* * *
The soft, silky pajama top slipped down Ben’s arm.
Watching the fabric glide along his skin, Ben wondered if Haimar had asked someone else to bring the medicine.
He didn’t remember ever seeing any emergency meds in this spacious officetel, and Haimar’s earlier answer had clearly pointed in that direction.
He wanted to ask more, but the dull pounding in his head made him stop guessing altogether.
In the still atmosphere, Haimar carefully fastened each button on the pajama top, then guided Ben back onto the plush mattress.
Unlike before, when his damp skin clung uncomfortably to the pillow, the dry, fluffy fabric now pressing against his cheek felt pleasant.
This time, Haimar seemed to be putting on his bottoms—he gently took Ben’s ankle in his hand, lifted one leg, and Ben’s body, which had been lying straight, shifted loosely on the mattress.
On the pale inside of Ben’s thigh, faint marks bloomed like heat flowers.
Haimar pressed his lips against the prominent ankle bone he held in his hand.
The heavy warmth of Ben’s limp leg seeped into his lips.
“…When are they coming?”
“Soon.”
Smooch. Smooch.
As if trying to calm the fever stabbing through Ben like thorns, Haimar’s lips traveled up from his calf to his knee, then to the inside of his thigh.
His other hand slid under the sheets, tracing along his thigh until it reached the soft curve of his buttocks, giving it a light squeeze.
Ben reacted instantly to the touch.
“…Wait—just—”
The hand that had been freely caressing his backside slid inward, brushing against the hidden entrance between his cheeks.
He only touched lightly with his fingertips, but the sudden contact made the still-relaxed rim twitch faintly.
When Haimar tapped gently a few times at the heated, swollen opening, Ben’s hips shifted involuntarily.
“Haimar…!”
Knowing that if things got any more intense, Ben’s fever would spike even higher, Haimar hushed him softly and didn’t go any further.
He handled Ben delicately, like a fragile piece of glass—not with lewd intent, but with care.
Still, “care” didn’t mean refraining from doing as he pleased, so it took a little while before Ben was fully dressed in underwear and pajama bottoms.
If anything, it wasn’t the careful touch but the slow trail of Haimar’s lips, paired with those gentle blue eyes when Ben opened his own, that felt more indecent.
That gaze came at him with an odd sweetness, making Ben instinctively reach for the phone on the bedside drawer.
But Haimar pulled him into his arms, stopping him.
“What do you need your phone for?”
There was no real reason.
Just a habit.
Besides, checking the time now meant nothing.
So Ben let his hand drop and leaned against Haimar’s chest, trying to steady the dizziness from the fever.
Like this, it felt both warm and cool at the same time.
And with the sound of his heartbeat in his ear, the pounding in Ben’s head eased a little.
“…You know, for someone who plays the role of a quiet, well-behaved house dog… your actions are nothing like it.”
“That’s because I’m a greedy dog.”
Dog, my ass.
What nonsense.
If that’s his idea of acting like a dog, then every cute and lovable dog in the world would be dead.
Ben thought maybe, if he mocked him enough, Haimar would drop the act—but no, he was still a predator in disguise, spouting sweet words.
“You’ve been spoiled.”
“Suddenly realizing that?”
…God, he’s infuriating.
Tired of a conversation where he was clearly at a disadvantage, Ben shut his half-open eyes completely.
He felt the faint tremor of someone stifling laughter, and then Haimar pulled him closer, tangling their legs under the covers.
His fever still burned uncomfortably, but the atmosphere wrapping around him was peaceful.
And although Haimar’s version of “gentleness” was questionable, he was, in his own way, unfailingly tender—which only made Ben’s heart race and his chest tickle, sending him into a flustered mess.
Ever since Irina Sheril had thrown that question at him, Ben’s world had been turned upside down. Something had changed irrevocably.
What did Ben Plaskun want to call his relationship with Haimar Ailec?
Just an Esper and a Guide?
That was the simplest assumption, and probably the most correct—at least for now.
But the thought of defining it that way left a hollow feeling in his chest.
He tried to find another reason, but nothing came.
His fever-clogged chest only felt heavier, and he buried his face in the blankets to shake the thoughts away.
“If your fever goes up any higher, it’ll be a problem.”
Haimar, oblivious to the fact that his touch was one of the causes of that very fever, spoke in that pleasant, easy voice as he added—
“I have to deal with the uninvited guest outside.”
…Uninvited guest?
Who on earth could that be, when it was so quiet?
If it were Elgran, he would have made a loud entrance.
And if it were someone else from Central, they would’ve come and gone so quietly Ben wouldn’t have even noticed.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Ben lifted his face slightly from the blankets.
At that very moment, the quiet bedroom door swung open—and an unfamiliar face appeared.
Floating in midair.
“Shhh—Penka was trying to come quietly, but what’s this?”
“Shhh—Pinka was trying to be quiet too, but this is cheating!”
Identical faces. Identical voices.
Short, slightly tousled hair of pink-tinged gold shimmered, and two pairs of large, sparkling amber eyes lit up as they looked at Ben and Haimar.
With plump, fair cheeks faintly flushed and lips chattering like baby birds, they radiated pure cuteness.
The pair of fresh-faced twins, looking barely mid-teens at most, clutched paper bags as they floated in the air, spinning like two baby animals caught sneaking snacks.
“I may have ordered the medicine, but I don’t recall asking you two to bring it. Care to explain why you’re here?”
The flawlessly polite smile accompanying those words was clearly an invitation to “try talking your way out of this.”
The sweet expression and the icy tone clashed, making the twins flinch briefly before chirping back in their baby-bird voices.
“But Penka wanted to come!”
“That’s right. Pinka wanted to come too!”
“Penka and Pinka came because we were curious about Ben. We brought medicine, too!”
“Penka and Pinka definitely weren’t planning to sneak into your dreams.”
Everything they said seemed plausible—except for that last part.
Truth or not, the twins radiated loveliness just by existing.
The way they fidgeted with their fingers was cute, and the way they tilted their heads, trying to get a better look at Ben tucked into Haimar’s arms, was even cuter.
If you wanted to compare someone to a puppy, it should be them—not Haimar Ailec.
Even their hair had a pinkish hue, doubling their charm.
If cuteness could be a weapon, theirs was powerful enough to destroy the universe.
Who could look at these twins and not find them adorable?
Anyone who didn’t must have a heart of ice.
“Leave the medicine and go.”
Ah. So the ice-hearted human was right next to me…
Haimar’s words didn’t contain any actual insults, but to Ben’s ears, they sounded exactly like “Get lost.”
If Ben heard it that way, then surely the twins did too.
His eyes drifted slowly to meet theirs.
“Hi! I’m Penka Reablem.”
“Hi! I’m Pinka Reablem.”
“Penka and Pinka are two in one, and one in two.”
The twins puffed out their chests proudly and beamed like sunlight, easily picking up Haimar’s words.
Ben, unable to just sit there, pushed the blanket down from his half-covered face and greeted them back.
“Hello… sir.”
“Penka missed Ben so, so much.”
“Pinka too! Elgran or Haimar never, ever contact [Integra] at all.”
They spoke so casually, as if this wasn’t the first time they’d been floating in midair thanks to Haimar.
Ben remembered what he’d heard about the Reablem twins.
Psychics of dreams, belonging to [Integra].
According to a bit of extra explanation Elgran had given before, the Reablem twins not only possessed a special ability called “dreams” but were also one of the extremely rare irregulars in the world — only a few pairs existed.
From the moment they were born, they had shared each other’s powers, their boundaries between Guide and Esper so blurred that their very existence had earned them the label “Irregular.”
They were a one-of-a-kind pair whose very being had nothing ordinary about it.
Outwardly, though, they looked exactly like normal identical twins.
“Still got more nonsense to spout?”
“Ah—! No, Haimar, this is something Penka wanted to give to Ben!”
“Penka, that’s dangerous. Haimar’s scary.”
The paper bag Lempenca was clutching was yanked away by Haimar’s power.
More precisely, it wasn’t the bag itself but the contents inside that were taken.
Pinka swung his tiny hands, trying to grab the medicine and water bottle being pulled toward Haimar, but he couldn’t reach, and the items landed neatly in Haimar’s grasp.
“Don’t scare them. They’re just kids.”
“Kids? You look at the shell and call actual adults in their twenties ‘kids’?”
…Uh.
* * *
