The beanbag was certainly wide enough for one person but a bit too narrow for two.
Ben shifted slightly to make room for Haimar.
However, contrary to expectations, Haimar moved to the back of the beanbag instead of next to Ben, sitting with his legs wide apart and positioning Ben in the empty space between them.
The resulting posture was a complete back-hug, with Haimar fully embracing Ben.
Ben had expected Haimar to sit side by side, not in this position.
He was holding his body stiffly and awkwardly, but after Haimar, who was now securely settled, pulled him closer by wrapping an arm tighter around his waist, Ben finally relaxed his body.
Thanks to this, he was completely enveloped in Haimar’s broad embrace, creating a remarkably comfortable posture.
As he was held tightly from behind without any gaps, a sense of tranquility flowed through him.
Haimar’s aura, which was much calmer than when it was out of control, was like sunlit water shimmering on a vast ocean.
Furthermore, a faint, golden energy, which seemed to pass through vaguely, enveloped Ben soothingly.
It felt like basking in the warm light of the midday sun.
His daily life, which had originally been dry and barren, regardless of whether things were good or bad, was increasingly being filled with color.
Ben wished Haimar also felt this soft, swelling emotion bubbling up from deep within his chest.
However, he felt a bit shy about showing it, so Ben finished eating the pizza toppings.
He reached out his arm to grab the sauce container on the table, leaving only the crust edge.
“Why?”
Haimar, who tightened the arm around Ben’s waist as he tried to pull away, asked.
No sooner did Ben point to the sauce container on the table, his target, than Haimar used his finger to place the plastic sauce container right into Ben’s hand.
Oh, how convenient.
Ben genuinely marveled.
Every time he saw things like this, he thought it would be wonderful if he had such an ability.
For example, wouldn’t such abilities be incredibly useful when you want to fetch an object that is far away, as now, or when you remember your smartphone is in another room just as you are getting into bed?
Of course, this was all just an absurd fantasy, and in reality, Haimar was doing it for him, but he could still imagine.
If Haimar could read his mind, he would be busy teasing Ben for his utterly frivolous daydreams.
Ben folded his wings of imagination, dipped the bread part of the crust deep into the container that had been kindly delivered with the lid already opened, and naturally moved it toward his mouth.
Then he turned his hand back toward Haimar.
“Thank you. This end part is delicious when dipped in dipping sauce. Do you want to try some?”
“Is eating it this way your preference?”
“Yes. Since the crust is relatively plain compared to the toppings, I prefer dipping it like this.”
During their conversation, the movie’s distribution company segment had already passed, and the movie title had appeared.
The film was about to start in earnest, but Haimar was silent, with no reaction to Ben’s words.
Since Haimar was behind him, Ben couldn’t properly see his state with just his hand held out, so he turned his body slightly.
It was then that Haimar deftly took a bite of the sauce-dipped crust Ben had offered and swallowed it.
“It tastes good.”
“Right? I’m glad.”
This time, Ben dipped the crust in the sauce, brought it to his own mouth, and smiled contentedly.
Just as he was about to carelessly wipe the stray sauce from his lips, Haimar moved his arm and gently wiped the sauce away with his thumb.
Immediately afterward, Haimar also brought the beer to Ben’s lips.
Ben felt truly honored.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Ben, who was now able to watch the movie in great comfort, immediately immersed himself in the unfolding plot.
The movie’s story was simple.
It was the predictable tale of two protagonists, an Esper and a Guide, who, under the mission to save the world, overcome hardships with their colleagues, confirm their love for each other, and ultimately succeed in saving the world from crisis.
Yet, the theme of Espers and Guides was always a popular and effective plot device, and the story was well-executed, uniquely featuring a male couple as the leads, making it quite entertaining.
It was just the right level for a solid, enjoyable, time-killer movie, one could say.
The swift development, with no boring parts dragging on, and the feast of high-quality, visually appealing action scenes made it a film that could be safely recommended to others, just as Moria had suggested to Ben.
However, one thing made Ben uneasy: while he was quite satisfied with the movie, Haimar seemed only half-interested.
It was almost as if he found serving Ben more amusing than the film.
Throughout the movie, pizza was effortlessly delivered to Ben’s mouth, and the crusts were always politely dipped in the sauce Ben held before being presented.
Haimar even held the beer to Ben’s lips at just the right moments to prevent choking.
Ben hadn’t noticed while he was engrossed in the movie, but now that he thought about it, he was practically royalty.
“Was the movie not interesting?”
“No. Just that this was more interesting.”
Indeed, Haimar was not the type to miss the movie’s content even if he was distracted.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Haimar had four extra sets of eyes and ears compared to a normal person.
Should he consider it fortunate that even if the movie wasn’t to his taste, he at least found amusement in serving Ben?
Perhaps he should have chosen a sports event instead of a movie.
He vaguely recalled a recent rivalry match between two famously antagonistic soccer teams.
While Ben was lost in these thoughts, Haimar shifted Ben’s body sideways, as if handling a toy, and readjusted his embrace.
“Because you looked like a baby animal being fed.”
“…Next time we watch one, you should choose.”
“It won’t be much different, though?”
“The intention to do it is what matters.”
Haimar’s tone suggested he would act the same way even if a different choice was made.
Nevertheless, Ben expressed his opinion, thinking that such a choice would be a tiny spoonful of help on the journey to finding Haimar’s preferences.
Perhaps because this effort was commendable, Haimar thankfully let it slide without raising an objection.
Ben then blankly stared at the ending credits, which were rolling up with loud rock music.
Oh, right.
Just when he thought he could peacefully go to sleep, the homework he had postponed popped into Ben’s mind.
Dinner was over, and the movie was practically finished.
There were no more obstacles, no more excuses.
He had postponed it himself, and he had even boldly promised to be the one to suggest it first.
His conscience would prick him if he pretended to forget.
It would be better to speak up quickly before the atmosphere grew more awkward.
Ben looked up at Haimar, using the ending credits music as his cover.
“Um, listen.”
“Your left ankle—”
Huh?
However, before he could bring up the matter, he was cut off.
Moreover, the topic was completely unexpected.
Haimar had suddenly pointed out his left ankle.
Ben had never specifically mentioned his ankle, which had recently started to hurt occasionally, to Haimar.
So, being named so accurately was quite surprising.
Even if he thought about whether his gait looked strange when he walked around the house earlier, the pain was not continuous enough to affect his walk; it was a pain that came and went like a brief flash of lightning a couple of times.
There was no reason for his walking to be strange when his ankle wasn’t hurting.
“Is there a problem?”
“Oh. Sometimes… it hurts a little, but how did you know?”
It felt wrong to lie and say he was fine when Haimar asked so sharply, so Ben slightly confessed.
He couldn’t keep silent about it forever, and he emphasized the words sometimes and a little to avoid making Haimar worry too much.
In any case, since Haimar specifically mentioned his left ankle, he must have some idea.
“I saw something for a moment.”
“Yes? What did you see?”
“I wonder.”
However, Haimar did not give a clear answer.
This was because even he could not make a definite statement.
More precisely, he could explain the phenomenon that occurred, but it was difficult to interpret its meaning.
Haimar lifted Ben’s left ankle and gently bit the area near the concave part of his ankle bone.
A bruise quickly formed on the skin, and when Haimar pulled his lips away, a slight concern remained.
Ben could feel this emotion, which could be called worry, coming from him.
“I’ll stop by Central’s medical office next time. It’s probably nothing.”
“Do that. Let’s go together.”
What Haimar had seen was a faint golden aura.
It quickly disappeared, but the golden particles surrounding Ben’s ankle felt somewhat familiar.
In Haimar’s experience, such particles were only seen after vigorous sexual activity accompanied by Guiding.
Even though it was only for a moment, the visibly glittering appearance had caught Haimar’s attention.
He had merely pointed it out and asked about it, but the fact that Ben admitted it sometimes hurt suggested it was not something to be easily overlooked.
He had learned before when Ben caught a cold, his Guide had a bad habit of not showing his pain.
“Don’t hide it when you’re hurting. Before I scold you.”
“Scolding a grown adult is a bit much…”
“So, what were you going to say?”
Ben, who was about to argue with Haimar’s words, froze like a statue.
That’s right. If Haimar hadn’t interrupted him about his ankle, Ben had a definite plan for what to say.
With dinner and the movie successfully completed, only one thing remained for the two of them.
