Morning arrived quietly beneath pale golden sunlight filtering through the curtains.
The room remained warm.
Peaceful.
Silent except for the faint sound of breathing.
Elior slowly opened his eyes.
For a few seconds, he simply stared blankly at the ceiling while waking up fully.
Then—
warm breath brushed softly against his skin again.
"…Ah."
This time—
he was no longer surprised.
Kael remained asleep against him exactly like before, arms still wrapped securely around Elior's waist as though unconsciously afraid he might disappear during the night.
His breathing was slow.
Steady.
Warm against Elior's neck.
The faint sound of it quietly filled the silence between them.
And strangely—
instead of awkwardness—
Elior felt calm.
His gaze slowly lowered toward Kael.
Seeing Kael sleeping peacefully somehow always soothed his mind naturally.
Which honestly felt strange.
Because every moment Elior spent around Kael usually ended in chaos somehow.
Embarrassment.
Awkward teasing.
Flustered confusion.
Or Kael doing something mischievous unexpectedly.
Because of that—
Elior had unknowingly always kept his guard up around him.
Always careful.
Always conscious.
Yet now—
here—
inside this quiet room—
there was none of that.
No teasing.
No embarrassment.
No strange tension.
Well…
perhaps only a little.
But still—
seeing Kael asleep quietly in his arms felt strangely different.
Like a large dangerous cat finally exhausting itself after causing endless trouble before suddenly curling up and sleeping like a lost abandoned puppy afterward.
Elior smiled faintly at the thought.
Then slowly—
his expression softened further.
After realizing why I'm always conscious around you…
…I still don't know what to do.
Confusion quietly filled his thoughts again.
When will I finally understand you properly, Kael…?
Maybe once I do—
this confusion inside me will finally become clearer too.
Elior lowered his gaze slightly.
But…
how am I supposed to make you feel at ease?
You always worry too much.
You always carry things alone.
Yet I still don't know what I'm supposed to do for you.
Kael…
Will I ever become someone who can truly understand you?
Will I ever become someone you can fully rely on?
A faint sadness crossed Elior's eyes.
I'm weak.
I don't have enough strength.
I don't know how to help anyone properly.
I only know how to listen.
Even yesterday…
when you cried…
…I didn't know how to comfort you.
His fingers slowly brushed lightly through Kael's dark bangs unconsciously.
Soft.
Warm.
Maybe…
I won't understand until I learn more about you.
But still—
you're letting me stay beside you.
The thought alone made Elior's chest feel strangely warm.
Just when will I finally be able to understand you completely…?
I'm waiting, Kael.
Just like you asked me to.
Waiting…
Waiting…
Until someday—
you freely come to me yourself.
Without hiding.
Without carrying everything alone.
Without pretending you're fine.
Elior's gaze softened quietly.
So…
don't make me wait too long.
Because somehow—
the thought of being too late frightens me.
Elior himself still did not fully understand what these feelings meant.
But slowly—
very slowly—
he had begun noticing something changing inside his heart.
Something familiar.
Something warm.
Something that felt strangely old despite being new.
Perhaps he was beginning to understand.
Or perhaps—
he had always known this feeling somewhere deep inside him already.
Either way—
Elior had now started trying to understand those emotions one by one.
And somewhere beyond both their understanding—
fate silently watched.
Allowing Elior a choice this time.
A chance.
What he would do with it—
only time would decide.
Elior still did not know he was already stepping closer toward his own feelings little by little.
Yet despite everything—
he continued moving forward unknowingly.
His fingers gently brushed Kael's bangs again where they lightly tickled against his neck.
Then suddenly—
Kael moved.
"…Mm…"
Before Elior could react properly, Kael slowly nuzzled deeper against his neck sleepily.
The soft movement immediately sent light ticklish sensations across Elior's skin.
Elior let out a quiet laugh accidentally.
"Kael?"
No response.
Only more sleepy nuzzling.
"…Are you awake?"
"…Mm…"
Half-asleep sounds escaped Kael lazily.
Clearly awake enough to hear him.
But absolutely unwilling to move.
Elior smiled helplessly.
"Kael… if you're awake, then stop moving."
Another sleepy nuzzle.
"It's ticklish…"
Kael completely ignored him.
Instead, he continued rubbing his face lightly against Elior's neck comfortably like he belonged there naturally.
"…Kael."
Elior laughed softly this time.
"Please stop moving your head."
Still—
Kael refused to listen.
Finally, after several more seconds, Kael slowly opened his eyes slightly.
Sleepy silver light reflected faintly inside them as he looked up toward Elior silently.
Then—
a slow smirk appeared.
Elior immediately became suspicious.
"…Kael?"
Instead of answering—
Kael slowly shifted closer.
Very slowly.
Until his lips hovered near Elior's neck once again.
Elior's breathing unconsciously slowed.
Kael did not kiss him.
Did not bite him.
Did not even touch him properly.
Instead—
he simply breathed.
Slowly.
Warm air brushed directly against Elior's sensitive skin in quiet intervals.
In.
Out.
The warmth felt strangely intense this close.
Far too noticeable.
Each breath spread clearly beneath Elior's skin until even the faint sound of it became impossible to ignore.
Like Kael was unconsciously forcing Elior to memorize him.
His warmth.
His breathing.
His presence.
Without realizing it—
Elior slowly began absorbing every sensation deeply into his subconscious.
The heat.
The sound.
The closeness.
Everything.
And somehow—
Kael's breathing gradually became warmer.
Heavier.
Not inappropriate.
Just deeply intimate in a quiet emotional way that made Elior's heartbeat slowly lose rhythm.
"…Kael…"
Elior's voice came out softer than expected.
But Kael only closed his eyes again lazily against Elior's neck.
"…Warm," he murmured sleepily.
Then after a pause—
"…I slept well."
And somehow—
those simple words affected Elior far more deeply than they should have.
"..."
Kael finally lifted his head afterward.
Completely calm.
Completely refreshed.
As though he had not just spent several minutes turning Elior into complete emotional chaos.
Then—
with absolutely no guilt—
he smiled softly.
Brightly.
Almost innocently.
"…Elior."
Elior immediately narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Did you sleep well?"
The question sounded so harmless.
So normal.
Which somehow made it worse.
Elior stared at him silently.
And slowly—
a terrible realization entered his mind.
…Did I make a mistake again?
Why do I keep letting my guard down around him?
Every single time—
Kael somehow managed to do whatever he wanted naturally.
And worse—
he always acted afterward like he had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Meanwhile Elior suffered alone.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Just now—
Kael had only breathed against his neck.
That was all.
Yet somehow Elior's entire face had turned burning red because of it.
Even now—
his cheeks still felt warm.
Kael noticed immediately of course.
And naturally—
he looked extremely amused by it.
Elior internally wanted to collapse.
Why was this happening only to him?
Meanwhile Kael looked perfectly fine.
Not embarrassed.
Not affected.
Not flustered.
Nothing.
Just sitting there smiling peacefully like an innocent person who had absolutely not destroyed Elior's composure five minutes ago.
Unbelievable.
Elior looked away immediately.
"…You're troublesome."
Kael blinked once lazily.
"Hm?"
"You heard me."
Kael only smiled wider.
Which somehow irritated Elior even more.
Honestly—
was Kael even capable of feeling embarrassed?
At this point Elior seriously doubted it.
No matter what happened—
Kael always adapted naturally somehow.
And whenever Elior tried pushing him away—
Kael simply got closer instead.
If Elior said no—
Kael tightened his hold.
If Elior became embarrassed—
Kael looked entertained.
If Elior tried creating boundaries—
Kael crossed them shamelessly with complete confidence.
And somehow—
despite all that—
Kael still never made Elior genuinely uncomfortable.
Which made resisting him even harder.
Elior sighed deeply.
What am I even supposed to do with you…?
Still—
this time Elior did not want to lose completely.
No.
After suffering repeatedly like this—
he wanted revenge.
At least once.
The problem was—
what exactly could make Kael feel equally embarrassed?
Elior genuinely could not think of anything.
Because Kael was shameless.
Dangerously shameless.
Trying to attack back usually only gave Kael more opportunities to tease him further.
Which was terrifying.
Elior looked toward Kael carefully again.
Kael meanwhile stretched lazily against the bed before calmly fixing his slightly messy hair.
Completely relaxed.
As though he had already won something invisible again.
Elior narrowed his eyes slightly.
No.
There has to be something.
Everyone has weaknesses.
Even Kael.
Right…?
And slowly—
very slowly—
Elior began thinking seriously for the first time about how exactly he could someday make Kael lose composure too.
Elior suddenly looked toward Kael thoughtfully.
Then—
"…Kael."
"Hm?"
"Where did you put the jacket you wore yesterday?"
Kael blinked once in confusion.
"…My jacket?"
"Yes."
"…Why?"
Then immediately—
a dangerous smirk appeared on Kael's face.
"…Did you want to smell it?"
Elior froze.
Kael lazily stretched afterward before adding shamelessly,
"I'm right here available, you know."
A pause.
"You can just come smell me directly as much as you want."
Elior's face instantly turned red.
"K-Kael!"
"What?"
"Don't say shameless things so casually!"
Kael looked completely innocent.
"I was only offering practical solutions."
"You absolutely were not."
Kael looked deeply unconvinced.
Meanwhile Elior quickly tried calming himself down before speaking again.
"I'm asking because…"
His eyes shifted slightly away.
"…I left something inside it."
Kael frowned faintly.
Inside my jacket?
Then suddenly—
realization struck him.
…the pebble.
Kael's soul almost left his body instantly.
Unfortunately—
it was already too late.
"There," Kael answered quickly while trying to sound calm. "It's on the sofa."
The moment he pointed toward it—
Elior immediately moved.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Kael internally felt danger approaching.
Elior reached the jacket quickly before sliding his hand inside the inner pocket.
And then—
he pulled it out.
The carefully wrapped pebble.
Silence.
Kael immediately covered part of his face with one hand.
"…Ah."
Disaster.
Complete disaster.
Meanwhile Elior slowly turned around while holding the pebble carefully between his fingers.
And for the first time in a very long while—
a dangerous kind of confidence appeared inside his eyes.
"…Kael."
Kael refused to look at him.
No.
Absolutely not.
Elior slowly walked closer afterward.
Then deliberately held the pebble directly near Kael's face.
Very close.
"…I guess you're not the type of person who randomly collects stones."
Kael remained silent.
Which only encouraged Elior further.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"So…" Elior continued slowly.
"Why did you carefully wrap it?"
"…And hide it?"
Kael's ears were already visibly red beneath his hand now.
Elior almost wanted to laugh seeing it.
Wait.
Kael can actually get embarrassed?
The discovery felt historic.
Elior leaned slightly closer.
"And what exactly were you planning to do with this stone?"
Kael immediately answered,
"Nothing."
"Mm."
Elior clearly did not believe him at all.
"I didn't know you had this kind of personality hidden inside you."
"…Elior."
"Hm?"
"…Stop."
"No."
Kael finally looked at him briefly.
Big mistake.
Because Elior immediately smiled after seeing Kael genuinely flustered.
Ah.
So THIS was his weakness.
Elior slowly brought the pebble even closer teasingly.
"So Kael…"
His voice softened slightly.
"Why exactly did you pick it up?"
"…Hmm?"
Kael immediately looked away again.
Meanwhile Elior reached toward the hand covering Kael's face.
"Come on."
A small laugh escaped him.
"Let me see your expression properly."
Kael kept avoiding him.
But Elior surprisingly became persistent now.
"No hiding."
"…Elior."
"No."
Elior tried pulling Kael's hand away again—
And suddenly—
everything reversed instantly.
Kael grabbed Elior's wrist immediately.
Then before Elior could react—
Kael pushed him backward onto the bed.
"Ah—?!"
Elior's eyes widened.
Kael pinned both his wrists gently but firmly above him before leaning down slightly.
Silver eyes stared directly into Elior's now.
Dangerously calm.
"…Are you enjoying yourself?"
Elior froze.
Kael's grip tightened just enough to stop him from escaping.
"You suddenly became very bold."
A slow smirk appeared afterward.
"So now you know how to take revenge too, huh?"
Elior immediately struggled slightly.
"K-Kael, let go—"
"Oh?"
Kael leaned slightly closer.
"Now you want to escape?"
"…Where did the confident Elior from earlier go?"
Elior tried pulling his hands free again.
But Kael's hold remained annoyingly steady.
"…Kael."
"Hm?"
"Release my hands."
"Why?"
Kael looked genuinely entertained now.
"Aren't you the one who started teasing first?"
Elior immediately regretted everything.
"…Okay."
Kael waited calmly.
"…I won't tease you anymore."
"Mm."
"So let me go now."
Kael remained silent.
"…Please?"
Finally—
Kael slowly released Elior's wrists.
But instead of moving away—
he shifted even closer.
Elior instantly became alarmed again.
"…Kael."
"Hm?"
"Move aside."
"No."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"…Kael?"
Kael suddenly smiled afterward.
A very suspicious smile.
Then without warning—
his fingers attacked Elior's waist instantly.
"Ah—?!"
Elior nearly jumped.
"K-Kael—!"
Kael immediately started tickling him mercilessly around his waist and stomach.
Elior burst into helpless laughter almost instantly.
"Kael— stop—!"
Kael looked completely entertained now.
"Really?"
"You were very brave earlier."
"Kael— hahaha— stop—!"
Elior curled slightly while laughing uncontrollably, trying desperately to grab Kael's wrists and push him away.
But Kael only laughed harder seeing Elior struggle helplessly beneath him.
"…You started this."
"That's unfair—!"
"You discovered my weakness."
"So now this is punishment."
"Kael—! Hahaha— stop moving your hands—!"
Meanwhile Kael looked happier than he had in days.
And somehow—
watching Kael laugh this freely made Elior laugh even harder too.
—by Aurea;
"The most dangerous people are not the ones who hide their emotions…
but the ones who hide how deeply they care."