* * *
“Mmm…”
Ben stirred with a rustle, perhaps because the folded-back blanket was letting in too much bright light.
His neat eyelashes fluttered, but even so, he couldn’t easily open his eyes and instead curled up, shrinking away from the light.
As Haimar lightly traced the feather-like red marks covering the nape of his neck, visible inside the loose collar of his pajamas, he felt Ben’s body heat—slightly higher than most people’s—seeping into him.
To Haimar, who had always solved problems with ease, Ben Plaskun was an exceptionally difficult and tricky puzzle.
Yet, it wasn’t solely difficult; it was undoubtedly an enjoyable puzzle.
“So, what should I do with you?”
Me.
A gaze that seemed to drip slowly downward touched his face, and soon after, soft lips gently landed on his eyelids and the corners of his mouth.
Even as Ben, still half-asleep, tried to shy away from the ticklish sensation, Haimar persistently kissed him until he finally succeeded in waking Ben up.
“Mmm…?”
Ben’s eyes, still heavy with sleep, clearly showed he hadn’t grasped the situation yet.
Haimar, who had been continuously covering every inch of his dazed face with light kisses, met his gaze and smiled faintly.
“Good morning.”
“Ah… yes…”
As if by habit, Ben rubbed his eyes vigorously to dispel the drowsiness in his half-closed eyes, causing the skin around them to redden almost instantly.
It looked like he was rubbing them hard enough to sting, so Haimar gently moved Ben’s hands away and pulled him into an embrace, thick blanket and all.
Only then did Ben seem to jolt fully awake, flailing a bit within the cocoon of the blanket and Haimar’s arms.
“Uhh…?”
The scent of Ben’s distinctive milk-like fragrance filled Haimar’s embrace.
He buried his nose in the nape of Ben’s neck, exposed from the blankets, and drank in the rich scent deeply.
He could clearly hear the dawning embarrassment starting to color Ben’s voice, but Haimar paid it no mind, instead focusing on the quickening pulse he felt.
Even the sound of his heartbeat seemed characteristically light and steady, yet somehow weighty.
Seeing Ben’s ears rapidly turning a ripe red, it seemed he wanted to grab a towel and disappear into the bathroom, but Haimar easily ignored the impulse.
From his perspective, Ben wasn’t the only one undergoing changes lately. Ben had become remarkably more bashful.
Perhaps because their physical contact had increased, his heart raced more often, and he frequently avoided eye contact.
While Haimar was curious about the clear reason for either change, the latter was definitely irritating.
Moreover, recently, whatever Ellyn had asked of him, Ben had made a few flimsy excuses to leave Haimar’s side.
Haimar pretended not to know, thinking Ben would be troubled if he acted aware, but he had a rough idea it was probably related to Xenon.
Thanks to that, Haimar had also taken the opportunity to take care of some personal matters, so it was closer to the truth that he had simply let it go.
“Wh-what are you doing…?”
“I’m sleepy.”
It sounded like a nonsensical excuse, but it was true that he’d been feeling a bit lethargic lately.
Haimar nuzzled against Ben’s hair and laid him down beneath himself.
At that, Ben, perhaps having some thoughts of his own, stopped squirming to find an escape route and grew still.
“Ah, how is your condition? Mr. Moria mentioned last time that it can happen during the adaptation phase after removing the limiter.”
“I know. But wouldn’t it be much quicker if you checked me over yourself?”
“That’s… true.”
It was a brazen yet very valid point.
Ben found himself nodding in faint agreement and reaching out his hand.
Haimar caught his wrist and placed it behind his own neck, then pulled Ben’s other hand and placed it in the same spot.
The resulting position somehow looked like Ben was embracing Haimar’s neck, causing a flurry of question marks to appear on Ben’s ruffled face.
“……What is this?”
“Because I want to?”
Ben’s wide, light green eyes blinked.
Then, his face flushed a deeper red than before.
Seemingly at a loss for words, Ben stammered incoherently.
See. Again. The eyes that had been struggling to meet his gaze lost their focus and darted around restlessly.
The moment Ben’s gaze, which had been holding his reflection, strayed away, an impulse surged in Haimar to seize it back, to make Ben look at him again.
Ben hadn’t yet let go of the hands encircling him.
If that was the case, then recapturing his diverted attention would be easy.
He can’t run far.
Haimar lifted the arm propped beside Ben’s face and brushed his thumb over the faint scars that still remained on the reddened cheek.
“…….”
The traces of the lingering scars bothered him immensely.
It had always been like this.
Since long ago, it seemed he particularly disliked whenever this man, Ben, was in pain or struggling.
In the past, he might have dismissed it as an inexplicable irritation or annoyance, but now he felt he understood a little better.
The desire for him not to get hurt anymore undoubtedly stemmed from a feeling of wanting to cherish and protect him from harm.
But why did he want to cherish him?
The explanation of ‘because he’s my Guide’ felt far too inadequate.
He had seen plenty of relationships between Espers and Guides that were purely business transactions.
His beginning with Ben was like that too; in the past, there had been numerous Guides he’d dealt with like homework, ones who attempted hopeless guiding sessions.
So, what name should he attach to this feeling to make it fit?
As if reflecting his thoughts, his thumb gently traced over the scars.
Ben’s gaze cautiously returned to him.
An energy reminiscent of Ben himself—straightforward and honest—flowed in, gently settling into every corner of his being.
Even with all the recent avoidance, the energy directed solely at him remained entirely honest.
Ben probably didn’t know, but when Ben’s feelings towards him were negative or uncomfortable, Haimar could feel the energy flow not bilaterally, but unilaterally.
That one-sided flow was different from the discomfort caused by poorly controlled abilities; it was an irritation of a completely different nature, unbearable.
Of course, he had no intention of bearing it.
In those moments, he planned to make Ben look at him again, no matter the means or how many times it took.
Whether the method was sickeningly sweet talk or getting Ben to behave sweetly in the palm of his hand.
His sight filled with the face where the reddish hue had finally settled.
His gaze stopped on the slightly parted lips, opened as Ben looked up at him.
I want to kiss him.
He had never felt this emotion towards anyone else, but when it came to Ben Plaskun, it was a natural progression of his thoughts.
Using the hand that had been tapping his cheek, Haimar grabbed Ben’s hair and gently tickled his face.
A small laugh escaped Ben.
I need to hear this voice more, feel this more, see this more.
The downturned corners of his eyes, curved into a beaming smile that was utterly endearing despite him not being a child, were unbearably cute.
Then, the lips that had been laughing from the tickling stopped, and Ben stared intently up at Haimar.
Haimar realized he had been smiling along unknowingly; he could feel the curves around his own eyes and mouth.
Their gazes intertwined, tightly bound together, and in the sunlight-infused, transparent green eyes, he saw his own reflection melting and shattering.
If anyone else had seen this smile, invisible honey would surely have been dripping from it.
In this morning, so quiet even their breaths seemed hushed, Haimar willingly allowed himself to be pulled by the faint, sluggishly tugging force.
As he felt the warm lips touch his, a thought occurred to Haimar, and he let a laugh escape through their joined lips.
It seems I’m going to want to mark him, after all.
∗ ∗ ∗
He did it…
It was an impulsive kiss—completely on a whim.
Sure, he’d kissed first a few times before, but this was the first time the desire hit him and the action just burst out right after.
And what was with Haimar, just going along with it like it was nothing?
He hadn’t even used much force, but the man had been pulled in easily.
Ben projected his own frustration onto him without reason.
But honestly, it had felt unbearable not to do it.
He’d somehow managed to hide his racing heart through all their hugs so far, but maybe he’d gotten momentarily possessed.
As if caught in some flow of consciousness, he had clung to him and kissed him like someone starving.
Like some kind of lovers…
Ugh. That was too much.
No, he’d just given in to temptation.
Even if you gathered every beauty in the world and told them to smile, none of them could pull it off the way Haimar Eilec did.
He wasn’t sure if “seductive” was the right word—but that’s how it felt to Ben.
What the hell was that, just charging in like that?
Seriously, this was bad.
Ben tried his best to calm the rapid beat of his heart and the burning flush creeping up his ears.
But no matter how much he tried, could he really keep hiding these emotions that kept pushing to the surface?
Trying to regain his composure, Ben stomped the button on the toaster and pulled out jars of strawberry jam and cream cheese.
“Would you like coffee? Or tea?”
“I’ll have tea.”
While Ben steadied himself and placed the golden brown toast onto plates, Haimar finally appeared, standing beside him.
He casually took down two mugs and chose his favorite capsule for the machine.
The soft whirring filled the quiet space as the coffee dripped into the cup.
Right as the coffee finished brewing, Haimar pulled out the yuzu syrup they’d gotten as a gift from Enten’s wife.
He added two spoons of it into a cup, poured in the just-boiled water, and sat down with Ben at the table.
“By the way,” Haimar said, “You remember today’s both Ellyn’s birthday party and Elgran’s farewell gathering?”
Ben glanced at the calendar on the table and nodded.
As he spoke, Haimar, who had been spreading a generous amount of strawberry jam onto toast, suddenly asked something unexpected.
“Can you hold your liquor?”
“I can drink, yes. Why do you ask?”
“Because it’s going to be a heavy drinkers’ party.”
“Ah.”
Ben had been just about to take a bite of the toast Haimar handed him, but paused mid-motion, realization dawning on his face.
If he didn’t watch himself and just kept drinking with the flow, he’d probably be carried out in pieces.
Still, Ben was a fairly strong drinker, and not the type to get out of control.
He simply moderated because he hated dealing with hangovers.
Even so, with a crowd of drinkers whose tolerance might be far beyond his, Ben made a mental note to pace himself carefully.
* * *
