucking tease.”

Your stomach churns as he steps closer. The smell of bourbon and sweat burns your nostrils. Instinctively, you walk backwards, but don’t get very far before something obstructs your path. The railing, you realize. A quick glance around the vicinity and your face pales from the absence of people.

This will be the last time you ever accept a cruise ticket from a raffle drawing.

“Don’t step any closer,” You warn through clenched teeth. If only you had a weapon on you. Although, the ship’s security wouldn’t permit it. In saying that, you’d think they’d be prepared to handle inebriated losers like this.

“C’mon baby,” The man drawls in a low, hair-raising rumble. “Don’t be like that. I cancelled my plans so I could come see you again. Good thing I caught you before the crowd did.”

You attempt to slink out of the way, but he’s faster. Before you can even blink, the baboon has you pinned against the railing. You attempt to shove him off, but his hands move to your wrists and constrict around them in a death grip.

Your heart hammers in your ears, as your body switches gears into fight or flight mode. With the intent to make a scene, a shout rips from your throat. “Get your hands off me!!!”

“Quiet…!”

Without releasing your wrists, the man smothers your mouth with the meat of his palm. You redistribute your weight against the railing and attempt to use it as leverage to kick him off. Much to your horror, he only pushes his body closer to yours, effectively ceasing your mobility. Your teeth sink into his hand, causing him to yelp in pain, yet he still remains unmoving, like a boulder. You try to scream again, but it hardly projects at all.

Is this it for you…? Will you die trying to fight this psycho off?

He makes a point to push you harder against the steel bars, to where it’s digging into your skin painfully. His next words come out in a belligerent whisper. “Stupid bitch. Make a scene and you’ll regret it.”

Even through the blood pumping thunderously in your ears, you can still hear the roaring ocean waves below. It’s so deafening that you fail to pick up on the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps on deck.

The man’s eyes go wide and he curses under his breath. “Fuck…!”

His gaze looks wild and pervaded with malintent. The next thing you know, you’re being hoisted up and over the railing. Another scream rips from your mouth, but by the time it reaches anyone’s ears, you’re already plummeting towards the dark waters below.

……

The frigid temperature of the water combined with the pain of your body’s impact against the sea had been enough to make you lose consciousness. So, when you hear the sound of a gentle lullaby in your ears, you’re convinced you must have already died. It sounds far too lovely for any being from planet earth to make. You’re not sure you recognize the tune. In fact, it sounds like it’s being sung in a different language.

Soft, echoey, hums. The voice sounds too high-pitched to belong to a man, yet too low to belong to a woman. Almost as if the melody itself were cognizant, it dances all around you. Each and every note carries resonance with it, like they’re echoing against the walls of a chamber.

“Beautiful…” You murmur unthinkingly.

Like a record comically screeching to a halt, the singing abruptly ceases after your comment. You hear the sound of something wading through water.

“Wow, finally awake? And here I thought you may have died on me.”

Huh…?

The voice of a young man. It’s a bit raspy and shrill. He must be talking to you, right?

Your eyes snap open and you hinge upright. The change in position elicits a tickling sensation in your chest before you can even make out your surroundings. And suddenly, you’re coughing up a shit ton of water.

“Uh, gross? Warn me if you’re gonna do that. I don’t want your splashback.”

“Like I’m–cough…! Doing it–cough…! On purpose,” You protest weakly, cringing as water begins to spill unpleasantly from your ears.

“Pffft. For a thing that needs water so bad to survive, you sure can’t handle swimming in it, huh?”

Too preoccupied with expelling the water from your lungs, you don’t even register how abnormal the comment is. After your coughing fit dies down, you look around and absorb your surroundings.

Rocks. Rocks are quite literally encompassing you. You realize that you’re sitting on a grotto floor. Above you, maybe twenty feet in the air, is a cave ceiling illuminated with blue bioluminescence.

“Looking at everything but me, huh? Can I at least get a ‘thank you’?”

Your gaze descends from the ceiling and you find yourself tilting your head a little bit to your left. A pair of lovely golden eyes greet you. They belong to a man with soft features and a mop of short, gray, and fluffy hair. Notably, he’s wearing a pair of dangly gold earrings shaped like sand dollars. If you had to guess, he appears to be in his early twenties.

You continue to stare at him owlishly. And despite his earlier complaints of your silence, his lips curl into an impish smirk. The pretty stranger leans on the ledge of the rocks with both of his elbows and tilts his head playfully.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

“I… Sorry.” You shake your head and pivot your body to properly face him. “I thought I was a goner. Did you save me?”

He narrows his eyes into a squint. “Mmmhmm. Y’know, I’ve never seen someone try to dive off a watercraft that big. At night, too? You must’ve had a death wish.”

You shake your head again. This time with purpose. “That’s not it. Some gross guy shoved me off.”

The young man’s eyes widen marginally and his smile falters. “Yeah? Did you piss him off?”

“You could say that.”

He blinks again, seemingly waiting for you to continue. So, you speak again.

“Thinking back on it… I think someone was about to find us. He was trying to overpower me and presumably drag me somewhere else. I guess rather than risking arrest, he shoved me off board.” You huff out a disgusted sigh. “What a pig… I hope he got arrested. No, you know what? He tried to kill me. I hope the repercussions are worse.”

“Like… Death?” The man rests his cheek against his forearm, his eyes not leaving yours. “I could make that happen, if that’s what you want.”

You laugh a little at that. “Yeah, right. They’re probably long gone by now anyway.”

“Are you underestimating me? You really shouldn’t do that,” He chides, his monotonous tone giving little away.

You raise an eyebrow. “Am I supposed to believe you’ll swim after the boat? And then what? Climb it to avenge me? That’s impossible.”

“You talk as if you know what I’m capable of. I bet you assumed that man wouldn’t try to throw you in the ocean too, huh?”

“Uh… Point taken, I guess.” You’re not sure that you want to linger on the topic of potentially killing your aggressor with this stranger. Thanking him and finding a way out of here is your priority. Wherever ‘here’ is. “Thank you, by the way. For saving me. What’s your name?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you tell me yours first? I mean, you’re asking, after all.”

You tell him your name and he repeats it back to you.

“Huh. So, that’s what it is.” He hums. It sustains for a few seconds, before tapering into a sound of disapproval. “...Nah. I don’t like it.”

“Um…”

“Come to think of it, when I found you, a barnacle was all caught up in your hair. Probably from the underside of that watercraft.”

You’re not sure where he’s going with this…

The stranger breaks out into a grin. “Yeah… I think I’m gonna call you Barnie.”

“What…?” You snort out a laugh. “Isn’t that a dated western name? And for men at that.”

“Is it?” The man shrugs dismissively. It’s clear he’s not interested in giving the objection much thought. “Well, I like it. So, that’s what I’m calling you.”

It doesn’t bother you enough to debate about it anyway.

“So, I’ve told you my name now. What’s yours?” You press.

“My name? You sure you wanna know that?” He shoots you a dubious look.

He sure is evasive. At the very least, he seems to enjoy messing with you.

“Of course.”

“Haven’t you heard the legend?” Leo asks cryptically. “I was so sure that’s a tale you landlubbers would eat up.”

“...I’m sorry, but you’re not making much sense. What legend is there about exchanging names?”

“If I give a human my name, you might just be stuck with me.” The stranger flashes you a teasing look. “Like a ‘ball and chain’ type deal.”

You stare at him like he just grew a third head. Is this guy larping or something?

“You’re still incomprehensible. Why are you calling me a human as if you aren’t one?”

His jaw goes slack and his expression contorts into one of unmitigated disappointment. “What, you seriously think a normie could have saved your ass? During high tides? In the middle of the ocean? When it’s pitch black? You’re kind of dumb, aren’t you?”

“Hey…! That’s also kind of rude don’t you think–” Your words die in your throat. Just behind the pretty man in the water, you notice a vibrant, golden, fish-like tail breaking the water’s surface. It submerges itself after you’ve had just enough time to get a good look at it.

“You’re… A merman?” You ask in disbelief.

“Looks like it.” The man winks playfully. “Kinda scary, huh?”

More like unbelievable. You didn’t think this kind of thing was grounded in reality. It takes you several prolonged beats to fully process the revelation.

“...Why would I find it scary? You saved my life, didn’t you?” You force a close-lipped smile. “It seems kind of unreal, but you’re here. If I should believe anything, it’s my eyes, right?”

The man scrutinizes you with newfound interest. Without warning, he props his palms up on the rocky ledge and hoists the upper part of his body out of the water. You gasp as his face gets rather close and level with yours. There’s maybe a foot and a half of distance between the two of you.

Unable to look him in the eye with the current proximity, your gaze deviates downward. You notice gold body chains looping around his neck and torso, as well as arm bands cinched around his biceps. The jewelry matches the color of the scales adorning his hips. He’s certainly on the petite side for a man, yet still lithe and toned.

“What are you gawking at, pervert?”

You feel heat crawl up your neck and your eyes snap up to meet his. “S-Sorry…! Look, I didn’t mean any offense–”

“Oh, I’m offended. You’re seriously looking at me like I’m some piece of meat after I just got done playing hero?” The complaint comes out rather blasé considering the severity of the accusation. He tilts his head, giving you a rather judgy looking side eye. “Creeper alert.”

“You expect me not to look? I’ve never seen a mermaid, or merman before! As far as I know, the tail could be fake or something!”

You don’t really believe that, but it came out impulsively in an attempt to defend your innocence. Crossing your arms over your chest, you divert your attention off to the side. The cave goes silent for a brief lapse in time and the only noise echoing off the rock walls is the gentle sound of rippling water.

You slant your head back in the merman’s direction. He flutters his eyes shut, and for reasons unbeknownst to you, his mouth tightens into a tiny ‘o’ shape. Unexpectedly, a gust of air is expelled in your direction. It’s strong enough to make your hair and the clothes on your body flap in the artificial wind. And just like that, your body is bone dry, like you hadn’t been in water at all.

The merman’s lips turn up into a self-assured smirk. “Barnie, you can call me Leo~♡.”

“Leo…” You scoff in quiet disbelief. “That fits you. You’re covered in gold.”

“I know, right?” Leo pushes himself off the ledge and sinks back into the water. “Anyway, I kinda have something to do. So, I’ll leave you to it.”

Panic rises in your chest at the announcement and you impulsively crawl closer to the edge of the platform, ignoring the way your knees dig painfully into the bedrock. “Wait, don’t go!”

Leo arches an eyebrow. “You’re gonna fall. Right after I just used magic to dry you off too. You should really be more grateful.”

“So, what? I’ll jump in the water if you leave,” You threaten, feeling a bit dumb as soon as the words leave your mouth.

Leo practically turns his nose up at you. “Is that supposed to rattle me?”

“What if I drown?” You blurt out.

The man just stares at you blankly as he floats in the water.

“You told me your name,” You start. Heat fizzles on your ears as you prepare to reference the callback that could very well have been fabricated. “If I’m your ball and chain, will you let that happen?”

Leo surprises you by breaking out into a toothy grin. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess not.”

Your increased blood pressure begins to alleviate and you exhale in relief.

“Buuut. I still got shit to do,” Leo adds, before you can get too comfortable with the idea of being back on land anytime soon. “So, I’ll come back when I’m done with that. Kay?”

Well, what are you gonna do in this situation? Pushing your luck seems audacious at best.

“...Okay. Do you have an ETA?”

Leo gives you an exasperated look. “A what?”

“Like… Do you know when you’ll be done?” You ask hopefully.

“Damn, you’re clingy. Should I be worried?” The comment comes off light-hearted, but you get the feeling Leo’s becoming antsy. He must have his own merfolk obligations.

“Just take a nap or something,” He suggests. “You’re tired aren’t you? I’ll be back when you wake up.”

He’s right, you do feel exhausted. And you wonder how he can be so sure that it’ll line up that way, but you don’t want to take his kindness for granted by holding him up any longer. You’re lucky to be alive, after all.

“...Okay,” You agree with a nod.

“Good girl~♡. If you get thirsty, there’s a flask up there with purified water too. See ya!”

With that, Leo dives into the water and disappears out of sight.

“......”

The first thing you check once you’re alone is your phone. The battery is practically dead and there are no bars anyway. Just your luck.

Before you even think about sleeping, you spend some time walking around the cave. The traversable surface is pretty vast. You’re no expert, but you’d guess you have maybe twenty meters of space to freely walk around on. This kind of environment should be scary, especially considering the fact that you’re alone. You’re surrounded by water, yet it looks crystal clear. And the vicinity is illuminated with an ethereal, blue, glow. The water leads down a winding path, so you only have visibility up to a certain point.

Overall, it’s pretty peaceful.

When you’re tired of exploring, you find the most level patch of ground to lay down on, with the flask Leo provided for you in hand. It’s gold and ornately decorated with a hexagonal lid that’s easy to pop off. To make it more convenient to lug around, it even has a chain attached to its shoulders. You take a sip from it, even though you’re not particularly thirsty. Somehow, it’s better than any water you’ve ever tasted. It makes you wonder where he got it from. If he can just blow air to dry you in seconds, is it farfetched to think that he purified this himself?

After screwing the lid back on, you prop your head up on your arm and use it as a pillow. It isn’t long before you begin to doze off.

…..

“Looks like I kept my promise. Wakey wakey, Barnie~♡.”

Leo sits on the rock’s ledge with his tail partially dipped in the water, staring down at your sleeping form. His voice elicited some movement out of you, but it didn’t rouse you from your sleep. Although, he did drop a sizable chest onto the ground beside you, and that didn’t wake you up either.

It’s been some time since he’s been this close to a human. Not one that didn’t end up dead shortly after anyway. There are plenty of avaricious intruders that have tried to invade Shiogakure. Humans aren’t permitted to gather proof of his kind’s existence. If they’re suspected of it, they’re executed without mercy. In your case, it was misfortune that brought you to him.

If Leo were tribalistic he would have turned you in to the capital. Taking your circumstances into account, they likely wouldn’t have killed you, but they would have thrown you in some air pocket cell until you could prove that you’re trustworthy. Not that it matters anymore.

Now, you’re his little pet human.

“Barnie…” Leo tries again.

This time you roll on your back. How you seem so comfortable tossing and turning on the bedrock like that is beyond him.

“...Damn. You sure sleep like the dead.”

Leo smirks as an evil idea surfaces in his mind. He sidles himself even closer to you and rests his palm by your head, before lowering his face towards yours. His bangs tickle the bridge of your nose in warning, and he hesitates for a few seconds longer. When you stubbornly remain fast asleep, Leo closes the distance and slants his mouth against yours.

….

Your eyes flutter open.

It takes you all of three seconds to register what’s happening. When you do, your hands fly to Leo’s chest to shove him off. You sit up and shrink back a few feet, your fingers splayed over your lips in shock.

“Leo! What the hell?!”

“Pffft… Hahaha!” Leo breaks out in laughter at your expense. “You’re so red. Just from that? Weak.”

You clench your fists at your side, as irritation bubbles up in your gut. “You can’t just kiss people like that! Is that normal for you?!”

“Just thought it’d wake you up,” Leo explains as his laughter wanes. “And it worked didn’t it? You were out like a light.”

You did prefer to be awake. But you’re not about to thank him for using a method like that. Considering he’s a merman, you’re open to giving him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’s ignorant of the significance of kissing someone. But then again, why would he be laughing like a hyena if that were true?

“Leo… I don’t know how it is for mermaids, but you should only do that with someone you’re in a romantic relationship with,” You chide in a measured tone.

“Oh?” Leo lays on his side while facing you and props his head in his hand. Now that you get a better look at him, the mischief imbued in both his eyes and smile are kind of reminiscent of a cat. “You should really teach me these things beforehand. I had no idea.”

You’d accept this as some sort of an apology if he sounded even the slightest bit contrite. Actually, you’re pretty sure he’s reveling in this.

“You’re making fun of me,” You accuse.

“I’m having fun with you,” Leo corrects. “That’s not a bad thing, is it?”

You catch a glimpse of his tail in your peripheral. With it out of the water like this, you notice more variety in the coloration of his scales. They shimmer beautifully underneath the blue glow of the cave. “You’ll give people the wrong idea… Ugh. What am I saying? You’re clearly fucking with me.”

The two of you are different species. Even making the suggestion that Leo could be playing at that angle when he looks so pleased with himself feels like a humiliation ritual. You shake your head dismissively. “Whatever, I’ll let it slide. Just this time. My primary focus is on getting home.”

Leo’s lips pull downward, almost imperceptibly.

“Yeah? How are you gonna do that?” He asks, his voice icier than usual. It’s enough to catch you off guard, and the expression you make in response is nothing short of guilty.

“Um… Well.” You cross your legs and sit up straight. “I was actually hoping you’d be able to help me with that?”

Leo’s gaze hardens. “You think I’d just lug you across the ocean like that? Do you have any clue how far we are from land?”

You feel your heart drop. “No… I don’t.”

“Well, it’s a lot and you’re heavy. Besides, I’m not even permitted to go half of that distance. Just because you humans can go wherever and do what you want doesn’t mean I can.”

“...I see.”

So, you’re just gonna stay in this cave forever? Until another boat comes by? Won’t you starve by then? At this point, you think drowning might have been the more merciful alternative.

“Fuck.” Your voice cracks and you feel hot tears involuntarily begin to well up in your eyes. “So, I’m seriously screwed.”

Leo blinks owlishly and he suddenly shoots upright. “Woah, hey. What are you doing? Stop that.”

“S-Stop… Stop what?” You duck your head in embarrassment, refusing to meet his gaze.

Leo clicks his tongue. “Crying, obviously. I said I wouldn’t let you die, didn’t I? So, what is there to cry about?”

“...You don’t get it. What about food? A bed?” You begin to rub the moisture out of your eyes, but the tears won’t stop. “I need to be able to bathe and brush my teeth. I need clothes. And now I’m supposed to live alone in this cave?”

“Well, you’re not alone…” Leo argues sheepishly. “And I can get you all of those things, y’know. You’re not far from my home.”

You choke out a sob, clearly not sated with the vague reassurance he’s given you. “You have your own life and family, don’t you? I don’t actually want to be a burden to you.”

“You’re worried about that?” Leo sighs and smooths a hand over the back of his neck. “Look, I don’t really have a family like that.”

You look up at him again, your face puffy from crying. “For real?”

“Yeah, for real…” Leo stalls, deliberating on how much he should reveal. “Long story short, I’m technically a bastard from an… elite bloodline. Because of my father, I have more abilities than the average merfolk, but I’m basically shunned from noble ranks. When that happens, people like me basically get thrown onto the frontlines. The reason I found you is because I’m stationed nearby as an echo listener.”

“An echo listener…? What’s that?”

“Just a fancy word to say I look out for threats to the city. My hearing is better than most, and I have a knack for steering away noisy ass ships like yours from the area.”

“Are you allowed breaks?” You ask, your voice laced with concern.

Leo scoffs. “Obviously. I’d have dipped forever ago if I was treated like their bitch. Not like I have much going on, but it’s just the principle.”

“I see,” You murmur quietly. “Then… Is it normal for merfolk to save humans?”

“Nooope. You’re literally a threat to our existence. If the wrong ones find us, it would mean war.”

Does that mean…?

“Are you worried that I’d tell someone about you? Is that why–”

“Uh, no,” Leo retorts, immediately shutting down the notion. “No offense? But you don’t seem like someone that has a ton of influence on the surface. Besides, I’m not some nutty sectarian that lets my lineage dictate all my decisions. What I said is what I meant. I won’t lug you across the ocean.”

“...”

And it’s not like you could rightfully demand that of him either.

“Ships roam out here every once and a while. I’ll let you know when the next one does. Until then, you’re stuck with me, Barnie.” Leo sticks his tongue out playfully, exposing a gold piece of jewelry embedded in his tongue.

You sniff and dab at your drying tears. A small smile plays at the corner of your lip. “I didn’t think mermaid’s got tongue piercings.”

“You also didn’t know we existed ‘til yesterday,” Leo quips back.

“...Was I really asleep that long?”

Leo shakes his head. “It’s still early in the morning, so not really.”

You nod slowly, your attention falling on the item you noticed in your peripheral upon waking up. “I meant to ask. What’s in that chest?”

“Wow. Finally, you acknowledge my efforts.”

Leo unlocks the latches on both sides of the storage container, causing it to spring open. It's filled to the brim with various items. You shift over to the box and pull out the first thing you see– A cylindrical, thick, tube that’s vacuum sealed in what appears to be plastic.

“That’s a bed roll. There’s a pillow in there too that needs time to fluff up after you take it out of the wrap,” Leo explains.

“Thank you…”

A little more digging and you find basically everything you need. Toiletries, an engraved hair brush, and even a few nightgowns.

“Where did you get all this?”

“Uh, the store?” Leo says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Some of it's from human ships, though.”

Your jaw goes slack in disbelief. “I hope you didn’t spend much.”

What kind of currency would mermaids have anyway? Shells? Precious gems?

Leo shrugs. “It wasn’t a shit ton. Guess that means you owe me now, though.”

You laugh in spite of yourself. “Implying I didn’t before.”

…

After you set up the bedroll and unwrap the pillow that came with it, you decide to interrogate Leo a little more. He’s since submerged himself back in the water, hanging off the ledge like the first time you met him.

“So… If you bought them from your world, does that mean you sleep in a bed too?” You ask carefully.

“Where else would I sleep?” Leo asks, genuinely perplexed.

“Well… You float in water, don’t you?”

“Oh, that. Most of the rooms we use to sleep in are affected by a type of magic. Gravity works as it would topside,” Leo explains.

“I see. That’s interesting.”

“Anyway, I’ll get you a blanket. I can control the temperature of the water here, so it shouldn’t get too cold in the meantime.”

“Are you gonna leave again?” You hope your apprehension doesn’t surface in your voice.

“I have to, yeah.” Leo sports a smug, crooked smile. “Think you can handle it?”

You find yourself unconsciously smiling back. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

……

“What is that?”

You watch Leo lay down a slab of meat into the hanging pot he brought up earlier. The pan audibly sizzles as it hits the hot oil.

“Swordfish,” Leo replies. “You can eat that, can’t you?”

“I don’t see why not. Is that seasoning on it?” You ask, leaning close to peer into the pot.

“Uh, yeah? Don’t tell me you’d rather have nothing on it.”

You shake your head, before sitting back on your floor cushion. “It’s not that. I just didn’t really expect you to know how to cook. How does that work in water exactly?”

Leo sets the tongs he was holding on a silver tray. “Air pockets. That or just not using heat to make food.”

“Like salt curing? Or fermentation?”

“Yeah.”

The meat does smell good. And fresh. Leo even set up the fire on his own using driftwood and loose stones.

“Was this pot already at your home?” You ask.

Leo huffs out a sigh. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Being quiet the whole time would be awkward, don’t you think? Plus, I’m curious.”

“Yeah,” Leo answers belatedly. He continues to keep an eye on the fish as it cooks. “I got it from my place. Never used it though.”

You hum in acknowledgement. “...So. What kinds of food do mermaids eat?”

“Fish, crustaceans, kelp, seagrass.” Leo shrugs. “We also have gardens for produce that grows on the surface. Costs more to get a hold of.”

“And what do you like to eat?”

Leo purses his lips as a thoughtful expression crosses his face. “...Celery.”

“Just celery? That’s more like a snack. Or a component in soups and stews.”

“It’s good.”

You pull your legs to your chest and rest your chin on your knees. “So, will you eat fish? Crustaceans?"

“Sometimes fish. Depends. Crabs are kind of a chore to eat.”

He’s totally a picky eater. You suppress a smirk as the realization dawns on you.

Leo continues. “Enough dissecting me. What about you?”

You share your likes and dislikes with Leo. Notably, the conversation flows more effortlessly when the attention is off him. He really has something to say about everything.

At some point during your chatting, you notice the smell of something burning. Leo flipped the fish once, but it's been on there for quite some time. You peer inside the pot and notice a black crust forming at the bottom.

“Do I take it out or what?” Leo deadpans.

You gape in disbelief. “What? You’re asking me? I assumed you knew what you were doing.”

“Nope. Didn’t I just say I’ve never used this thing?”

“Definitely take it out now, then!” You urge him.

Leo obediently pulls out the chunk of charred meat and sets it on a silver platter. He hands it over to you with a fork already resting next to it. You accept it without complaint and begin breaking into the flesh with the utensil provided for you.

“You don’t want any?” You ask, before taking a bite.

Leo puffs out his cheeks, appearing mildly annoyed. “Trying to pawn it off on me? Don’t tell me you don’t want it?”

“No, I want it,” You assure him. “It just seems kind of rude to eat in front of you when you don’t have anything.”

“Hardly. I’m not hungry. Whether you like it or not, it’s all yours.”

“Suit yourself.”

When you take the first bite, you’re pleasantly surprised to find that it’s still edible. In fact, you’ve tasted worse. A butter sauce would go a long way with this.

“It’s not bad. You know, if you bring up more ingredients I can try making something for both of us next time.”

Leo stares at you with an unreadable expression for several beats. You’re not sure if he’s gauging your sincerity, or considering your suggestion. In the end, he tears his gaze away indifferently.

“Maybe.”

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

It takes time, but you start to get used to living in the cave. Pretty much every day Leo provides you with something new to make the experience more comfortable.

Following your suggestion, Leo brings more spices and ingredients, along with new meats and vegetation to try. You even get him to have meals with you sometimes, but you notice he never eats much. Whether that’s due to the quality of your cooking, or his own bad habits, you’re not sure. But you lean more towards the latter.

For bathing, he brings a basin that’s large enough for you to sit in. You found out that Leo can actually purify water, and even change the temperature in the bin. Apparently, the water in the cave is clean enough to swim in too, but the basin provides you more privacy. Especially knowing that Leo could surface at any time.

Additionally, Leo brings you a sponge, soaps, and exfoliant scrubs. Since mermaids spend most of their time in water, what they use regularly is different from humans. Allegedly, he knows someone that knows how to make shampoos for “topsiders”.

Aside from the essentials, Leo also brings you random books. Some are made by humans and salvaged from a shipwreck. Others are created by mermaids, with a special waterproof parchment. Beside texts, you end up with a few canvases and naturally made paint pigments from the ocean. Leo tells you that they were created using seashells and clay.

With the lack of sunlight coming into the cave, it’s difficult to know the time of day, or even how many pass. The only way you find out is when Leo tells you. From what you gather, he’s stationed in one place for his job for about twelve hours out of the day. It usually starts in the evening, then ends in the morning. He comes to see you for a few hours, then returns home to sleep.

Every day that passes you find yourself looking forward to his company, more and more than the last. You know that you’ll miss him when you return home.

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

“Do you recognize this game?”

Leo uncovers a wooden board in front of you. It has twelve round pits formed in two rows of six and two larger oval pits at both ends of the board. There are various round stones in each of the divots, save for the ends.

“Manacala? Yeah, I haven’t played it since I was a kid,” You say.

Leo leans on the rocky ledge and rests his head against his fist. “So, do you remember the rules?”

“Somewhat,” You answer noncommittally.

Leo’s lips quirk upwards into a mischievous smirk. “Good. Guess that means I’ll have to explain a lot less.”

“You wanna play with me?”

“Duh. Why else would I bring it?”

You smirk as you lay down on your stomach, using a pillow and part of your bedroll to make the position more comfortable. “Fine, but go easy on me.”

Leo briefly covers the basics of the rules. There are four marbles in each of the round pockets. You start the game by picking a pocket on your side and continuing to drop one marble into each pocket you pass, save for your opponent's oval one to his right.

As you drop the last “marble” on your first turn, it dawns on you.

“Oh, these aren’t normal marbles,” You say.

In fact, there are pearls, quartz, obsidian, and pebbles. It all ranges from beautifully vibrant to dull and muted in color.

“Yeah.” Leo takes the stones from a pocket and begins his turn. “I found the board from a shipwreck and later learned the rules. It didn’t come with the stones.”

“So, mermaids don’t usually play this game?”

Leo drops his last stone on your side and catches your gaze. “Nope. This is my first time playing. Thought it might feel familiar to you.”

Your cheeks heat up suddenly. Whether it’s from his intense gaze, or the implication of the statement, you’re unsure.

“...You’ve really been good to me, Leo.” You smile bashfully and turn your attention back to the board as you initiate your next turn. “You’ll make a great husband one day.”

Leo scoffs. “Assuming you’re the only one getting something out of this. I get bored too.”

As if that explained everything else. But you've since learned that Leo responds this way when he feels vulnerable. You’re feeling extra nice today, so you let him puff his chest without teasing.

“Still. Thank you.”

Leo doesn’t say anything to that and the two of you continue to play in silence. You try to focus on the board, but end up sneaking one too many glances at him. If he notices, he doesn’t say anything about it.

“Do you like desserts?” You ask suddenly.

“Depends.” Leo drops a stone in an empty pit across from yours and ends up taking all of the stones across from it. “Why?”

“I want to make something you like. Duh,” You say, mimicking his colloquialism.

“Hitting on me again?” Leo teases flatly. “Did you eat a dreamfish when I wasn’t looking?”

You roll your eyes and pick up more stones. “Nope. Quit being evasive, there must be something you like.”

“I dunno.” Leo shrugs. “I don’t mind chocolate.”

“...Crepes, then? Since I’m not using an oven.” You saw a recipe for them in one of the books Leo brought up too.

“Sure. Sounds good to me.”

“Score! I’ll do that then. Before you leave, I’ll double check if I have everything for it!”

The game resumes. And you can’t help but notice that Leo is collecting stones at a rapid rate. You haven’t been paying attention to it until now, but his hands are moving awfully fast.

Hmm…

So, after finishing your next turn, you pay close attention to him as he picks up five stones from a pit and begins dropping into the adjacent ones. One, two, three, four–

“Hey! You skipped one,” You protest, pointing an accusatory finger.

The corner of Leo’s mouth twitches upward, before smoothing out in nonchalance. “Nuh uh.”

He drops the stone into an empty pocket anyway and takes all of the ones across from it.

Your jaw goes slack from the audacity. “Bullshit, I totally counted! No wonder you’re collecting them so fast!”

Leo cups his face in his hand, flashing you an irritatingly smug look. “Maybe you need to learn to count better.”

“Cheater. Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.”

“Aw, poor you,” Leo puffs out his bottom lip in a mock pout. “Sounds like you’re just a sore loser.”

“I haven’t lost yet!” You protest, even though there’s hardly anything left in the pits. It’s already written in the stars– you’re going to lose.

Leo snorts. “Yeah, yet. Honestly, I can’t believe it took you that long to notice it. Probably because you were too busy making googly eyes at me.”

You squawk indignantly and abruptly sit up on your knees. “--What?!”

Leo’s mouth breaks into a shit-eating grin. “Guess that’ll teach you not to be a pervert.”

“I was not…!”

“Yeah, ‘cause someone innocent would have such a defensive reaction,” Leo retorts sarcastically.

Caught in 4k.

Well, in your defense, it didn’t come from a place of ‘perversion’. More like observation you thought you were getting away with.

“I wasn’t being a pervert!”

“Mmmhmm,” Leo hums sardonically. Suddenly, he’s putting the lid back on the board. “Anyway, I gotta get going. It’s late.”

“Huh? How can you tell?”

“I got a good sense of time,” Leo replies vaguely. “Keep the board up here, will you? We’ll play again later. Next time give yourself a fair shot.”

Your cheeks burn as he sticks his tongue out petulantly.

“Ugh… Fine.”

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

“Blegh…”

A few weeks pass into your stay at the cave and you start to experience the early symptoms of a cold coming on. Your throat gets all scratchy and fatigue weighs you down. It even feels chillier than usual, but you know the temperature hasn’t changed. Leo told you that he keeps it regulated.

After giving up on the painting you were working on, you throw on a thick, long sleeve shirt and sweatpants, before crawling into your bedroll. A few hours of rest should make it subside. Then you can make dinner. Hopefully Leo can’t catch human illness.

Only a few seconds after your head hits the pillow, you drift off into dreamland.

……

By the time you stir again, it’s due to the scent of something slightly sweet and aromatic filling your nostrils.

Your head lolls in the direction it’s coming from, causing something damp to slip off your forehead. Slowly, you crack your eyes open. The fire underneath the hanging pot is going, heating up whatever delicious smelling ingredients that are currently residing inside. Did Leo start making something already…?

You nearly jump out of your skin when you catch a pair of legs walking in your peripheral. An intruder?

Your body hinges upright in a panic and you shimmy backwards until the rock wall behind you stops you in your tracks. A man that is identical to Leo settles cross-legged, about five feet from you. Everything about him is the same from the face, to the hair, to the jewelry… The only difference is he’s wearing a pair of thin, baggy, red harem pants. Notably, he’s also barefoot and shirtless.

“...W-Who are you?” You stutter out dumbly.

Leo shoots you an unimpressed look. “Don’t tell me you caught dementia. Who else?”

The voice and sass are still the same too. You fix your gaze on his legs. “How…?”

“What’s with the theatrics? It’s your fault, y’know.”

“Huh???” Your lips part in disbelief. “How?”

Leo shrugs. “I tried calling out to you a shit ton and you wouldn’t wake up. You’re a heavy sleeper, but I knew something was off. So, I got up here to help you out.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain the legs?!”

“If I stay out of the water too long, it happens.”

“.....”

You reluctantly push yourself off the wall and shift over to Leo. He doesn’t budge an inch as you settle in front of him. You reach out and put a hand on his knee, giving it a light squeeze. It feels like a normal leg.

“Did I say you could touch me?” Leo asks, his tone uninflected.

“S-Sorry…!” You hastily remove your hand from his knee. “I was just surprised!”

In spite of what Leo just said, he reaches out and pushes your hair out of your face. Without preamble, he’s pressing his forehead against yours.

“Hey…!” Your eyes screw shut, but you don’t pull away. His forehead feels nice and cool against yours. The proximity has your pulse raising like crazy despite the innocence of the gesture.

“Hm…” Leo breaks away after a few seconds and clicks his tongue. “Your head is still on fire.”

Your eyes flutter open. “...Didn’t you just make a comment about touching?

Leo smirks. “It’s different.”

“How?!”

“I can touch you, but you can’t touch me. That’s how this works, duh.”

“Says you! If you touch me, I can’t promise that I won’t touch you back!”

“Yeah?” Leo cocks his head to the side and his eyelids droop slightly. His stare almost becomes sultry. “Why don’t you retaliate, then?”

Your pulse expedites. His sudden shift in demeanor is making you feel a bit dizzy. Or maybe that’s just the sickness kicking in.

Leo’s eyes widen and his expression falters into one of concern. “Hey, you should really be lying down. You’re literally wobbling in place.”

“Ugh… Make me,” You joke weakly.

“.....”

It happens so fast, you’re not sure how he even achieved it. Your head is suddenly cushioned onto your pillow and Leo is staring down at you in exasperation. “I’m heating up soup. If you tire yourself out now, my efforts are gonna go to waste.”

Your brows knit together in confusion. “I thought you didn’t cook.”

“Notice how I said ‘heating up’.”

“Oh… Who made it?”

“My slave,” He answers, gold eyes glimmering with amusement.

“...Be serious.”

“Who says I’m not?”

Instead of a verbal reply, you give him a hard stare. It turns into a staring contest for all of five seconds before Leo rolls his eyes and concedes.

“Just a buddy from my city.”

“Someone you like?”

The question leaves your mouth so impulsively, you forget to be embarrassed. Leo’s initial puzzled reaction switches up into haughty derision.

“What’s it to you?”

So, it is…?

For some reason your stomach twists at the idea. You pull your comforter over half of your face. If only you could sink into the ground.

“...Curious,” You say, your voice small.

Leo snorts out a laugh. “What’s with that look? You’re the one asking me for confirmation after I gave you the answer the first time.”

That is true. Why did you ask that…?

…

Developing a crush on a mythical being seems foolhardy at best. It’s probably just because he’s the only person you’ve seen in a while. And he’s so beautiful and takes care of you. Your priority is going home. Not starring in some gooner fanfiction, romancing a hot humanoid creature.

“...Yeah, sorry that was weird of me. Must be the fever talking,” You mutter awkwardly.

“...”

Leo’s expression softens. He exhales through his nose as he prepares to stand. “Be right back.”

…..

Leo returns to your side a few minutes later with a thermos in hand. You sit up and accept it with a quiet ‘thank you’.

“It’s hot, so I’d wait a few minutes to sip on it,” Leo advises you.

You nestle the thermos between your crossed legs. The warmth is nice. “Does it taste good?”

“I dunno, haven’t tried it,” Leo replies with a shrug. “Everyone sings his praises for his cooking, so it’s probably decent.”

Oh, so his friend is a ‘he’. You’re still curious, but if you keep asking questions about him, Leo might really think you’re jealous. That would be mad embarrassing.

“Thank you for the soup.” Your fingers hover over the hot steam coming from the lip of the thermos. “You’re not gonna get sick being around me, are you?”

“Nah. But if I did, you’d have to take care of me.” Leo lays on his side, propping his head against his fist.

You scoot over to make room and pat the spot next to you on the bedroll. It’s about the size of a full size mattress, so there’s plenty of room. “You can lay here. There’s no way that’s comfortable.”

Leo stares at you with an unreadable expression. “...You’re inviting me onto your bed?”

You nod. “Yeah. I don’t mind.”

“.....”

Leo slides onto the cushion, but keeps to the edge. You catch the faint scent of salt water and crushed sea lavender.

“When will your legs go back to normal?” You ask.

“There’s no telling. Might be stuck like this forever,” Leo deadpans.

Your eyes widen like saucers. “You’re joking.”

Leo just smirks in response.

“It’s mean to mess with me when I’m sick, you know,” You pout. Cautiously, you bring the thermos to your lips and take a sip.

A thick, sweet, liquid pools onto your tongue. The flavor is reminiscent of a squash bisque. It’s seasoned tastefully with a variety of herbs and spices. Thankfully, your congestion isn’t so bad that you can’t enjoy this.

“As soon as I go back in the water, I’ll be back to normal. Just figured this would make helping you easier,” Leo replies. He nuzzles his cheek onto one of your pillows and shuts his eyes.

“...Okay, good.”

Is he going to nap? Not that you mind, but you wonder if it’s still okay to talk. You’re a lot less tired now than you were before he laid down.

You take another drink of the soup before speaking again. “I was reading one of the mermaid books you brought me, by the way.”

Leo hums in acknowledgement. “Find anything interesting?”

“Well…” You start, twirling the thermos idly. “Is it true mermaids develop an inseverable bond with their mate?”

Leo cracks an eye open and raises a brow. “That was in one of those books?”

“It was briefly touched on in the book about the trench warden. And it said mermaids only pick one mate for life.”

Leo shuts his eye again and exhales. “Eh… It’s kind of bullshit.”

“Kind of?” You press curiously.

“As far as I know, that kind of bond is possible to initiate, but there’s a process. My generation rarely follows that practice. It’s more of a tradition adopted by older commoners.”

“Why commoners?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Leo rolls on his back and pulls the blanket over him. “Nobility means being forced to fuck people you don’t want to fuck for the sake of procreation. Real talk? Most of the royal lineup probably have side pieces.”

“...But you’re technically not a commoner or nobility, right?”

“Yeah. That about sums it up.”

You unconsciously chew at your lip. “So… How does the bond work? You said there’s a process.”

“You’re asking me?” Leo sighs, but continues to explain away anyway. “I’ve only heard the story once or twice. Basically, if a condition is met, they have until the next lunar cycle begins to either reject the bond, or consummate it.”

“And if neither of those things happen beforehand…?”

Leo shrugs. “The bond stays for good anyway. As far as I know.”

“The book said it creates a connection where you’re able to sense what one another is feeling, or even share dreams. And if you’re apart for a while, it might induce ailments. Like you’re tethered together by a tide pull?”

“Allegedly,” Leo corrects. You catch him stifling a yawn. “Doesn’t mean it’s true.”

“Well, if it is, that’s awfully romantic. Don’t you think so?”

Leo stares up at the cave’s ceiling. “...I guess.”

After drinking maybe half of the soup in the thermos, you lay flat on your back next to Leo, staring up at the glowing bioluminescence. It feels sort of like star gazing.

“So… No sign of any ships?” You ask, sparing him a glance in your peripheral.

“.....” Leo’s expression remains indecipherable, as he hesitates to respond. His eyes eventually flutter to a close. “Nah. Don’t you think I’d tell you if that were the case?”

“Yeah. I know you taking care of me must be a lot of work.”

“...” Leo rolls over on his side, facing away from you. “Not really. Don’t get all pathetic about it.”

You didn’t mean it that way, but you can see how he would arrive at that conclusion. It’s not really a misunderstanding you feel is worth going over anyway.

“So, you’re going to nap with me?” You ask in a playful tone.

“Well, you’re sick. If you’d rather I leave, just say so.”

“I don’t want you to,” You say, perhaps a little too quickly.

…..

It takes you a bit to fall asleep. Mostly because you’re resisting the temptation to cuddle up to Leo’s backside. He’s invitingly warm. Fish are usually supposed to be cold, right?

If you ask him, he will probably answer indirectly and it’d be more awkward. And if you just cuddle against him… Well, the worst that will probably happen is him pushing you off. Leo’s kissed you once before too, without even asking! You haven’t forgotten that. If this gets you in the hot seat you could chalk it up to human ignorance.

Gulp…

Impulsively, you move flush against him, spooning his backside and wrapping an arm around his waist. Even the body chain wrapped around his torso feels warm against your forearm. You notice his body stiffening from the spontaneous contact. Pressing your forehead against his shoulder, you speak up.

“Is this fine? Sorry… You’re warm.”

“Asking me permission after the fact? You’ve got guts, Barnie.”

You can tell by his tone that he’s not upset, at least.

Your hold on his waist tightens a bit. Maybe you’re being too self indulgent. “You kissed me once without warning. We’re even now, as far as I’m concerned.”

Leo goes silent. For a moment, you’re worried that you crossed a line. The apprehension dissolves the second you feel his fingers wrap around yours.

“Whatever. Get some sleep,” Leo retorts belatedly.

You can’t help but notice that the back of his ears have turned red. Cute.

Sleep comes effortlessly that night.

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

After applying a hair mask and scrubbing off in the water basin, you’re tempted to take a dip in the cave water. Leo mentioned before that it’s not only clean, but comfortable in temperature. He shouldn’t be back for a little while, so the likelihood of him catching you in the nude is very low.

…

You decidedly move over to the ledge and carefully lower yourself into the water to avoid any splashing. Your sleeping space is pretty close by, after all. Once you’re submerged, you hang onto the bedrock for a few seconds in mental preparation, before pushing yourself into the open pool.

It feels nice.

With the glow of the cave walls, there’s still visibility in the water. But you’re not confident regarding the depth. For that reason, you doggy paddle around and avoid straying too far from the walls. A small part of you is tempted to explore the tunnel leading into the sea, but since Leo’s not around that’s probably a bad idea. What if you were swept away by the tide?

But then again, what if you didn’t go that far? Just enough to peer outside. The prospect of seeing sunlight again for the first time in, what…? Three weeks, or more? It’s tempting.

As you wade closer towards the tunnel, you catch sight of something swimming in front of you. The exact shape is difficult to distinguish, but it’s large. You get a glimpse of pale skin, mottled in dark spots. Your body goes rigid and you attempt to float with minimal movement.

When the aquatic creature disappears from your vision, only to reappear in the same spot a few seconds later, you feel your heart lurch in your throat. Is it a shark?

Something fleshy brushes against your skin and you let out a sharp, involuntary, yelp that reverberates against the cave walls. You jerk your foot upwards, your chest tightening with panic. What’s the best course of action? Try to swim away? You’ve read that will make it worse!

Before you can make a decision, you feel it graze your other foot. Your composure shatters, as well as your ability to stay properly afloat.

“LEO…!!!” You shriek.

You hear the familiar sound of a body breaking the water’s surface, maybe five seconds later. With your arms prematurely outstretched, your body pivots clumsily towards the source.

“Hey! Are you okay…?!”

Leo meets you half way, his arms looping around your waist. You impulsively cling onto him by his shoulders.

“S-Something touched my foot! It was huge! I think it’s a shark!” Your explanation stumbles out hastily, so much so that your words run together.

“...A shark?” Leo repeats in disbelief.

“Yes! I saw spots on its back!”

“...”

Leo’s chest quivers as laughter begins to bubble up from his chest. Your lips downturn into a frown.

“What? What’s so funny?” You bite out irritably.

His laughter dwindles. The tone he uses to address you afterwards is softer than you'd expect. “I should’ve warned you. But I didn’t really expect you to go in the water without giving me a heads up after all this time.”

“Huh?”

Leo removes a hand from your waist and brings it to his mouth, before pushing out an ear-piercing whistle. Not a second later, you hear something emerge from the water.

“Take a look for yourself,” Leo urges you.

You loosen your hold on him and turn your head towards the source of the noise. A flat, pancake-like, creature that’s at least five feet in diameter floats at the surface a short distance away. Its back is decorated with black splotches, identical to the ones you saw earlier.

“Oh… A stingray?”

“Yup. Her name’s Cookie.” While holding you close with one arm, Leo stretches out his free one. Cookie wades closer and brushes against his hand affectionately. “She was probably just getting a feel for you.”

“Hah… Oh, man. I’m an idiot,” You mutter. “She’s pretty cute.”

Leo retracts his hand and returns it to your waist. “Pet her if you want. Just don’t try to touch her tail, obviously. I told her not to flash it near you anyway.”

“...You can talk to her?” You hold your hand out this time, observing curiously as the stingray swims away and circles back to brush against your palm. Her skin feels smooth and velvety to the touch.

“Eh… It’s more accurate to say that I understand the way she communicates,” Leo explains vaguely. “She sort of keeps guard of this place for me. If something comes up, Cookie lets me know.”

“A little warning would have been nice. I hope I didn’t scare her,” You say guiltily.

“You probably did a little.” Leo shrugs. “I didn’t exactly expect you to go jumping in the water without a heads up. It’s not like you have yet.”

You give Leo a suspicious look. “And how would you know that?”

Leo raises his brows. A smirk plays at the corner of his lip, as his eyes impishly crinkle at the corners. “How else? I’ve been peeping on you every time you take a bath.”

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, right. I think I would have noticed your head poking out of the water. Why would you be interested in seeing that anyway? Unless you have some kind of interspecies kink.”

“Hm… Yeah.” Still fixed on you, Leo’s gaze sharpens imperceptibly. “You’re right, I guess I wouldn’t be.”

You struggle to mask the way the retort miffs you. Your lips press into a thin line and you cast your attention on the puppy-like stingray periodically coming up for pets.

“It’s not like I care,” You reply childishly.

Leo snorts in amusement. “Sure seems like you do, considering I didn’t ask.”

You feel your eye twitch involuntarily as you release your hold on Leo. “You’re the one looking at me like you’re expecting a reaction. Anyway, sorry for scaring you, Cookie.”

Your fingers skim across Cookie one more time, before you head off in the direction of your makeshift base.

“Where’s my apology for giving me a headache over your screeching?” Leo asks as you wade away. “Come back over here, dummy.”

“No, thanks, stupid. I want to rinse my hair. Also, you don’t get one! I wouldn’t have yelled if I thought Cookie was your pet, or even a stingray.”

“She’s not a pet,” Leo argues pointedly. “And you’re kind of being a baby, just saying.”

Your face turns scarlet at that. If he weren’t actually clocking you this wouldn’t be so embarrassing. Why should you care if Leo’s attracted to you or not? You’re the one that prompted him to say it too.

“...Whatever,” You reply lamely, as you reduce the distance between you and the rock’s ledge. At this point you’re just eager to hide your shame. Hopefully Leo stops negging you about it–

“WOAH?!”

Out of nowhere, a wave twice your size emerges from the still water, creating a barricade between you and the bedrock. Mercilessly, it folds in on itself and surges towards you with such ferocity that you’re pushed back the way you came. Just when you think you’re about to go under, Leo deftly grabs your wrists and spins you around to face him. Copying your previous position, he directs your arms around his shoulders and holds onto your midsection again.

You can’t be certain if it was a trick of the light, but his eyes seem to glow with a blue tinge for a short moment.

“Defy the tide and the tide will take its due. Haven’t you ever heard that saying?”

You stare at him, dumbstruck. The tone he uses is distinctly devoid of its usual levity. But then again, he is often pretty deadpan.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” For some reason, you find yourself pushing out a nervous laugh. “And you can control waves now too? What can’t you do?”

“A lot,” Leo replies, this time with a more playful edge. “But I’d learn without issue.”

You let out a one-syllable laugh. “I don’t know, I can’t see you getting into cooking.”

This is the part where Leo would usually throw some snide remark back at you, but instead he stares at you with an intensity that makes your throat tighten with apprehension.

“...Hey. You’re into me, aren’t you? And don’t try to bullshit me either.”

“W-What…?”

“You heard me,” Leo persists.

Considering he just got done implying that he wouldn’t be interested in you… Joke or not, the question feels unfair. You have trouble holding his gaze. His scrutiny feels far too heavy right now. “...Why do you want to know if you’re not interested? Is this some kind of humiliation ritual?”

“Why are you so stubborn about coming clean?”

You sigh tiredly. “...I think anyone with eyes would find you beautiful. You’ve helped me a lot. You’re funny and fun to be around. Developing some sort of crush on you is kind of inevitable under these circumstances.”

Leo lets out a low, amused snicker. He seems entirely too pleased with himself. “Sounds like you’re coping with it. Leave it to a human to develop sappy sentimentalities for a bonafide sea creature.”

You redirect your attention to him, your lips pressing into a hard line. “You’re making fun of me.”

Leo blatantly ignores the accusation in favor of a topic switch. “You asked me about bonds, didn't you?”

“Yeah. So?” Your tone carries a defensive edge.

The merman lowers his face towards you. Impulsively, your eyes flutter shut when you feel the bridge of his nose graze your own. Rather than landing a surprise kiss, you feel him settle his forehead against yours. An unfamiliar, warm sensation blooms from his touch. Goosebumps prick the expanse of your body, starting from your head and traveling down to the tips of your toes. A pleasant, inexplicable, yet dull hum ripples beneath the skin.

“Why don’t we do it?” He murmurs, his breath fanning teasingly over your lips.

“...Do what?” You squeak out dumbly.

“Fuck, obviously.”

Your eyes snap open at that. “What?! That’s not what you just said!”

Leo draws back slightly and a derisive laugh rips from his throat. “Oh, so you do remember?”

“You…!” Your face feels like it’s on fire. “You never told me what ‘bonding’ entails, jerk!”

Leo squints playfully. “So, you want to?”

For some reason, you find it difficult to outright reject the notion. “That seems… Impossible.”

“Not really. I could make it happen,” Leo confesses easily.

Is he serious…?

Your words catch in your throat and you struggle to formulate a response. This is the equivalent of asking to have a romantic relationship, isn’t it? No, it’s much more than that.

“All you gotta do is abandon your mundane life on the surface. Then I’ll serve you ‘til the day you die. Sounds like a fair trade, doesn’t it?”

The suggestion rolls off his tongue like your life up until recently was something inconsequential. Disposable even. Buried underneath the complacency, there’s something vulnerable about the way he looks at you. As if he’s prepared to hang on your every word.

…

“Leo…” You start carefully. “I can’t stay here forever. I have obligations of my own and people waiting for me. If this bonding thing means isolation… I don’t think that would work.”

Leo exhales through his nose, shooting you a disappointed look. “Tch… Boooring.”

“But I still really like y–”

Your sentence is stifled by Leo’s mouth sealing against yours in a bruising kiss. The gold bar embedding his tongue clacks against your teeth as his tongue invasively pushes past your lips without so much as a warning. A surge of warmth unfurls torturously in your abdomen as he brazenly explores your mouth. Unlike last time, you can’t bring yourself to push him away. However irresponsible these feelings might be, the prospect of intimacy is all too inviting.

Much to your dismay, Leo breaks away just as you begin to return the kiss. The bitterness etched into his pretty features is enough to make your stomach lurch. He removes your arms from around him and without warning, water surges forward, sweeping you a few meters away. Your hand grasps the ledge of the bedrock and you gape at him in confusion.

“I need to be somewhere. Don’t wait up for me,” Leo says curtly.

“...You’ll be back tonight, right?”

“Nah. Tomorrow.” Leo tears his gaze away and disappears beneath the water before you can get another word in.

𓆉 ⋆.˚ 𓆝⋆.˚

“Leo, you received another letter from the oracle's daughter. It seems she has taken a liking to you.”

A teenage, bipedal Leo sits across from a beautiful woman who bears an eerily close resemblance to him. She brings a porcelain cup close to her lips as she gauges his reaction to the news. Leo maintains a poker face, while pushing the greens around on his plate. He never did like eating this shit.

“You told me that last week,” Leo replies monotonously. “I’ve hardly spoken with her.”

She takes a modest sip from her cup, humming in contentment. “There’s no time like the present. Her family is highly respected within the kingdom. That’s quite lucky, wouldn’t you say?”

“If she had half a brain she would find someone that’s not surface-touched,” Leo retorts. There’s an edge in his voice that’s misdirected.

“You shouldn’t put so much importance on that,” She chides with a sigh. “Don’t misunderstand. As your mother, above all, I want you to be happy. Her social standing is not nearly as precious as her sincerity.”

“I know what you meant.” Leo drops his fork, deciding he’s spent enough time toying with the idea of finishing it off. He knows he won’t. “If it’ll make you happy, I’ll talk to her next time I see her. But I don’t think she’s my type.”

Leo’s mother covers her mouth and laughs airily. “Since when did you decide that you even have such a thing?”

Leo shrugs. “I’m not really interested in merfolk.”

Her expression flounders into a complicated one. She folds her arms over her chest, fingers idly grasping at the chiffon sleeves of her dress. “You know my being here is a special circumstance. Your father requires you to be here.”

Leo rolls his eyes and abruptly stands from the table. He picks up his unfinished plate in preparation to leave. “I didn’t say I was gonna do anything. If it doesn’t work out with Maris, at least I gave you a reason. I don’t need to court or bond with anyone.”

She appears mildly less perturbed by the revelation. A small smile curls at her lips. “...The sea is brighter with you in it, Leo. By moon and tide, travel safely.”

𓆉 ⋆.˚ 𓆝⋆.˚

You wake up the next morning with a headache that lingers and throbs towards the front of your skull. The most obvious explanation for it would be neglecting to hydrate yourself the night before. You were so caught up on Leo’s behavior that sleep hadn’t come easily. And you can’t recall definitively, but you’re pretty sure you dreamt of him too.

…Why did he kiss you after that?

It seemed less like an affectionate gesture and more akin to a petty act of defiance. The fact that he doesn’t seem to want you to leave should concern you. A part of you wonders if there have been ships that steered out your way and Leo just didn’t tell you about it.

But would he really do that?

…Other than him providing for you, it isn’t as if Leo’s given you a reason to think that’s not out of the realm of possibility. You trust that he doesn’t want to harm you, but does he truly have your best interest in mind?

You know that doubting him won’t do you any good. You need Leo to survive. Moreover, you want to maintain a good relationship with Leo because you’ve come to care for him. As of right now, he’s all you got.

…

The day drags by. You make an attempt to finish reading that book about the trench warden, but your mind continues to wander in the process. After rereading the same paragraph for what felt like the tenth time, you give up and set it aside.

Maybe you could get started making food. Leo said he would be here.

He brought you up a basket of uncut vegetables the other day. Radishes, purple potatoes, carrots, onions, and even garlic. Apparently, they’re from a conservatory in one of those air pockets he mentioned before. You still can’t fathom how it works. If only you were able to go see it with him.

Finding the most level part of the bedrock, you set up a sturdy, white cutting board on top of a crate. The board itself felt unlike any you’ve used before. Smooth, yet if you run your fingers over it thoroughly, you notice micro ridges speckling the surface. And the knife he brought you is sharper than any you’ve handled back home. Made from obsidian, it appears black and reflective enough that you can see your face through the blade.

Nearly everything he’s brought you has been a glimpse into his world. As endearing as it is, it also serves as a reminder that you’re far from home.

Conversing with him, it’s easy to forget that he’s not human. Yet he can purify water for you to clean these vegetables with. Control the tides, adjust the sea’s temperature, dry you with a small gust of air, and communicate with sealife. It’s almost as if he’s closer to some kind of oceanic God than a mermaid.

If you left today, would you be happy…?

The cognitive dissonance you feel is disconcerting. So, you bury the thought and begin cleaning and chopping your vegetables.

…

“What is this?” Leo brings his face close to the bowl in his hand and gives it an experimental sniff.

You can’t help but notice he chose to stay partially submerged in the water. As of late, he would at least sit on the edge of the rocks. He’s keeping his distance, isn’t he? Maybe he secretly hates you now.

“Just a vegetable soup.” You blow on your own bowl in an attempt to cool it down, before taking a tentative sip from the lip. It could use more salt, but otherwise isn’t bad. “You’re kind of picky about vegetables, right? I figured you brought the ones you liked.”

Leo sets the bowl down on the rocks. Far enough that you speculate that he doesn’t plan on reaching for it again. “Nah, it was random.”

You can’t help but pout a bit. “You don’t want it?”

“I’ll try it later,” Leo insists. The assurance doesn’t sound that convincing.

Usually it wouldn’t bother you, but considering you’re still under the impression that he’s mad at you, his pickiness hits differently. You swallow the mild hurt with another gulp of your soup. It tastes worse the second time.

At least your headache seems to have cleared up.

“How was work?” You ask softly.

Leo shrugs as he rests his chin against his forearms. “No different than usual.”

“.....”

A brief silence follows. You’re not sure if it’s awkward or not, but your insecurity tells you it is. You stare into your concoction that contains various things Leo gave you.

…

“...If you could pick one thing to take out of the soup, what would it be?” You ask suddenly.

Leo quirks a brow at you. The answer comes effortlessly anyway. “The wakame.”

“Really? Why?”

He makes a face that elicits a quiet laugh from you. “It’s briny. Kind of slimy. Just gross in general. I’ll still eat it, so don’t sweat it.”

A wave of déjà vu suddenly hits you. Didn’t you see something similar in your dream this morning…? Another question lurks at the tip of your tongue.

“...Leo. Can you tell me about your Mom? You mentioned your Dad being important in your kingdom, but not much about your Mom.”

The merman blinks at you. It’s clear the question took him off guard. “Where did that come from?”

“I just… I don’t know. I had a dream last night and I think I may have seen her in it. Well, obviously I don’t know what she looks like! My brain at least made up an appearance for her.”

You expect Leo to make fun of you, but he just watches you with a curious expression. “What happened in it?”

“Nothing much that I can recall. But you didn’t eat the wakame on your plate. Oh, and you and your mom both had legs?”

Leo smiles, just barely. “Dreams during a new moon reveal hidden truths. All of that sounds about right.”

If not for the bittersweet touch in his expression, you’d probably assume he’s making some kind of a joke. “So, all mermaids sprout legs like that?”

“...Pffft. Of course not.”

“So, then…?”

“My mother was a human, Barnie.”

The bowl in your hands nearly clatters to the ground in your stupor. “WHAT?!”

Leo scowls and covers his ears with his palms. “Could you be any louder? These walls echo, y’know.”

Your voice drops in volume, but only marginally. “You’re half-human?! That explains, like, a lot? And wait, what do you mean ‘was’? You don’t look much older than twenty. How did she…?”

Leo snorts. “Twenty? Yeah, you’re a bit off base. She was getting up there in age, but I’m older than you think.”

“...It wasn’t old age? Sorry, if I’m coming across as rude, or touching a sore spot. You can totally ignore me!”

Leo exhales tiredly. “Don’t get all weird on me about it. That was years ago. Her death was sudden and the coroner ruled it as a heart attack. Living in an air pocket for decades probably ate away a few years on its own.”

“She lived in your kingdom?” Your jaw goes slack in awe. “I didn’t think that something like that would be permitted…”

“Generally, it wouldn’t be. An order from a Triton is law, though. My father wanted to keep her close by.”

“He must have loved her then, right?”

Leo stalls to answer, his gaze breaking off to nowhere in particular. “...She wanted to be around to raise me. There’s no way she could take me to the surface to stay.”

The evasion of the question doesn’t go unnoticed. Daringly, you try a new angle. “Do you dislike your father?”

“I don’t think about him,” Leo replies vaguely. “He has his own thing going.”

“I see…”

You drink more of your soup while Leo pets Cookie. She intermittently resurfaces to the top of the water like some underwater pancake boomerang. It isn’t long before you come up with new things to ask him.

“Are you like… Hundreds of years old then?”

Leo chuffs in amusement. “Nah. Way less than that. I stopped keeping track a while ago, though.”

“When’s your birthday?”

“May.”

“The day?” You press hopefully.

Leo’s eyes stay trained on Cookie as he skims his fingers over her back. “...The twenty-third. Yours?”

You tell him your birthday. He hums in acknowledgement.

“Have you been to the surface as a human?”

“Yeah. Many times.”

“Really?” A grin splits your face. “Where did you go? What did you do?”

“My mother used to go with me to the persimmon festival in the fall. It’s the only time of year my father allowed it.” Leo pauses with a ruminative look on his face. His lips upturn slightly, as if he’s recalling a fond memory. “Yeah. They always taste better that time of year.”

So, Leo likes persimmons. You’ll remember that.

“When’s the last time you went?”

“Not since I was a kid.” Leo retracts his hand from Cookie and leans against the rocks again.

Your fingers tighten their grip around the bowl in your hands. “...Maybe we could go together someday?”

“Nah.” Just like that, the idea is immediately shut down.

“Why not?” The hurt in your voice isn’t masked well.

Leo’s gaze flicks in your direction, before receding a few seconds later. Notably, his tone softens a smidge. “...I don’t even know where it is anymore. It would be a pain in the ass to get there without my father’s assistance. And I don’t plan on asking him.”

A dull ache begins to swell in your chest.

“...If I make it back home, will I ever see you again?”

“Probably not,” Leo deadpans mercilessly. “Also, what’s with the ‘if’?”

“I don’t know. Anything could or couldn’t happen.” You set the remainder of your soup down. Suddenly, you don’t have much of an appetite.

“That’s a switch up.” Leo clicks his tongue in quiet disbelief. “...And actually, that reminds me. About a week from now, a fishing boat will come by. It’ll be a bit of a swim, but it’s nothing compared to finding a shore.”

“How do you know that?”

“The same group of humans do every month. It’s part of my job to keep track of that stuff. So, stop sweating it. You’ll be back to your old life in no time.”

Leo seems confident in his assertion. Yet, it does nothing to alleviate the discomfort you feel right now.

“...You’re upset with me,” You say.

Leo’s brow furrows marginally. “Huh?”

“Usually you sit closer. And you showed up later than usual, didn’t you?” Not that you can definitively say for sure, but the way he doesn’t flinch at the accusation is telling. Instead, a sardonic laugh spills from his throat.

“What? Do you suggest I cuddle you after being brutally rejected? And since when do I have a curfew?”

Leo has a point. You have no business having those sort of expectations for him. But then again, you wouldn’t bring it up if his behaviors remained consistent. And isn’t ‘brutally rejected’ sort of a stretch?

You stare at your lap wistfully. “...I don’t mean to suggest how you should or shouldn’t behave. I care about you, so I don’t want us to be on bad terms.”

“You’re the only one making that assumption here. Do you think I’m so pathetic that I can’t accept no for an answer?”

“That’s not–”

“Forget I brought it up, seriously,” Leo interjects. “I can’t leave you here by yourself all the time, so the least you can do is not make it awkward.”

It makes sense that he doesn’t want to dwell on it. You both know there isn’t a perfect solution here.

“Fine. I get it,” You concede.

Leo quietly turns his attention to the bowl he left abandoned wayside. Following through on his earlier promise, he picks it up and takes a few quick gulps from the lip.

“...How is it?”

Leo sets it back down and wipes the edge of his mouth, sporting a theatrically pained look. “All I taste is the seaweed. Gross. No offense.”

A blithe laugh escapes you. “I don’t blame you. At least you tried it.”

The two of you bounce back to normal after the minor hiccup and chat about the mundane. Leo doesn’t stay for much longer that night.

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

A week passes without anything out of the ordinary happening. That is, until Leo doesn’t show as expected that evening.

Despite not having a clock for confirmation, you could tell that something was off. Concern plagues your mind when you hear the distinct sound of thunderclaps from just outside the cave. Even more so when the usually still water on the inside is affected as well.

Miraculously, the tunnel leading out into the sea seems to be separated from your immediate vicinity by some kind of magical barrier. As the storm rages, you watch waves crash against the thin veil protecting your cave from harm. You can only pray that Leo is safe.

The headache returns, this time with agonizing persistence. Not only that, but your body begins to exhibit signs of a fever. You shed your regular clothes and replace them with a thin night gown that Leo brought up for you. You’ll have to wash them in the morning. Hopefully, by then you’d be back to normal and would be able to see Leo again.

You set up your bedroll even closer to the ledge of the bedrock and bury yourself underneath the covers. The faint smell of crushed sea lavender wafts into your nose. You’re not sure if it’s from the pillow or leftover soap remnants on your skin. Either way, it reminds you of Leo. Particularly the time you slept together here. You had felt more well-rested that night than any of the others in this cave. Probably more so than you have in years. You wish he was lying with you right now.

Almost as soon as the thought springs into your head, you notice your mottled pancake friend wading towards the water’s surface closeby. You’re pretty sure she even makes eye contact with you. A tired smile curls at your lips in acknowledgement.

Cookie must be checking on you. Unfortunately, your body feels far too fatigued to reach over and pet her. You might actually fall in. If only you knew how to communicate with her like Leo.

Your eyelids sag with every passing second. It isn’t long before exhaustion drags you into a deep slumber.

……

“...Barnie. Hey, talk to me.”

You feel a cool palm touch the side of your face. Unconsciously, you find yourself leaning into it. A pleasant buzzing sensation thrums from the point of contact. When he draws his hand away you expel a pitiful groan.

“At least you’re moving now. You had me worried for a second there.”

Slowly, your eyes crack open to Leo’s blurry form. It takes a few seconds before your eyes are in complete focus. You realize Leo is sitting cross-legged beside you, dressed in those red harem pants again. Initially, you’re confused. But then the memories of the storm come flooding back.

“...Leo. You’re safe. I was worried,” You say softly.

He offers an obscure, but gentle smile. “Yeah. That storm got pretty nasty, huh? I got caught up tying some loose ends, so I couldn’t make it back in time.”

“How late is it…?”

Leo hums with a ruminative look. He hands you the gold water flask that you make a point to keep close by. “Mmm… Maybe, like, five? Six in the morning?”

You accept it with a quiet ‘thanks’ and sit upright to take a drink. The water feels so refreshing going down your throat that you end up draining all of its contents. You sigh in contentment and set the flask off to the side. “So, not much time has passed? That’s strange. I don’t feel feverish anymore.”

“Guess I cured you, huh?” Leo sticks his tongue out at you playfully.

You suspect that may actually be close to the truth. After all, your headache disappeared when he showed up before this too.

“...”

As happy as you are to see him unharmed, his presence so soon after the storm ceased is a cause for concern. One that you’re no longer able to overlook.

You settle your head back onto your pillow. “Hey, Leo?”

Leo tilts his head curiously, as he leans back on his palms. “Yeah?”

“Hypothetically, if humans were to travel here in search of your city, what’s the easiest way to deal with them?”

He stares at you for a prolonged moment, before delivering an answer. “If it’s a decent sized vessel? Probably a tornadic waterspout.”

Your fingers clench around the fabric covering your chest, as you stare up at the luminous ceiling. “That kind of phenomenon is usually accompanied by thunderstorms, isn’t it?”

Leo’s impenetrable gaze lingers on you. “...Yeah, I guess so. Wow, you’re familiar with how meteorology works? Congrats.”

There’s the phantom headaches, the foreign sensations from Leo’s touch, and the clairvoyant dreams… You’ve suspected it, but now you’re almost certain. Somewhere along the line, Leo initiated a contingent bond. You hadn’t taken it seriously at the time, but maybe it really did start with revealing his name. Leo mentioned that the bond solidifies after the next lunar cycle. That began last week.

And the fishing boat that was meant to take you back to shore? Something in your gut tells you that it sank today, by his own volition.

Leo never intended for you to leave. You’re not sure if you’re more disturbed by the conjecture, or the fact that it doesn't affect you nearly as much as it should. That tale about the trench warden mentioned something else about bonds that you’ve been dwelling on.

Leo cannot lie to you.

Your eyes flutter to a close. “Did I die the day I was thrown overboard?”

Leo laughs at that, in genuine amusement. “Did you hit your head while I was gone? You’re alive and breathing. All thanks to me, by the way.”

You’ve felt as if you owe him since the first day you met him. Is isolation really the price for receiving help from a mermaid demigod?

“...Is that fishing boat coming anytime soon?”

“...”

Your eyes flick over to Leo, who’s now avoiding your gaze with visible impatience.

“With these storms? Is that even a question?” He bites out.

The question wasn’t direct enough. But you’re not sure if you’re ready to hear the answer directly from his mouth anyway. If you knew without a shadow of a doubt, would that make you responsible in some way? Maybe you’re making assumptions too hastily.

“Leo. My body aches,” You lie. It hasn’t since you awoke. But that incessant desire to come in contact with him all over again is tenacious.

The change in subject seems to abate Leo, because his sharp eyes are honed in on you again. “And?”

You roll over on your back and hug your pillow. “...Can you rub my shoulders? Please? I’ll love you forever.”

“Huh? Since when am I a massage therapist…? And don’t go making promises you can’t keep.”

Regardless of his complaints, you hear him settle next to you, before feeling his fingers experimentally press against the trapezius muscle on your right side. A soft sigh passes your lips that encourages him to continue. His hand curls around your shoulder in a c-shape and you feel his thumb press in and roll upward. You melt into the pillow, biting your tongue to stifle the embarrassing noises that threaten to spill over as he works at the muscle.

“Your muscles feel knotted. Might need to find you more layers for the bedroll.”

“Can you do both of them? My shoulders,” You clarify.

“Uh… That angle is awkward.”

“You can sit over my back,” You suggest flippantly.

“What?” The unease in his voice is palpable. “You seriously want me to straddle you?”

“Just do it.”

“......”

Several beats pass and you feel him settle over your lower back without applying much weight. Both of his hands begin working on your shoulders and coaxing the tension out. Wherever they press, a soothing current seems to follow in their wake. You feel the sensation of his fingers clumsily snagging on your nightgown’s straps. Not a second later they’re being pushed off your shoulders, before he continues his ministrations.

“How long am I supposed to do this for? My hands are getting tired,” Leo complains. You find it hard to believe considering the rhythm and intensity of his touch remains consistent.

You’re mildly surprised he even followed through with it. He had been avoiding coming close, let alone touching you for the last week. That aside, he doesn’t seem like the type to go around massaging people. All you know is that you don’t want him to stop.

“You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to.”

Leo doesn’t entertain the idea with a response. Instead, his thumbs continue to knead, until your shoulders loosen up. Once that happens, he’s quick to remove his hands and prepare to maneuver off of you.

“You should be set, Barnie–”

“Wait,” You blurt out.

You can practically hear him rolling his eyes. “...Yeah? I’m waiting.”

“My lower back hurts too.”

“...Are you for real? You’re wearing a loose dress. How the hell am I supposed to do that properly?”

“I can take it off.”

The conversation sinks like a stone. And the silence that follows starts to make you second guess the temerity of your word choice. It isn’t until Leo sighs, for what seems like umpteenth time, that you let go of the breath that you didn’t even realize you were holding. He moves off of you and sits on the bedroll, before tearing his gaze away.

“If you’re serious, then do it.”

…

You end up peeling off the dress and using your blanket to cover up the lower half of your body. Leo straddles your thighs once you’re face down again. His knuckles push against your lower back muscles, moving vertically in an up and down motion. Quiet hums rumble from your throat as your body buzzes with pleasure.

Every time his hands get close enough to brush against the band of your underwear, you feel your core tremble. You should feel embarrassed for getting excited by this, but the last thing you want him to do is stop. Eventually, his hands move to hug the curves of your hips, while his thumbs rub slow circles in an upward motion. Much to your chagrin, something that sounds like a moan escapes you when his fingers brush over a particularly tender spot.

Comically, Leo’s movements cease entirely.

“...Wow. You like it that much, pervert?”

You feel your face warm up, your thighs tensing underneath him. “So what if I do? It feels good.”

Leo’s thumbs experimentally skim over the same spot, eliciting a similar noise from you again. “Your head's not in the gutter, is it, Barnie? Should I feel objectified?”

The derisive taunting is enough to have your abdomen coiling with pressure. “...It might be.”

“Aaw,” Leo coos, as he lowers his body towards you. His lips brush against the side of your neck, before he’s placing a chaste kiss onto your skin. “Have you gone and changed your mind?”

More like, you know that your fate is sealed. But you can’t bring yourself to kill the mood.

“...There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

Leo clicks his tongue irritably. “‘Right now’, huh…? I’ll let that slide for now.”

Your breath catches in your throat when Leo’s hand skirts down from your lower back and slips in between your thighs. His fingers press against the damp fabric of your underwear and you unconsciously arch your back in response.

“Ah…!”

“I knew it. You’re so wet. What exactly were you thinking about?” Leo’s digits push past the fabric of your crotch and swipe over your folds. A self-assured smirk curls at his lip when you let out a strangled cry. “You weren’t thinking about us getting it on, were you? That’s pretty degenerate, Barnie.”

“S-shut up! Like you aren’t the one saying it.”

“So, you want me to stop?” Leo places another kiss, this time between your shoulder blades. You feel a phantom thrumming sensation when his lips break away from the spot, almost akin to a heartbeat.

You wonder how different this is for him with you– a human. He doesn’t seem shy about it either way. “...No, I don’t.”

The tip of Leo’s nose brushes a little bit lower on your backside, his breath fanning over the skin. He cements his arm on the bedroll beside you, his position shifting to where he’s hovering over you, granting your hips more mobility. “What do you want me to do?”

“K-keep touching me where you were.”

Leo’s fingers loop around the band of your underwear, before he’s tugging them off completely. You hike your hips up marginally and suffocate a whine into your pillow, as his fingers return to your sex to run along your folds again.

“I’ve never touched a human like this. If I don’t hear you, how am I supposed to know what to do?”

In spite of the comment, his fingers deliberately push against your clit, drawing yet another obscene noise from you. This time, it echoes against the walls of the chamber. You feel the tip of one of his digits sink into your heat and shallowly stroke at your walls. Leo’s breath hitches as you clench eagerly around him.

“Leo…” You steady your weight on your elbows and rock your hips, attempting to take more of his finger in. He’s hardly done anything and yet you’re trembling at his touch. “Mm…! Y-you can keep moving.”

Leo pays no mind to your request. Instead his other hand slips beneath your chest and pinches your nipple forcefully. Your core twitches involuntarily and you find yourself slamming your hips into his hand, effectively taking all of his finger in. He nips at the back of your neck, a fiendish giggle escaping his mouth.

“Aw, aren’t you all cute and desperate?” Leo languidly thrusts his finger inside of you a few times. You whimper pitifully when he pulls it out altogether and rolls your nipple between his fingers. “I don’t feel like doing that anymore. Give me something different.”

He’s just toying with you. But you’re so determined for this to continue, that you’re not even sure you care all that much.

You abruptly sit up on your knees, causing Leo to roll on his side. You’re pleasantly surprised to find that his cheeks are dusted with a rosy pink, yet he still regards you with a confident smirk. Bringing a hand to cup his pretty face, your thumb runs along his supple lower lip.

“...Fine. Why don’t you use your mouth?”

Leo’s eyes go half-lidded as he assesses you with a smoky gaze. Satisfaction crosses your features as he appears to burn brighter. “Where? I don’t get it.”

Brat.

“If you don’t want to, why don’t I do it to you?” You move your hand to his chest, your fingertips teasingly brushing downward on the golden chain links that adorn his body. His hand catches your wrist before it can travel past his navel.

In the blink of an eye, you’re being lifted by your waist. Leo lays flat on his back and drops you to where your heat is hovering over his face. You buckle forward, your hands sinking into the pillow as his tongue darts out to lick a stripe along your slit. Leo’s hands smooth along your thighs, before roaming to your butt and giving it an appreciative squeeze.

“You’re so soft,” He murmurs in awe. “I bet you bruise just as easily here as you do on your neck.”

Leo steadies you in place as he continues to lave his tongue over your arousal. The gold bar embedding the appendage intermittently grazes your bundle of nerves with deliberate transience. In spite of the lazy way he’s eating you out, you feel pressure rapidly build in your abdomen. The deprivation of direct and predictable stimulation has you nearly choking out a sob as you quiver above him.

When he moves his mouth away just as you’re about to climax, you feel nothing less than betrayed.

“W-Why’d you stop…?”

Leo’s hands grip your hips again, and before you can even register what's happening, you’re being moved to his lap. The wind is nearly knocked out of you when he sits upright and crashes his lips against yours with bruising force. Your fingers tangle with the chains in an attempt to ground yourself as he kisses you like he intends to steal your very last breath.

Once you manage to separate your mouths, you wedge your fingers against his chin, taking a moment to steady your ragged breathing. “H-hey…! Wait a sec.”

A lackadaisical hum rumbles from his throat. He grabs your wrist and brings your fingertips close to his mouth, before planting a kiss against them. The gesture is so unexpectedly gentle that you feel your heart skip a beat. His gilt eyes lock with yours, imbued with a fervor that feels new.

“You should know that the ocean knows your name now. There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t find you.”

There’s a sense of foreboding intertwined with the comment. One that feels out of place to be spoken by a youthful faced, small-framed, man that more often has a tendency to speak in juvenile colloquialisms than anything. You might try to laugh it off if it weren’t for the timing.

“I won’t try to leave you,” You say instead.

Leo sputters out a laugh. “Pffft. Yeah, it’d be kind of pointless. It’s a good thing you’re having fun with me, huh?”

He keeps one arm looped around your waist, as his free hand moves to one of your breasts. Leo’s hips rut against yours as he begins rolling your nipple between his thumb and index finger again. Your mind goes blank when you feel his hardened cock grind against your arousal, with only thin pants acting as a barrier between the two of you.

You suspect it may be the effects of the bond. The way every kiss, touch, and caress is mind-numbingly intoxicating. As far as you’re concerned, you need Leo like lungs need oxygen.

“Leo… Hah! D-do you think…? Can we…”

“Can we, what?” Leo presses an open mouthed kiss to your throat as he kneads your breast. “You want me to fuck you, right?”

You raise your hips and reach for the waistband of his pants, pulling at it with an impatient tug. “Please.”

“Hmm…” Leo slows his movements and lands a quick peck on your cheek. “Kay. But on one condition.”

You peer at his face with a probing look. “Wha–What is it?”

Leo doesn’t pitch the idea first. Instead, he quickly shucks off his pants, with you hovering over his lap. You barely catch a glimpse of him, before he sets you to the side and slinks off into the water. Confusion riddles your expression as he comes back up around twenty seconds later and props himself up on rock’s ledge.

“It’ll be our first time, so it’s gotta be done like this,” Leo announces matter-of-factly. “Consider it, like, tradition or something.”

“Oh… Is that possible?” You hadn’t really put too much thought into how mermaid anatomy works. But you’d be lying if you said it didn’t cross your mind once or twice.

“Wouldn’t suggest it if it wasn’t. How do you think I was made?” Leo sticks his tongue out at you petulantly. “Get in here, or I might change my mind.”

Decidedly, you shimmy over to the ledge and lower yourself into the water. Leo’s quick to sidle himself beside you and take you in his arms. You brace yourself against his shoulders as he blindsides you with another barrage of kisses. Leo grabs your thighs and aligns you until you feel something slick graze your entrance.

You let out a shaky breath as the tip of his cock penetrates you. It initially feels thin, until you’re sinking down to the hilt. He stretches your walls out, almost to the point of pain. A chaste, placating kiss lands on your temple.

“Relax. It’ll feel good,” Leo murmurs softly.

White floods your vision when you feel his cock twitch inside of you and press up against your sweet spot. A breathy moan rips from your throat and you wind your arms tightly around his neck for support. Guiding you by your hips, he begins to rock into you at a slow tempo.

“Leo…” You bury your face against his neck and messily pepper teeth-grazing kisses as he fucks into you. The pressure from before stacks at a much faster rate. Spurred by Leo’s shattered moans, you hook your legs around his torso and attempt to bounce against his thrusts.

“F-Fuck… You feel so good,” Leo rasps. If you’re not mistaken you hear your actual name fall from his lips.

Your abdomen sets fire as his pace hastens and the tip of his cock bullies your cervix. The thrusts become more shallow, as if he’s intent on burying himself in you as much humanly possible. Your walls spasm and contract around him as you approach your climax.

“Leo, I’m going to…!”

Unexpectedly, Leo drops his hands from your thighs. He pivots to face the rock’s ledge and holds onto it, hoisting the both of you out of the water. You hardly register the pain of your back making contact with the gravely surface as you come undone with a blinding thrust. Seconds later, Leo’s hips stutter against you, filling you to the brim with his seed.

He hovers over you, supporting his weight on his arms while his tail remains partially submersed. Your chest heaves tiredly and your unfocused gaze lingers on Leo. He continues to languidly pump inside of you, while nipping at your exposed breasts.

“You think it’ll take?” Leo asks suddenly. He doesn’t even bother looking at you as he asks the question, like it doesn’t concern him in either direction. His mouth encloses on one of your nipples, dragging a whimper out of you.

The high you’re feeling seems to be inhibiting the alarm bells that should be going off right now. He sucks on your breast, before releasing it with a wet pop.

“Never really wanted kids or anything. I’d try it out with you, though.”

The weight of the comment slowly begins to sink in. You sit up on your elbows, your eyes snapping open wide with shock. “What?! W-Wait, we can’t! I’m staying in a literal cave, are you out of your mind?!”

Leo raises an eyebrow at you. “What? You want a spot in my city? I could make that happen.”

“That’s like a small fraction of the problem here! It’s way too soon to be talking about kids!” You protest in exasperation.

Leo heaves out a sigh, his expression twisting in annoyance. It looks like he has more to say, but ultimately refrains. “...Fine. I’ll drop it for now. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Ren

Ren keeps fidgeting with the gift, turning it in his hands over and over again. As usual, it’s not a busy day at the diner so all he can do is wait for you to come in. 

He already prepared everything beforehand: What he’ll say. How you’ll react. How he’ll react to your reaction. 

He starts practicing. 

“Here, senpai.” He awkwardly holds it out. “It’s nothing special so don’t take it seriously or anything–”

Ping. 

The diner door swings open and Ren nearly jumps out of his body. He hides the gift behind his back so quickly, he almost drops it.  

“Hey, Ren!” 

You walk in with your usual smile. No, it’s even brighter than usual. 

“H-Hey, senpai,” he mumbles. 

You take a seat on the chair next to him. 

“What’s up? Why’d you call me here?” 

“Uhh.” His grip tightens around the keychain. “Well…” 

His rehearsed speech disappears from his mind in an instant. 

“There was this sale going on for the game we’ve been playing.” 

He avoids your eyes. 

“And it was like…a buy one get one free deal, so…” He forces the words out. “So I got this too.” 

Slowly, he opens his hand, revealing a small keychain in his palm. 

Your eyes light up immediately. 

It’s the exact character you mentioned liking a few weeks ago. 

“Do you want it?”

You rise quickly from your seat to get a closer look. 

“Want it? Ren, this is literally the one I was talking about!” 

You take it carefully from him like it’s the most precious thing. You keep staring at it. Turning it in your hand, appreciating every little detail.

Somehow your smile keeps growing and Ren can literally feel his heartbeat speeding up at your reaction. 

“Anyways, I just grabbed whatever–”

Your arms suddenly wrap around him.

His entire brain short-circuits. 

“Thank you so much!” 

His hands flail up into the air. 

“S-Senpai?! W-What are you doing?!” 

You look up at him without letting go. That’s worse. 

“Ugh. C-Can you not look at me like that?” he stammers. “I said it’s not a big deal!” 

“It is to me!” 

You finally pull away, still smiling, failing to see that Ren is about to combust. 

“Seriously. Thank you. I’m gonna cherish it forever.” 

“So dramatic,” he huffs. “…you’re welcome.” 

It wasn’t the reaction he practiced for. 

But somehow… It felt way better. 

“Oh yeah!” you suddenly shout, making him flinch. “The school gave me a few days off. No missions. No classes." 

“And?” 

“...Wanna spend the whole day together? Watching movies, playing games, anything you want!” 

For the first time, he smiles. 

“Yeah,” he mutters. “Let's do it.”  ____

Later that night…

Ren walks back to Jabberwock. 

Haru notices it immediately. 

“Oh? Ren, did something happen today?” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” 

“I dunno.” Haru grins. “You just look really happy.” 

Ren slowly touches his own face. Coming to the terrible realization that he was smiling this whole time. 

His face turns violently red. 

“M-Mind your own business, you clown!” 

He storms off into his room before Haru can say anything more. 

SLAM. 

Ren shuts the door behind him and leans against it heavily. 

In reality, his heart hasn’t calmed down since you smiled. 

The feeling of your hands on his back still lingers. 

Warm. Tight. 

“Dammit, there’s no way,” he groans into his hand. “Do I…really like her?” 

Leo

Leo lazily scrolls through his phone while you sit beside him. 

You’re barely paying attention until something catches your eye. A glittering tear-drop necklace spins across the screen. 

You gasp quietly. 

Leo glances sideways at you. 

“What?” 

“It’s just…” You lean closer. “So pretty.” 

“Hah.” He smirks immediately. “Good thing you’ll never get it. It looks way too expensive for an NPC like you.” 

You shove his shoulder. 

“You’re the worst.” 

“And yet you continue to loiter around me. What does that say about you?” 

You roll your eyes and leave it at that. 

It’s just Leo being Leo. 

But later that night…

The necklace mysteriously appears in his online cart, ready for check-out.  ____

A few days later...

“Hey. Honor roll.” 

You look up from your phone. 

“Close your eyes." 

You immediately repel back, narrowing your gaze. 

“Hey, that’s rude. Don’t act like I’m gonna do something crazy to you.” 

“I mean, you are Leo.” 

“Just shut up and close your eyes.” 

You sigh dramatically before obeying. 

You hear him shift, moving behind you. 

Something cold brushes your collarbone, causing you to flinch. 

“Hold still,” Leo mutters. 

Suddenly, his fingers lightly brush the nape of your neck. 

You hear a click. 

“...Okay. Open.” 

The necklace from a few days back rests on your chest. 

For a second, you genuinely can’t speak. 

He leans back against the couch casually.

“Like it, honor roll?” 

“Leo…It’s beautiful.” You carefully touch the necklace. “You actually remembered?” 

He shrugs. 

“Hard to forget when you made that stupid face.” 

Despite the smugness in his voice, he hasn't looked directly at you once. 

“Considering how much it cost, you owe me your loyalty. For the rest of your life.” 

You laugh softly. 

“Leo. Seriously…thank you.” 

“We're taking pictures later. People online will eat this up–”

Before he can finish, you pull him into a hug.  

Leo freezes. 

He knew you’d be grateful. And that you’d look at him with those shiny eyes. 

But he didn’t expect this. 

Not your arms around him.  Not your voice all soft near his shoulder. 

“Thank you, Leo. Really.” 

His brain goes strangely blank. He resorts back to what he does best. Insult. 

“...Your reaction is seriously grossing me out,” he mutters. 

But he doesn’t push you away. He doesn’t even try. 

In fact, his hand awkwardly settles against your back. 

“Leo.” 

“What?”

You pull back, still smiling. 

“I got permission from Darkwick to rest for a few days.” 

“Huh?” 

“So… wanna go out with me?” Leo blinks. 

“I want to spend my free day with you.” 

His chest does something deeply irritating.  

“I’ll even take you to that spicy eclair place you keep talking about.” 

Leo stares at you for a long moment.

He wants to say no. Maybe make you beg him a few more times. 

But his mouth opens without permission. 

“Fine,” he sighs before managing a smirk. “If you’re asking me out, it better be the best date you’ve ever planned in your life.” 

___

After you leave his room, Leo heads straight to the bathroom. 

He turns on the sink immediately. 

He splashes cold water against his face. 

Then again. Then again. 

He grips the edge of the counter and slowly looks up at the mirror. 

His face is still warm. How annoying. 

“Tch.” He clicks his tongue. “So stupid.”

A hug. A short one at that.

“It was just a hug,” he mutters. 

Then why the hell is his heart beating this fast? 

Leo presses a hand against his chest, trying to physically force it to calm down.  

“...You’ve gotta be kidding me.” 

Romeo

You enter Romeo’s den, with a stack of papers in your arms. 

You find him seated in his usual burgundy armchair. Graceful as always.

“Romeo, I brought the sheets. Where do you want them?” 

“At my desk.” 

He doesn’t even look up from the papers in his hands.

“Okay.” You place them down carefully before turning to him. “Anything else?” 

He crosses one leg over the other. “Open the second drawer from the bottom.” 

You crouch slightly and pull the drawer open. 

You almost gasp. 

Inside sits an elegantly sculpted perfume bottle wrapped with a dark red ribbon. 

And it's not just any perfume. It's His. 

The fragrance Romeo occasionally wears– the one you always notice immediately. 

The one you once absent mindedly told him smelled really nice. 

Slowly, you lift the bottle from the drawer.

“...Romeo.” 

“It’s for you.” 

You stare at him in disbelief. 

“I thought this was a limited edition. They stopped selling it years ago.” 

“They did,” he says casually. “I simply used my connections to get another one.” 

Your eyes widen further. 

“And,” he adds, “I had them alter the formula slightly. More citrus” 

Only now does he finally look at you. A faint smirk touches his lips. “You seem to prefer those notes. 

You genuinely can’t speak. He remembered that? 

Something you mentioned once months ago?

Romeo watches your stunned expression with obvious amusement. 

“What is that look for? Impressed by something this simple?” 

“This is seriously one of the nicest gifts anyone’s ever given me.” 

“Well, naturally.” He stands smoothly from his chair and extends his hand.

“Though if you intend to use it, give it here.” 

“Huh?” 

“You’ll waste it otherwise.” 

Romeo walks toward you slowly. Closer and closer until there's barely an space in between.

“Lift your wrist.” 

You obey automatically. 

One spray is all it takes for the citrus scent to bloom into the air immediately. 

“Now hold still.” 

His fingers lightly tilt your chin upward. 

Another spray at your neck. 

“Don’t rub it,” Romeo explains quietly. “Perfume settles best on pulse points. Body heat diffuses the scent naturally.”

You try to listen. Really. 

But it’s difficult when he’s standing this close. 

When his hand is still lightly resting beneath your chin. 

When he smells so good. so familiar. 

“There,” he mutters. His gaze lingering on you for a second longer. 

“...Much better.” 

 You stare at him. 

Suddenly— 

Your arms wrap around his waist. 

Romeo goes completely still, absolutely stunned. 

You bury your face against him happily. 

“Thank you, Romeo. Really.” 

He huffs. 

“...You’re awfully bold today,” he says at last. 

“Sorry. I’m just really happy.” 

“Hm. I noticed.” 

You pull back sheepishly.

“I wanted to tell you something. Darkwick gave me tomorrow off,” you continue excitedly. “No missions. No classes. Nothing” 

Romeo raises a brow. 

“So that’s why you’re unusually cheerful today. ” 

“And this gift made it even better!” 

You grin brightly. 

“So…wanna go to a nice restaurant with me tomorrow?” 

His eyes narrow. A faint smile touching his lips.

“And why exactly should I rearrange my schedule for you, BB?” 

“Please?” You clasp your hands together dramatically. “I’ll wear the perfume. And you can wear yours. Matching.” 

Romeo exhales softly through his nose. 

“So shameless.” 

It’s not a yes. But it’s definitely not a no. 

___

Later that evening…

Two lackeys stand outside Romeo’s room. 

“...Doesn’t Fico seem to be in a weirdly good mood today?” 

“Now that you mention it…yeah." 

“He hasn’t thrown anything at us once.” 

“Love does crazy things to people—” 

“I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU TGA’S!” 

Both men fix their postures immediately. 

“S-Sorry, boss!” 

Romeo sighs sharply and closes the book in his hands. 

“Love?” he repeats under his breath. 

What a ridiculous thought. 

And yet…

His fingers pause against the faint citrus scent still lingering on his sleeve. 

Your smile flashes across his mind. 

That damn smile. Dangerously sincere. 

Romeo clicks his tongue quietly. 

“I have nothing to hide!” You clap back irritably. “And since when do you casually hang out here?”

“All the time,” Leo fibs. He turns his head back to petulantly jut his tongue out in your direction. “Maybe I just wanted to visit you, Honor Roll~♡."

“Obviously not. How’d you know I was here, anyway?"

Leo bats his eyelashes innocently, before relocating his attention forward. “Lucky guess, duh.”

“Bullshit.”

It isn’t long before Leo slows to a stop, his head slanting slightly to the left. His slender fingers migrate to wrap tightly around yours. You can only assume he’s eavesdropping on something that’s out of your human range. His eyes narrow at whatever he’s hearing, but you’re not able to decipher the emotion behind it.

“Is it Su–”

“Shut up,” Leo snaps, more harshly than necessary. He doesn’t even bother looking back at you.

You huff, pinching his hand in retaliation. Of course, he doesn’t even flinch.

…

“...Sounds like they’re coming this way,” Leo says after a few beats.

What excuse would you have for Subaru? Showing up after having said your goodbyes, with your hand tangled with Leo’s? Maybe he’d be understanding, considering the vice-captain’s track record. But you also know that they’re pretty obviously NOT on good terms…

Unthinkingly, you slide back the door to a nearby supply closet and push Leo inside.

“--Hey…!”

You follow him in and shut it behind the both of you. It’s dark, but spacious. Your immediate instinct is to huddle by the corner in case anyone gets suspicious. Ushering him in further, you hear Leo suddenly curse and sway backwards. The vice-captain is unsuccessful at maintaining his balance and falls to the ground.

You realize too late that he kept you anchored to him. 

Rather than the hard wood floor, you collapse directly on top of Leo. He groans on impact, in a way that seems embellished for the sake of theatrics.

“...What the hell is wrong with you?” He whispers irritably. 

You can’t make him out in the darkness, but he’s close enough that his breath tickles your skin. With how hot your face feels, you’re grateful for the lack of visibility. 

“...This is your fault for wanting to spy! You should be thanking me,” You sputter out dumbly.

“Thanking you for what, exactly? Straddling me in a musty ass supply closet?”

“......”

Your mouth snaps shut at that, as the embarrassment really begins to stew.

“...Wow. Nothing to say, huh? Didn’t realize you were so dirty.”

You can just hear the smugness oozing out of his voice. He probably has a dumb, egotistical, grin plastered on his face too. Ugh.

“You act like this was planned… Shouldn’t your reflexes be better, since you’re a ghoul? How the hell did you trip from that?” 

Whatever that is. You didn’t even see or hear anything. 

Before Leo can argue his case, you hear Subaru’s voice faintly in the distance. Someone else is speaking to him, but you don’t immediately recognize the other person.

“...Better not make a noise, Honor Roll. This’ll be way more incriminating on your end,” Leo taunts in his evil, rat-like, drawl. 

Your glare at him in the darkness, hoping it will telepathically reach him. If your dynamic with him were different, you might just find this exciting. With your body quite literally on top of his, it’s difficult to ignore the legitimate dirty thoughts you’ve had about the influencer in the past.

Your body lifts subtly with the rise and fall of his chest. If you listen close enough, you can even hear his heartbeat. You attempt to wriggle your captured hand out of his grasp when you feel your palms starting to sweat, but Leo holds on tighter.

Footsteps begin to approach the closet door, preventing you from verbally protesting. Your head tilts, eyeing the thin line of light seeping into the otherwise black space from the bottom of the door.

“......”

Leo stays eerily still beneath you. 

Shadows pass by and you whip your head forward again. Your lips unexpectedly graze something soft, like plush skin. Heat ghosts over your mouth and you barely suppress a yelp of surprise. Your fragile composure is threatened even more when you feel Leo’s lips part deliberately against yours. 

As if you were a deer in front of headlights, you don’t dare move. The vice-captain takes it upon himself to capture your lips in what starts as a chaste kiss. Your free hand clutches the fabric of his cardigan, and he takes it a step further by nipping your upper lip.

“Le–”

His tongue dissolutely brushes past your lips, silencing you again. The metal bar embedding it clacks noisily against your teeth, causing your anxiety to heighten. Leo’s hand cups your face as he continues his assault that you clumsily begin to keep up with. 

L’Occitane body lotion– that’s what he told you he wears. Scented like cherries and almonds. The thought occurs to you that he smells almost as sweet as he tastes.

Your body trembles over him the longer you two continue to kiss. His other hand runs along your waist and you begin to wonder if he’s completely abandoned the eavesdropping he pulled up for.

“--Did you hear something…?”

You still abruptly and feel Leo smirk against your mouth. Without warning, he sinks his teeth into your lip, more harshly than necessary. An involuntary whimper leaves you, but muffles against the vice-captain’s lips. You dig your fingernails into his palm in warning and Leo trembles as he suppresses his laughter. 

“I don’t think so…?” Subaru replies in confusion.

“...Huh.” 

The footsteps continue to distance themselves from the closet, until they’re no longer in the same hall. Breaking away from Leo, you breathe out a sigh of relief. 

“Pffft… Looks like you got lucky,” Leo teases.

“I can’t believe you did that…!” You whisper back.

With the lack of distraction outside, the shock begins to settle in. Why on earth would he suddenly start kissing you now of all times?

“Makes sense. You sure are slow.”

“Oh, can it…!” 

You lift yourself off of him and attempt to open the door, but Leo tugs you back. 

“--Hey…!” You protest. 

The vice-captain clicks his tongue. “We aren’t in the clear yet. Give it a few minutes. Trust me.”

It’s not like he has any reason to lie. Well… Unless he plans on continuing this makeout session. Now you have to sit here and ignore the fact that he’s pitching a tent against you for another five minutes.

… 

"Would you still love me if I were a worm?"

Shion's voice is slightly muffled, as he's facing away from you with his lips pressed against your shirt, bunched up just under your chest. You pause in response, your previous thoughts coming to a sudden halt as his question settles in. He continues tracing circles on your exposed stomach with the sharp edge of his card, as though it were a perfectly normal question. His tracing was light enough not to sting, but you still took shallow breaths to avoid a deep gash in your stomach. You know he feels you pause from how his tracing slows, but he doesn't lift his head from your chest to look at you.

At his lack of further engagement, you ponder it. Sure, you guess. It would still be Shion, even if he were a worm. Worms are worth taking care of, especially if they happen to be the transformed body of someone you love. "Yeah," you try to sound as genuine as possible. "I would still love you if you were a worm."

Seemingly satisfied, he tucks his face tighter against your chest, his cheek pressed flat on your solar plexus. Thinking the moment was over, you relax, letting your mind wander again. You're brought back to reality when Shion's card begins to dig into your skin just enough to leave a bruise. You flinch in surprise, about to ask him to stop, but he beats you to the punch, his lips moving across your ribcage.

"Would you still love me if I were a cockroach?"

Well, that might be pushing it, but you supposed that there was no real difference. A worm wouldn't even be that much more preferable to a cockroach, though the same could be said vice versa. You shrug, figuring if he were a cockroach, he'd still be Shion, and therefore, worth taking care of. "Sure, I guess," you sound more hesitant this time, though you felt that was reasonable. "I would still love you if—ow!"

The sharp edge of Shion's card digs into your skin in the same spot, beginning to draw blood. You reach for the card, but you're too slow. Shion catches your palm, the blade of his card pressed against your wrist. His head is lifted from your chest, craning his neck to glare at you with sulfuric eyes, shining even in your dark room, lit only by the moonlight. You freeze, heeding the warning presented in his gaze. "Not good enough. That answer doesn't count." His eyes are wide, boring into you, before narrowing into thin slits. "Give me a better one."

His tone left no room for argument, and you didn't feel like walking across campus to seek medical attention if he did slit your wrist, assuming you could make it in time and get away from him. You nod, answering more definitively. There was less sincerity behind it, but you knew he cared more about obedience. "Yes, Shion. I would still love you if you were a cockroach."

He huffs, satisfied. He drops your wrist and falls back onto your chest, knocking the air from your lungs. You don't bother telling him to be gentler, well aware that your complaints would fall on deaf ears. Instead, you bite your tongue, trying not to squirm as warm blood from the cut he left slides down the side of your stomach.

You knew you'd be a fool to think the moment was over. He speaks up again, his voice sounding harsher, the tip of his card stopping just below your belly button. "Would you still love me if I were a fish?"

A fish? You blink, wanting to be confused, but lacking the energy to. You don't put much thought into it, spitting out the answer you knew he wanted to hear. "Yes, Shion." You can hear the exhaustion in your own voice. You wondered how many more times you'd have to say this, and in how many more variations. "I would still love you if you were a fish."

He exhales, seeming to relax, but doesn't continue his tracing. You can't be bothered to think much of it, instead wondering what animal he'd ask you about next. A dog? A cat? An anomalous animal, even? The possibilities were endless, and you weren't sure your resignation could carry you through the remainder of what he hadn't asked yet.

You're lost in thought again when his card digs into the skin below your belly button, forming a thin cut. You cry out, distracted, but retract your hands, not wanting to risk a real cut to your wrists. Shion lifts himself from your chest, leaning over the fresh cut. You remain still, watching as he slowly parts his lips, tracing his tongue along the length of the cut. You try not to squirm at the feeling of warm, gentle licks, making your heat twitch despite yourself. He never apologizes for cutting you, just licks your wounds. He moves over to the one on your side, tracing the path of blood trickling down your abdomen back to the cut. He leaves a trail of saliva in his wake. You can only imagine how uncomfortably sticky it will be when it dries. This can't be hygienic, but you haven't complained before, and you weren't going to start now.

Instead of lying back down on your chest, he shifts himself over you, caging you in with his arms before laying his cheek on your stomach. He holds your side, sliding his hand down your body until he reaches your hip. He clicks his teeth before tugging your pants lower on your hips. You make a small sound of protest, but as expected, it falls on deaf ears. He squeezes your hip, sighing in what seemed like satisfaction at having more skin to grope. You aren't bothered by it, though you do wish he'd warn you before undressing you.

With a flick of his wrist, his playing card is back. He traces the sharp tip along your side, forming more swirling patterns. It's back to shallow breathing for you.

He's tracing circles on your hip when he speaks up again. "Would you still love me if I were a fish with a human face?"

These were still hypothetical, right? You try to imagine a fish with Shion's face. The mental image makes you recoil as much as it makes you want to laugh. You desperately stifle that laughter, however. Shion was being completely serious, and you don't want to test him while he holds a blade. "Yes, Shion." Your voice sounds lighter this time, probably due to your amusement. "I would still love you if you were a fish with a human face." Even saying it sounds ridiculous. Laughter bubbles in your chest, but you bite your cheek, hiding your smile and preventing yourself from making any noise.

"You're laughing," Shion's voice comes out as a low rumble, thinly-veiled rage behind every word. The sharp pain in your side kills your laughter immediately as you wince in response. He drags the tip of the card down your side from your waist to your hip, leaving a thin cut already seeping blood. "Try again."

You swallow the humor of the mental image of a fish with Shion's face, reminded of the danger you face simply by being with him. You nod, trying again. "I would still love you, even if you were a fish with a human face." To top it all off, your voice has a slight twinge of fear, though you aren't sure if you're faking it for him or if it's genuine. Regardless, it seems to work.

"Good," he murmurs, roughly dragging his finger across the cut, smearing the blood instead of lapping it up. You flinch, but he doesn't seem to notice. He licks the blood from his finger, lifting his head from your stomach. His gaze catches yours. His eyes always seem to pierce through you. You wouldn't be surprised if he somehow knew what you were thinking, but still, you hold his gaze. As threatening as it was, it was still familiar, and you knew the love he held for you was buried under layers of suspicion, but there nonetheless.

He cages you in with his arms again, hauling his body higher over yours. You stare up at him and admire his beauty. The dim moonlight did his sharp features justice, highlighting his angular jawline and high cheekbones. Dark lashes framed his eyes, which seemed to glow acid yellow in the moonlight. His pale skin almost appeared white, interrupted only by the soft pink of his lips and the moles under his right eye. His beauty is identifiable even when his face is lit up with joy or twisted with anger, but it's his placid expressions that seem to make your heart skip a beat.

He doesn't give you much time to admire him. Soon, he's already shifted, pinning your shoulders down with his knees and flicking his wrist, pulling out his playing card. Your hands fly to his thighs in alarm, feeling considerably more trapped than you had before. You turn your head to each side, though there isn't much space to. "Shion…?" You voice carefully, looking up at him. You tense, placing your hands on his knees in case you need to push him off. He doesn't respond, spinning his card between his fingers before slowly lowering it towards you.

"Would you still love me," he starts, pressing the edge of the card against your throat, "if I were a merman?"

Your racing pulse and panicked mind take a moment to process his words, but when you do, you pause. You take in his gaze, level and very serious. A sinking feeling settles in your gut. It wouldn't be out of the question for those to exist, considering the campus you shared with both a vampire and a werewolf, but you'd never really considered it any further.

You become aware that you're running out of time, and part your lips to form an answer, but nothing comes out. You're stuck, replaying his question in your mind and piecing together how much sense it would make if he were a merman. Your mouth opens and closes, but no noise comes out despite your best efforts to say something, anything. He stares at you, but not in an expectant way. You feel as though he's picking you apart, evaluating your reaction rather than looking for an answer.

He bends forward, keeping the sharp edge of the card against your throat. He stops, but only when he's so close you can feel his warm breath on your cheek. Your pulse thunders in your ears, but you can barely hear it over your own thoughts. It would make sense if he were a merman, but that being the truth was so unexpected that you were having trouble wrapping your head around it. And why would he reveal this now? His trusting you, at last, was the obvious answer, but despite your love for him, you weren't sure if you desired his trust. He hardly had yours.

His eyes narrow, and he presses the card harder against your throat. You hold your breath and freeze, not daring to risk a cut to your throat. He doesn't hold it for long, relieving you of the pressure. He pulls himself back upright, rolling back one of his sleeves.

To your surprise, he turns his blade towards himself, slicing the card through his forearm. Blood drips from his arm onto your face, but you hardly flinch, frozen with shock. You stare at him, wondering if he's lost his mind or if this is a common behavior of his you'd simply failed to pick up on. He pays your shock no mind, wincing as he cuts another gash into his arm. You close your eyes, feeling as drops of blood rain on your face again. You're barely able to register his voice when he speaks, far overstimulated.

"Would you still love me…" He trails off into a pained sigh. Carefully, you open your eyes, squinting at him. He's holding the card to his arm, his eyebrows drawn together and his lips twitching upwards at the corners, slowly spreading into an elated smile.

"Sh-Shion?" Your voice is quieter than a whisper, his name murmured more in disbelief than a need for his attention. He leans forward, pressing his knees further into your shoulders. You grunt in pain, but you know he doesn't hear it.

"…If eating my flesh gave you immortality," he continues, positioning the card against his arm, "and could cure you of your curse?" You hear the sickening slice of the card through flesh, and suppress the urge to gag, swallowing hard. He drops the card to the side, and you glance at it before turning your gaze back to him. You can't tell what he's doing, but you hear the sound of flesh being ripped. You keep swallowing, trying desperately to keep down the urge to vomit, but a few retches rip through your throat, and Shion's blood still spilling from his arm into your open mouth doesn't help.

You swallow again, gasping for air, watching with stricken fear as he pulls a small piece of his arm from his body. Your mouth drops open in shock, but you feel the urge approaching again and hastily close your mouth, your lips trembling.

Finally, Shion looks at you, his elated expression replaced with a soft smile. Something in it strikes more fear into you, and you feel yourself shrinking away, despite there being nowhere to hide. He leans forward to you again, carrying the small piece of his forearm flesh with him. You can only watch with wide, fearful eyes as he places the flesh against your lips, gazing at you lovingly.

"Would you love me forever, then?" He slides the piece of his arm across your lips, covering them with blood and stray bits of his flesh. You shiver, swallowing again, refusing to vomit. He leans forward further until his forehead knocks into yours, his gaze boring straight through you. "Would you devote the rest of your immortal life to me?"

His question sounds more like a plea in disguise. His voice was uncharacteristically soft and gentle, a stark contrast to this situation.

Your hands tense against his knees, but you don't push him off. You can't. You stare at him in disbelief, keeping your lips sealed shut, feeling the blood and flesh pool in the corners of your lips. You breathe heavily through your nose, but the metallic scent is beginning to get to your head, not to mention the lack of oxygen due to him sitting on your chest. It seems he doesn't notice any of it, still gazing at you softly, his small lips upturned in a gentle smile.

"Tell me."

no taglist, just like i said before. nuking it for the smaller fics. if this garners enough attention maybe ill put the taglist back on idk. anyways!!!

no rehash either, y'all know i love appreciation anyways. thank you for taking the time to read this, and let me know if you enjoyed!

i would talk more but idk. not much 2 say abt this one. im lowkey scared 2 post but cest la vie.

EDIT BC I 4GOT BUT!!! my mom is undergoing recovery after important surgery and im taking care of her so if u see this please wish her well!!

relevant sources to help swana people:

arab.org (six daily clicks + more if you go on incognito or switch profiles!)

helpourpeople.carrd.co (for more resources)

freerice.com (donate rice with simple grammar questions!)

songs i listened 2 while writing this:

deathwish - akiaura (pretty young boy with a death wish, got your mother's eyes and stardust on your lips...)

want 2 join or be removed from the tkdb taglist? let me know!

Jo Kongoza:

"Darling?" Your lips curl as you sound out the nickname, scrawled out on a small sheet of paper. "That's what you want to be called?"

"If we are to truly appear as a dominant and submissive in a harmonious relationship…" Jo starts, adjusting his leather collar. "We have to play the part, don't we?" He smiles, the corners of his lips creeping upwards in mirth, his eyes widening just enough to be unsettling. You'd foolishly assumed it was only Shion, but maybe all Dionysia students are a little twisted.

"Sure…" You muse, crumpling the paper and tossing it into a bin by the bar. "But we aren't supposed to be in a romantic relationship—"

"That hardly matters." Jo cuts you off, shaking his head. "Most of the attendees here are already indulging in 'playtime'." His smile tightens as he leans towards you, his lips hovering near your ear. You feel yourself become somewhat hesitant. "Why shouldn't we follow their example?"

Well, he wasn't wrong. From the moment you'd walked in, some couples or throuples had already walked out and secluded themselves in separate rooms for more explicit forms of play. The main area was still populated, with plenty of people mingling and acting out scenes. Barked orders and mewls of obedience could just barely be heard over the music. The air was thick with perfume, likely to cover up the stench of sweat, sex, and musk.

Still, regardless of what everyone else was doing, the point of the mission was to mingle. You step away from Jo, towards the crowd. "We don't need to follow their example. We just need to gather information—"

Jo cuts you off again, circling an arm around your waist and capturing your wrist with his other hand, holding you close to his chest. "And, in order to gather information, we have to blend in."

You turn over your shoulder to frown at him, and he simply smiles. You relent, playfully rolling your eyes and relaxing into his grasp. "Fine. I don't know why I need to call you a cheesy pet name, though."

"Come on, cutie," his smile widens, "I'm your submissive dog here, right?"

You look up at the fluffy dog ears he wore, your frown deepening. He chuckles, releasing his grip on your waist, moving in front of you. "Think of it like a show. I'm playing the role of the obedient dog." His smile darkens, but his eyes light up with mirth. "Treat me right, mistress, or I may just turn the tables on you."

An uncomfortable feeling bubbles in your chest. This felt like a threat, but you couldn't pinpoint why.

He pulls you along by your wrist, laughing at your bemused expression. "Don't worry, cutie. I'll be a good dog. Promise."

His smile is handsome, disarmingly so. Your eyes wander to the leather collar around his neck, a circular ring hanging from the front. Perhaps a leash would do him some good.

Mio Susuhara:

"Pain can occasionally open doors to different kinds of pleasure," you add, tracing the crop over Mio's palm. "But it depends on who you are."

"Right," Mio nods along, pulling his lips between his teeth. He's wide-eyed and stiff, his gaze following the path of the crop on his palm.

He shivers, terribly tense. You wonder if you should've practiced beforehand, but then his reaction wouldn't have been genuine. The demonstration had to be perfect if you were going to continue through the parties without anyone questioning your experience.

"Grab the crop." He does as asked, tightening his fist around the leather fold. His hand trembles slightly, and you place a palm under his, steadying him. "See? It's made of leather and a bit firm. It may sting. Are you alright with that?"

He swallows thickly, parting his lips to answer. For a moment, no words come out; his gaze is locked onto the crop in his fist. He sighs before lifting his gaze to you. His expression softens somewhat, and he nods. "Yeah, that's alright."

Despite his agreement, you note the beads of sweat on his forehead and the hard line of his shoulders. You gently squeeze his hand, making him let go of the crop. You hold his palm flat, pressing your thumb into the center.

"Are you ready to begin?" You give him a gentle look, smiling softly in hopes he'll relax.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work. His shoulders remain tight and stiff as he nods, seemingly forcefully. "Yes, I'm ready."

"Hey," you bring the crop up to his chin, tilting his head upwards to meet his eyes. "Remember, you have to address me the right way." You speak in a low tone, not threatening, but a firm reminder.

His cheeks grow flushed as he nods again. "Yes, um… Mistress." He presses his lips into a line and looks away after muttering that, his blush spreading to his ears. You spare him any more embarrassment and bring the crop back down to his palm.

You tap it against his palm, giving it a soft thwack. He hardly responds, blinking down at his palm. "How was that? That didn't hurt at all, right?"

He shakes his head, seemingly relieved. In turn, you relax a little too. You had begun to think he would be tense the entire time. He still had his shoulders up, but at least his eyebrows weren't drawn together any longer.

You release his hand and squeeze his shoulder, grabbing his attention. "Relax. You're so tense." He looks up at you, almost comically pensive. You'd laugh if so much weren't at stake here. "If you stay tense, it'll just make it worse, okay?"

He bows his head, dropping his shoulders. You cup his hand again, running your thumb back and forth over the center of his palm. "I'll go a little harder this time. Are you ready?"

He nods, keeping his lips sealed tight. You spare him again, moving your thumb from his palm and bringing the crop down with more force. Thwap!

"Mm." He stiffens, his eyes widening at the sensation. His lips part slightly as he stares down at his palm, the skin in the center beginning to redden.

"It stings a little, right?"

He nods, glancing at the crop, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Like a ruler…"

Internally, you sigh with relief. He looked a lot less troubled, his posture more comfortable, and his expression neutral. "Alright," you start, brandishing the crop again. "I'm going to go harder this time, but since this is your first time, it's the hardest I'll go."

Mio, who'd been looking up since you'd lifted the crop again, nods. "Yes…" He bows his head again, a slight flush growing on his cheeks. "…Mistress."

You feel relieved. His help may just make this whole farce seem believable. You swipe your thumb over his palm once more, raising the crop again. You bring it down again, and it sounds a loud thwap! against his skin.

"Ah!" He jumps, wide-eyed, blinking rapidly down at the reddened spot on his hand. He exhales, pulling his hand away from yours to inspect it. "Agh…" he sighs, breathing deeply. You watch as his shoulders visibly rise and fall.

You smile to yourself, feeling he may have relaxed. "That one probably hurt, right?"

You watch as he nods slowly, his eyes still wide and focused on his palm. "Yeah… It did." His voice is soft and light. His expression is contemplative, his eyes appearing glazed over.

You turn to the audience watching with bated breath, about to conclude the so-called demonstration and prove yourself worthy of little probing, when you hear a soft murmur from behind you.

"…again?"

"Hm?" You turn curiously to Mio. "Did you say something?"

He hesitates, turning his gaze upwards to you. "Could you… do that again?"

You still, startled by his request. Your eyebrows draw together, both out of concern and query. He stares back at you, his eyes slightly glazed over and cheeks still flushed. The corner of his lips is twitching in a way that suggests he is fighting back a smile.

"Harder, this time."

Elias Pratt:

"Elias, as much as I appreciate it, I think it's too short." You twist around in the mirror, noting how the dress rides up in the back. It was quite short enough in the front, but in the back? You knew this was a kink party mission, but there had to be something different. Appropriate wasn't the right word, considering how this dress was technically a perfect fit for the occasion. You just felt nervous.

"Well, would you like me to take it back to Hodge and Podge? I'm sure we could find some extra fabric to extend the length." Elias rises from his seat, giving your outfit a quick once-over. His eyebrows rise to his hairline upon noticing the length, but his expression returns to its relaxed state just as promptly. His eyes seem to settle on a spot on your back, and you eye his face in the mirror questioningly. "Would you like my help zipping it up the rest of the way?"

You stiffen, not even realizing you'd forgotten it, but start nodding. Elias smiles kindly and walks up to you. "Maybe having it zipped up should give you some leeway."

His knuckles press into the small of your back as he takes hold of the zipper and tugs at the fabric underneath to hold it in place. You try not to flinch, staying as still as you can until he's done. It proves to be a difficult task when his knuckles trace a path up your back at an agonizingly slow pace. Part of you wonders if he's doing this on purpose, but you don't look at him to check, keeping your eyes on your wringing hands.

"Alright, done." His fingertips brush your spine between your shoulderblades, and you suppress a shiver, straightening up. You tug the dress down some more in the back, purposely ignoring the prickling feeling of Elias's gaze on your back.

"Thanks," you say hesitantly, twisting in the mirror again. He was right, the dress being zipped up did give you some leeway, but it was just enough to make you feel like you wouldn't flash anyone, not necessarily enough for comfort. You sigh, deciding whether or not to take Elias's offer. You turn to face him and find him trading his toothpick for a lollipop. "What flavor?" You ask curiously, right before his tongue reaches the candy.

He tucks his tongue back into his mouth—a movement that gets you unusually warm by watching—and answers you, "Lime." A smile as placid as it was unsettling spread across his face. He tilts the lollipop towards you. "Would you like the first lick?"

You shake your head. "No! I was only curious." You hurriedly turn away from him, focusing back on your reflection. You hear him huff out a light chuckle and sneak a glance at him in the mirror. He's gazing at your back, his tongue twirling around the lollipop. You straighten up, smoothing your hands down the dress. After a while of staring at yourself with little progress in your decisiveness, you voice a question. "What do you think?"

Elias appears to have been expecting the question, turning towards you and taking a few steps in your direction. He twirls the lollipop in his mouth, taking his time eyeing your dress from top to bottom. It feels eerily similar to how he took his time zipping up your dress. When he's done, he pulls the lollipop from his mouth, his tongue flickering over his lips before they form a polite smile. "I think the dress is perfect for the occasion."

That's not the answer you wanted, and you know he knows that. You sigh, deciding to be direct. "You could at least help increase my confidence."

He laughs, shaking his head. "Oh, I couldn't," he hums, pressing the lollipop up to his lips. "Any further compliments would be untoward." He walks a few paces closer, placing a hand on your shoulder. "And, you're a guest," he adds, smiling warmly at your reflection. "Guests should be treated with respect." He releases your shoulder, placing the lollipop between his teeth.

You scoff, amused by his playful genuineness. "In that case," you smile, making eye contact with him through the mirror. "How long 'til I become family and you can be untoward with me?"

His lollipop suddenly cracks, the sound startling you. He shakes his head, clicking his tongue. "Don't do that, MC." He crunches the candy between his teeth again, stepping closer to your back, nearly caging you against the mirror. He leans forward until his face is next to yours, peering at you through dark lashes. "Become too likable, and we may have to keep you here."

Shion Genkai:

"How would you like your punishment?" You were drunk on power now, perhaps a bit in over your head. Genkai Shion himself was in a pair of kinky handcuffs before you, unable to fight back due to the possibility of inconveniencing—or worse—destroying his house. This probationary period wasn't going to let any mistakes off the hook easily. He had to play along, for now. You weren't unaware of your own hubris and how it may lead you to an end, of course. Surely, Shion would be happy to pay you back in full. But that didn't matter now.

"Pain? Heat? Or something tight enough to steal the breath from your lungs?" You parrot back his threatening words to you from the first time you met. He recognizes them, anger flashing in his gaze. You watch as his canines dig into his lower lip, his hands shaking in his restraints. You had to acknowledge that he was excellent at this, holding back to such a degree. Not that his obedience would soften your discipline.

"Well?" You growl through gritted teeth, growing impatient, though you're already slipping on a studded glove. It's not like you didn't already know his choice. Everyone knew, from the moment he'd walked in. His twisted joy in cries of distress and lamenting moans painted a clear enough picture for everyone there. Sadomasochism leaked from his very pores. His pale skin was perfect for showing off bruises, and his sharp teeth and skilled hands were perfect for giving them. What answer could it be if not—

"Pain," he forces out the word, straining it like an order rather than an answer.

He didn't really need to say it. The moment he's uttered that, the back of your hand is already rapidly approaching his face. All it takes is one good smack to throw him off his balance. He stumbles back a few steps, dropping to one knee to keep himself upright. His hair falls over his face as he stares at the floor, panting to catch his breath. He didn't even grunt at the impact, his jaw hard set. When he looks up, his xanthic eyes are gleaming with joy. As expected. Small red bruises in the pattern of the studs start to bloom on his cheek. He doesn't even try to contain his mirth, grinning widely. You'd used to find his smiles unsettling, but now, you hardly flinched at them.

He inhales to speak, but you don't even let him. You smack the back of your hand against the same cheek. He topples over, using his handcuffed wrists to break his fall. His breathing is ragged now, and he lets out a light groan as he flexes his jaw. You hear a small plip! plip! plip! noise and watch as a dark liquid pools in his palms.

He gasps for air, slowly pulling himself back up, surveying the liquid in his hands as it slides from his palms onto his wrists. His tongue flicks out to taste the blood dripping from his nose. He gasps, and you startle, before a smile spreads on his face as he licks the blood off a split in his bottom lip.

"Ha…" Joy rapidly breaks across his face, his smile widening and eyes narrowing. Gleaming eyes find yours again, bright and yellow like the very color of joy. "Ha ha!" He lets out a few stray chuckles, struggling to keep his laughter down. His body shakes with amusement, a wide grin cutting into his cheeks and laughter muffled by bloody palms. You grimace, having had your fun, but feeling the need to draw this to a close. This play scene wasn't intended to last much longer.

"Hmph," you put on an indignant air, pulling the studded glove off your hand, finger by finger. "Had enough, have you?" You don't pay any mind to his laughter coming to a sudden halt, sure he was keeping himself together. "Act right next time, and maybe we won't have this problem—"

Zip! Something passes right by your ear, and you feel a sudden sharp, stinging pain across your cheek. You pause, eyes widening. Your pulse quickens as you lift your gaze, finding Shion staring at you, no longer smiling. He held a thin card between his fingers, the Queen of Spades. His fingers left bloody spots on it, and its right edge had a thin sheen of fresher blood on it, likely yours. By sleight of hand, he manages to keep it hidden from onlookers, but ensures you receive his message.

A smile spreads on his face again, before he turns his other cheek to face you. His smile widens to the point his canines are showing, his eyes wide and focused on you.

"Again," he says, like a command. He wasn't asking at all.

OKAY well that's that. the blurbs are short but ill still do a taglist anyway. that being said, im considering nuking the taglist for shorter fics (under 5k words) so yeah. if you have an opinion on it lmk!!

in other news! no rehash, you know what i like at this point. enjoy!!! no idea what fics are coming out next, but i've got a lot im working on behind the scenes!!

relevant sources to help swana people:

arab.org (six daily clicks + more if you go on incognito or switch profiles!)

helpourpeople.carrd.co (for more resources)

songs i listened 2 while writing this:

dancing with your eyes closed - jane remover (fits the vibe. amen.)

ponyboy - sopie (total banger.)

taglist: @cupcakesmoothie @aayakashii @sunskosh @despairingy-obsessed @glamorousspoon @mmy-meow @dailyvahine @diluxama @obscuarysghoulnextdoor @disassociationdive @andy-solo1 @luna-v-roiya @madamedesalaunier @gulaaren-123 @shamelesslawyerdreamerauthor @otaku-explosion @maruayase

want 2 join or be removed from the tkdb taglist? let me know!

“Haha… Really? You said that last time, didn’t you? It doesn’t even have its case yet.” Mio picks up a square remote from the desk next to it and presses a button. The robot squats, following the command. 

“This guy is pretty mobile. I wanted to put extra ‘oomph’ in the joints. As far as I know, it might end up being put to work,” Mio explains vaguely. He tampers with more buttons on the handheld, causing the robot to pivot. It reaches for a combination wrench and wraps its fingers around the middle, before lifting it and standing upright.

You can’t help but smile as Mio guides the robot to hold the tool out in your direction. After offering your open palms, it relinquishes the wrench over to you.

“So, it’s completely controlled by a remote?”

“No. This is more of a back-up in case there’s issues. And to test it out,” He adds, as he directs the robot to stand tall in its default position. “It’s got anomalous intelligence too. I don’t plan on letting it pilot itself yet. Not until I’m finished and can do some more trials. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get it to Hyde within the next few days.”

“You really are incredible Mio,” You praise in awe. 

Mio rubs the back of his neck sheepishly with his free hand and avoids your gaze. “...I’m really not. My stigma does a lot of the work.”

“And so do you. I wish I could do something like this.”

Mio smirks a little at that. “Careful. I might just take you on as an apprentice.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” You say, as you lean on a nearby stack of crates. “I just don’t know if I’d have time between playing inspector and missions.”

“True. That curse takes first priority anyway.” Mio sets the remote back down on the desk, right by the robot. What he says next comes out like a hopeful drawl. “And speaking of inspector duties… I may need a favor from you.”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“I have to try and get my hands on some loctite. Didn’t realize I was out until about ten minutes ago. You don’t have to come with me– I know you’ve been running around a lot today.” Mio gently taps the robot on the head. “But if you could, maybe keep an eye on this guy? I just don’t want anyone messing with it right now. If it takes damage without its casing, there’s a good chance I’m gonna have to redo it.”

You have a feeling you know who that ‘anyone’ might be referring to. Shion hasn’t made an appearance yet, but it’s likely because he’s holed up in his room right now.

“Sure thing,” You readily agree.

Mio flashes you a grateful smile, as he prepares to step towards the elevator door. “Thanks, seriously! I shouldn’t be gone for more than half an hour. An hour max! I’ll buy you lunch sometime this week to make it up to you.”

Before you can insist on that being unnecessary, Mio’s already striding to leave. You watch the door immediately slide open upon him hitting the button. The both of you exchange waves as he boards the platform. Then, it shuts and takes off. 

“An hour max huh…?”

You stand up straight and suppress a yawn as you lift your arms to stretch out your tired joints. This time of day, the clockwork room is always relatively vacant, and today isn’t an exception. In fact, the last artisan that had been lingering around is now retreating up the staircase. 

Other than the ambient, rhythmic, sound of clicking gears, it’s pretty silent. You could watch videos to fill the silence for now.

Reaching into your blazer, you pull out your phone, and plop onto a nearby crate that’s low to the ground. After some indecisive scrolling through your apps, you settle on Tiktok. Leo had stopped you to film a quick video earlier, so you wonder if he actually uploaded it…

Ugh. Sure enough, your face is in the thumbnail of his latest video. An unflattering shot, not to mention. Leo would probably lie and say it was preselected, or bullshit that it was the best still he could find. When you click on the video, Leo’s high-pitched, nasally, voice sounds from your speakers.

“I’m about to go on a date with my girlfriend for our two month anniversary, guys! I know you guys keep asking to see her again, sooo~♡!” Leo wraps an arm around your shoulders and presses your cheeks together for the shot. 

You roll your eyes. It’s clear you’re caught off guard by the gesture, so it’s a wonder his fans buy this fake relationship bullshit.

“Tch, tch, tch, tch, tch, tch…”

Your heart catches in your throat when you hear rustling coming from somewhere behind you. On instinct, you put your phone to sleep, ceasing the video.

“Vepar.”

Your breath hitches as your phone vanishes from your hands and gets replaced with a small, slimy, salamander. The creature writhes around, nearly slipping to the floor, so you hastily set it on the ground before it hurts itself. You rise to your feet and flip around, only to find Shion standing close behind you. He's staring at your phone’s screen with a mixture of confusion and agitation. Ocher eyes flick to meet yours.

“It’s locked.”

Shion steps closer, brows pinched together. You notice him stow away the phone in his vest pocket.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

Shit. You hope Shion didn’t see your face in that video. There’s no way he’s going to respond reasonably, especially considering the way he acts over Jin’s general presence in your life. 

Your lips downturn and you force an exasperated look, in spite of your trepidation. “I’m not hiding anything. You just startled me, because I thought I was alone. Why were you– Hey…!”

Shion closes in on you and roughly grips your chin, forcing you to look up at him. He squints, studying your expression.

“...You’re lying.”

Your stomach drops. Are you for real cooked this time? 

Getting your throat cut by a ghoul that imposed a one-sided pseudo marriage on you? Not exactly how you pictured things turning out here. How the hell are you going to weasel out of this?

“I already told you that you can’t hide things from me. And yet, here you are. Looking like a fearful, cowering, rabbit. I wonder why that is.” A crooked, humorless, smile splits Shion’s face. His next words come out low and chilly. “You are family. And I cherish my family. Unless…”

“It was meant to be a surprise!” You blurt out.

Shion blinks, his smile faltering. 

“I was watching a video of this Tiktoker treating his girlfriend for their anniversary… Ours is coming up, so I was trying to get ideas. I’m not good at this sort of thing on my own.”

“......”

Shion stares at you with an unreadable expression. His fingers relax slightly, and suddenly, his lips are curling upwards again. This time you think he’s actually amused. 

“How long has it been now? You lose track of time when you’re having fun.”

…Fuck. You made that up on the spot. When did you meet Shion again? He might consider that to be the day. 

“Ah… Three months,” You guess. “I figured that’s a long enough milestone that we could do something to celebrate.”

Shion tuts in disapproval. “A celebratory event that’s purpose is to strengthen or commemorate a bond is just a worthless sentiment. True loyalty doesn’t rely on such trifling shite.”

Gulp. At least he didn’t question the accuracy of your answer. 

“So… No date?” You ask, quelling the hopefulness that threatens to leak in your tone. 

“Something else. Like a game.”

“A game?” You echo. 

“To establish a greater sense of trust and strengthen our bond,” Shion says, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Are you familiar with ‘The Minefield’?”

…A blindfold game where someone guides your path through verbal instructions? You have a bad feeling about this.

“I am, but–”

In the blink of an eye, Shion releases your face and pulls out a black swath of fabric. He spins you around and wraps it around your head, tying it securely in order to block your vision. You feel a sense of vertigo from the abrupt movement. His sinuous drawl buzzes just centimeters from the shell of your ear, causing your hair to stand on end. 

“How is it? Pitch black?”

“Shion… I’m supposed to be doing something for Mio. This isn’t the time for games.”

You hear Shion click his tongue in agitation. His presence seems to recede.

“Mio. Mio, Mio, Mio, Mio. You’re always doing something for Mio! On our anniversary, no less.”

You’re about to argue that today technically isn’t the day, but you’re not even sure if that’s the truth. A part of you wonders if Shion really believes it himself. You’ve just given him the perfect excuse to act up on a silver platter, after all.

“You know that it’s under Darkwick’s orders.”

“Lucky you, then. I’ve come with fun new orders!”

You nearly jump out of your skin when you hear something hefty hit the ground, followed by the sound of objects spilling and rolling all about. Likely a bucket of scrap metal. If you trip on that it could leave a nasty wound. 

The familiar sound of an artifact being activated reaches your ears, and something thin and sharp is held close to your neck. 

“Walk,” Shion demands. 

Through pure self preservation, you take a step forward. And another. You feel his presence follow you closely with every step.

“Left.”

You cautiously side step to the left.

“Forward.”

As you continue, you hear a hydraulic hiss, followed by a loud clatter.

“Shion–”

“Right.”

This time you feel something roll into your ankle from a light misstep. Luckily not hard enough to do damage. You feel his hand on your waist, pivoting your body slightly to the right.

“Go. Until I tell you to stop.”

You continue walking. Slowly, because you don’t fully trust his instructions. It’s at least ten steps before Shion speaks again.

“Stop. We’re here.”

The elevator dings, indicating Shion pressed the button, and the door slides open on its own. A hand pushes your lower back, causing you to stumble onto the platform.

“Press the button to go up and wait for me.”

You want to tell him no, but in spite of bonding with Shion, you don’t fully know what he’s capable of. At least Mio will understand, surely. But that clattering sound you heard earlier makes you wonder if Shion did something to the robot that you were meant to watch over.

Swallowing your reluctance, you carefully reach for the elevator’s operating panel and hit the button. The door closes and you brace yourself against the wall as the lift takes you up. 

…

After making you wait on ground level for a suspiciously long amount of time, Shion meets up with you. Much to your irritation, he continues guiding you with verbal directions for a while, and you start to suspect that he’s just making you go in circles. His latest command falls on deaf ears when you come to a halt and flip around to face him.

“Shion. We’ve been walking for a while. This can’t count as the same game anymore. There’s not even any obstacles.”

“Oh, no need to fret over that. I have another lined up.”

You reach for your blindfold, but Shion beats you to it. He pulls the knot loose and carelessly tosses the fabric onto the floor. You’re met with his pretty, mischievous, face once again. And it looks like you’re in the performance room too. 

You frown. “What do you mean?” 

Shion wordlessly flicks his gaze ahead and nods. You follow it, squinting as your eyes adjust to the direct exposure of the bright stage lights. Training equipment hangs from rigs in the ceiling, as if it were currently in use. No one is around, but you do notice something hanging from an aerial hoop. 

“... Shion.”

The unfinished robot Mio entrusted you with has its hands clamped around a hoop that’s suspended ten meters above ground. This confirms your earlier suspicions. He must have taken the remote at some point during this nonsensical game. Shion still has your phone, so you can’t even look up how to lower it.

You face Shion again with the sternest look you can muster. 

“That robot doesn’t even have its protective casing. If it falls, it might shatter, and Mio worked hard on that!”

“That’s right. He’s been toiling away at that thing for hours now.” Shion tents his eyebrows as a gleeful smile spreads across his face. “How do you think he will feel after witnessing its destruction?”

“Bad. And you know what I mean by that. Come on, help me get it down from there. Safely!”

Shion narrows his gaze at you. “Hmm… I am your husband. So, I should take your desires into consideration. Right?”

“Yes! Yes, you should,” You retort impatiently. 

Unexpectedly, Shion wraps an arm around your waist and closes in on you. As his face lowers towards yours, you feel your heart beat violently against your ribcage. Your eyes snap shut at the last second and you feel a pair of soft lips press against your cheek. 

“Vepar.”

The next thing you know, your hands are clenched around an aerial hoop and you’re dangling piteously in the air. Your eyes flutter open and you let out a startled yelp that echoes against the walls of the chamber. Shion still stands at ground level, the robot safely tucked in his arm. He gawks at you with a hand fanning over his face, as if it serves to contain his excitement. 

“A noise like that… I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“SHION…! What the hell is wrong with you?!” You squirm in place, attempting to quell the panic rising as your palms begin to sweat. “I’m gonna fall!!!”

“With that frame of mind, you just might. As much as I enjoy the performance, all of that writhing around isn’t doing you any favors.”

You’re pretty sure Shion’s actually fucking lost it. He’s usually doing mean-spirited shit, but this is on another level. And you don’t trust him to save you this time.

Using your upper arm strength, you make an effort to at least try to pull yourself into the hoop. Adrenaline courses through you as your arms tremble and you nearly lose your grip in the process. Fueled by sheer survival instinct, a sharp yelp leaves your lungs when you secure an arm over the hoop. 

Despite now having somewhat of a lifeline in this fucked situation, hot tears begin to well up, and the ground below becomes blurry as you sway in the air. You blink them away and attempt to regulate your breathing. 

“Say, [Name]... You need me, don’t you?”

“Isn’t that obvious?!” You yell back, anger overriding the fear for a moment. 

“Say it for me, will you?” Shion calls back to you. 

A ‘fuck off’ is resting at the tip of your tongue, but you swallow it down. Today’s not the day you die. 

“I need you, Shion. Help me… Please.”

“Hmm… I suppose you’ve convinced me. As it turns out, I don’t want my precious family splattered on the floor. Stay right there.”

…Where else would you go?! 🤬🤬🤬

Shion moves out of sight for a lapse in time. You close your eyes and feel your arms start to really strain without the distraction of him talking to you. 

…

By the time he speaks again, it comes from your left side. 

“Take a look. Impressive, isn’t it?”

You open your eyes and follow the direction of his voice. There you find Shion, holding onto an aerial silk adjacent to your rig. His shoe seems to be wrapped strategically into the fabric, holding him in a standing position that’s close to your height.

“... You know how to use that?” You ask skeptically. 

“You trust me, don’t you?” Shion holds out a gloved hand, while the other balances his position on the ribbon.

Not really, you don’t say. 

“...Yes,” You reply instead. 

“Good girl. I’m going to swing ‘round your way. Don’t cling to it, unless you’d like us to both go tumbling. Little Mio would be devastated by the mess.”

You swallow thickly. “Yeah… Got it.”

Shion begins to swing around, guiding the rig in a circular motion to build momentum. Once he picks up speed, Shion flies your way. An arm wraps around your waist from the side, eliciting an involuntary gasp out of you. Recalling his words, you let go, allowing Shion to whisk you away. 

“Shit…!” 

You throw your arms around Shion’s neck, clinging desperately, while he supports the majority of your body weight with just one arm. 

“You’re trembling,” Shion murmurs by the shell of your ear. He clicks his tongue repeatedly in mock pity. “Are you happy to be in my arms like this? Does it soothe you?”

“Yes,” You manage, sounding a bit winded. As unsettling as it is that you’re both still swaying around, you mean it. For the most part.

“And I suppose you’d like to get down.” He sounds too smug. 

“Of course.”

Shion hums. “I will oblige, if you fulfill something for me.”

There’s always a catch. 

You sigh against the crook of his neck. “Something easy, I hope. My limbs feel like they’re about to give out.”

“Effortless,” Shion insists. 

You draw your head back slightly, catching a glimpse of his face. “Okay… What is it?”

“Kiss me.”

Without hesitation, you kiss Shion’s cheek. Once, twice, three times, for good measure. 

“......That’s it?” Shion asks with unmitigated disappointment. 

“Is it not enough?”

This worked when you wanted the snow globe…

“How many people have you kissed that way? Is it even special?”

“Uh… Is that a trick question?” You ask dumbly.

Shion’s eyes narrow in mild irritation. “I’m your husband. That means I am owed a proper kiss.”

Your jaw goes slack and you feel your face heat up as the implication dawns on you. “...What? You seriously want me to kiss you on the mouth?”

“So, you won’t do it,” Shion presumes.

“I– Don’t you think that’s a little much?”

The grip supporting you slackens and you begin to slip. Another impulsive shriek climbs up your throat and you cling tighter to Shion, even grasping at his clothes for extra leverage. If you don’t do what he asks, he may actually drop you. 

“Urgh, fine…!”

Steering your neck forward, you shut your eyes and crash your lips against Shion’s. 

There’s nothing romantic about it, really. In fact, you’re pretty sure you might get a swollen lip from the hasty impact. Lacking stability, you quiver against him, while he stands on the silk wrap– eerily still. Notably, he has yet to start supporting you again. His arm shifts and you hear something drop below.

Deciding you’re in the clear, you begin to draw back. 

Suddenly, Shion’s free arm is scooping underneath you– supporting you just below your butt. Just like when you kissed his cheek the first time, his face is dusted pink. The ocher color in his eyes is overshadowed by two dilated pupils. You realize his signature hat is gone too. 

“I like this,” Shion confesses. His brows begin to paint the beginnings of a pleading, pitiful, look. “Do it again.”

Encouraged by the current security, you go in for another one– this time parting your lips in tandem with his. The kiss starts with slow pecks, delicate and cautious. Shion’s hand pulls you in possessively as the kiss drags out, and you start to feel your body react involuntarily to the touch. Your midsection warms and a hoard of butterflies invasively rattle around, nearly making you nauseous. 

Shion begins to understand the tempo, and he pushes his tongue past your lips. You taste something vaguely sweet as your tastebuds press against each other clumsily. Shion attempts to mirror your advances, entirely propelled by voracious curiosity. For what he lacks in experience, he certainly makes an effort to recover in enthusiasm. 

A sharp tooth grazes your lip and you push out a noise that’s a cross between a preemptive squeak and an embarrassing whimper. You abruptly break off the kiss and avert your gaze.

“Okay, I did what you said. Please get us down from here now. The fabric moving around has me feeling dizzy.”

“Vepar.”

Just like that, your feet are on the ground and you’re standing by the aerial silk. Shion is still high up, but his hat has made a comeback. You watch him smoothly unwrap the silk from his foot and loop the fabric around his back side. Both of Shion’s hands hold onto the sash as he gradually descends, legs moving in a way that gives the illusion of a staircase beneath his feet.

Once he drops to the ground, Shion bows theatrically. And despite the insanity he just put you through, you find yourself applauding him anyway. 

“That was impressive,” You admit earnestly. 

Shion straightens his posture and gives you a bit of a sour look. “Yet, not incredible.”

Your hands slow to a still and you raise an eyebrow at him. “Huh?”

Shion simply pouts with a hard stare, neglecting to provide a verbal response. 

……

….

“...Oh.” 

You said that to Mio earlier, didn’t you? It only makes sense that Shion was secretly eavesdropping. He’s gotten clingier with you ever since the snow globe incident. A part of you wonders if that’s what triggered all of this. 

"Yes, of course it's incredible," You assure him.

Shion’s irritation seems to subside, and he beams from the praise. “You have me to thank for making your dull evening invigorating.”

“Right. You have the remote, don’t you? Mio should be back any minute.”

“It is in my possession,” Shion says.

You move over to the robot and crouch down by it, inspecting it for damage as you continue talking. “You both have your strengths, by the way. As does everyone. I didn’t even know you could do that, Shion. Thank you for showing me... Even though you got me up there against my will. Now I need a shower from sweating up a storm.”

“Okay. Let’s head back to the basement. We can have it walk with us to the elevator.”

Shion doesn't say anything in response. And as far as you can tell, the robot is as it was before.

“Have it your way," Shion acquiesces.