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"What the hell are you doing?" Gregor didn't sound annoyed, but genuinely confused.
He didn't even get to actually finish entering his room, he had only managed to take his vest off and undo his tie when Hong Lu asked to enter. He was carrying a fancy basket with different cosmetics, of which Gregor could only recognize a few as being haircare products.
He raised an eyebrow at Hong Lu, who had a serene smile on his face, like always.
"Oh, you know… I got curious about what Dante was writing on their PDA after the battle and couldn't help but take a little peek" Hong Lu waved a hand, dismissively, but his movements always stayed unnervingly elegant and practiced. "Turns out a little -" he smirked and Gregor's eyebrow twitched "- someone was the best performing employee"
He rolled his eyes, Hong Lu knew how to annoy him but he was too hard to tell off, he'd just smile and tilt his head while making a surprised expression as if saying 'did I say something wrong?' and Gregor knew it was him just playing dumb, but he let himself fall for it sometimes.
"... And?" Gregor prodded.
"And I decided that the most valuable teammate deserved a prize" He beamed, it was way too bright, Gregor could even see the sparkly aura emanate from him.
Gregor scoffed, scratching the back of his neck.
"I don't need anything, bud, go to your room, use your free time for something actually important"
"Oh but I want to do this!"
Gregor pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, he was going to lose this verbal battle and the score would always be in favor of Hong Lu.
"And what exactly is this?"
"I wanted to do something nice for you! You know, your hair is always kind of a disaster" Another eyebrow twitch "but I know it would look very pretty if you took proper care of it… So I decided I wanted to wash your hair!"
" What? "
"Back home I'd have people do it for me and it was very relaxing, and if someone needs to relax is an older gentleman like yourself"
Sigh
Gregor eyed at the basket in Hong Lu's hands again.
"Those're yours?" He tilted his head to point at it with his chin, putting out his cigarette as a sign of defeat against the younger man.
Hong Lu nodded.
"The ones that the Company provides to us make my skin flare up, it's strange"
Of course the sheltered rich kid would be allergic to anything generic.
Gregor squinted.
"What if I don't want to smell like you? That'd be weird"
"You already smell like the rest of the lot"
Touche.
"Ack, whatever, bud, do as you want"
Gregor grumbled. He was willing to take that defeat.
"Perhaps we should move to my room, I'm in a good mood and I'm sure we'll get the other stuff we need for this" Hong Lu tilted his head, showing Gregor a kind and genuine smile, leaving him wondering what was the catch. There was always a catch.
"Aight, should I grab a towel or…?"
"Just follow me, okay? We'll be fine"
Hong Lu had already opened the door and waltzed into the corridor, having Gregor follow him to his door, seeing Hong Lu hum happily before opening it.
The room was cozy and definitely more elaborate than whatever Gregor could muster with his limited imagination and usually sour mood, and he couldn't help but take a peek around, a bit jealous about the size of the bed that Hong Lu was able to conjure and how soft and welcoming everything looked. He knew it probably wasn't always like this, Hong Lu seemed to hide something dark behind his cheery facade, but as he pointed out before, he did find himself in a good mood, and it reflected.
"Hmmm let's see if there is what I think there should be behind this door"
The taller Sinner walked through the room to a door that was almost blended behind the intricate patterns on the walls and opened it, revealing an equally fancy, but still a bit on the humble side, bathroom, with a big, classic looking bathtub.
Gregor let out a low whistle of surprise while Hong Lu set the basket next to the tub, and then inquired after noticing something quite important.
"Uh, bud, there's no sink, or anything else, just… Just this"
"Ah, maybe it just adjusted to my current needs"
Gregor's head was filled with question marks and quickly became flustered.
"Just what are you planning, you little devil?"
"I thought it would be easier if we went in together so I could properly help you relax" his smile was very artificially innocent and made Gregor sigh.
"You're as subtle as the sting of a hornet, kid"
He found himself smiling, Hong Lu's shenanigans were welcomed, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the attention.
"So, what are you waiting for? Take off your clothes"
Gregor flinched and could swear his hair stood up as antenna for a second.
"As in… Now? In front of you?" He wasn't a stranger of being naked in front of people, just little soldier things after all, but he still wasn't used to be as vulnerable in front of just one person, in such an intimate way, specially one that wasn't calculated at all with his words, he got a knot in the pit of his stomach just by imagining the hurtful comments Hong Lu could make about him unintentionally. "Can I… can I get a towel and take them off outside in the bedroom?"
Hong Lu tapped his finger on his chin, eyes looking up, as if deep in thought.
"Okay! Here" He looked around the bathroom's cabinets, quickly handing him a way too nice looking robe, silky red, it felt ridiculously soft against his skin. "I believe you'll feel more comfortable in this"
Gregor felt bad at the idea of possibly ripping the nice fabric with his insect arm, but Hong Lu looked eager and realized that he didn't care about those material goods, apparently tonight was really all about the old veteran.
"I guess… I'll be back in a jiffy, buddy"
Hong Lu waved at him, as if to bid him farewell.
"See you later!"
He would never understand what the hell was going on inside the kid's head, it's like he lived in his own little world.
Gregor looked around the room again, remembering Dante offhandedly mentioning that they were able to take glimpses inside the rooms sometimes, and a wave of shyness hit him, making him grit his teeth while pulling a folding screen he found in a corner to cover the circular window on the door before quickly taking off his clothes, kicking his shoes to a corner and letting his pants and shirt just fall on the floor in a crumpled mess.
He sighed, just one piece of clothing left covering his shame. He squeezed his eyes shut and quickly took his underwear off, putting the robe on without opening them.
The fabric was cold. He shivered a bit, hugging himself while trying to go back into the bathroom, the soft clothing touching his skin with the smell of Hong Lu made his ears turn red. He opened the door to the bathroom and blushed completely.
Hong Lu was fully naked, sitting on a little wooden stool next to the bathtub, an arm in it checking the temperature of the water.
"Ah, everything's ready"
Gregor's thoughts buffered, he could swear he felt a couple strands of his fringe twitch.
The younger man seemed expectant but didn't rush him in any way, he realized the whole act of giving him something to cover himself with was to let him take his time and do it on his own terms. He already had messed up when he didn't decline, didn't he?
No matter how many times he already had seen Hong Lu like that, it still hit him in the face like a bucket of cold water the fact of how visible it was that both of their lives were completely different, Hong Lu was lean but built, his skin was soft and unblemished, pale, and his body hair was practically nonexistent. Gregor felt like an insignificant ugly furball in front of him, what the hell did Hong Lu even see in him?
Gregor took his glasses off and set them next to the neatly folded towels Hong Lu prepared, hoping the slight blurriness of his natural sight would act as some sort of barrier to make him stop comparing himself to the other man and self-deprecating a bit because of it.
He got pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of splashing water and turned his head to see Hong Lu already inside the bathtub, sitting while leaving space in front of himself, humming and moving his head along the little song he made up while putting his hair up to not get it wet. He was waiting for him.
Gregor turned around, his back to Hong Lu, sighing deeply before taking the rob off.
"Oh are you putting on a show for me~?" Hong Lu's sing-song voice made him tense up and want to shrink.
Ok, that was it, he powered through his embarrassment and placed himself in the bathtub, in front of Hong Lu, splashing water due to his clumsy, rushed movements.
"Ah, what a shame, I wanted to see more"
Hong Lu was ridiculous. Gregor folded his legs against his chest, knees poking out of the water, which he noticed had a really faint but pleasant scent, lavender? He wondered how much of a good mood Hong Lu had to be in to be able to materialize such extravagances. The temperature was perfect, and he could feel the tension his body had built up on the past days slowly disappear.
He had left a space between them, which Hong Lu closed by placing his hands on Gregor's shoulders.
"Tilt your head back, alright? I'm going to wash your hair"
He did as he was told and looked at the heterochromatic eyes.
"Hm" That's all he could say, he agreed to this after all.
Hong Lu reached for his hair, starting to rinse it with water, and Gregor closed his eyes.
After a couple seconds he could feel a sudden cold sensation on his scalp, making him flinch a little, but it was followed by Hong Lu gently massaging, making sure to get all of his hair covered in the product. It started to feel really nice after a bit, Gregor could feel Hong Lu's almost perfectly soft hands (some new calluses were forming on them, a shame) gently working on his hair, untangling it with his fingers. When he was finally relaxing and letting himself melt into Hong Lu's touch, even his arm, dangling at the side of the bathtub, which would at least twitch at the stimulus, seemed to have relaxed completely, he got almost startled by the other's voice, taking him out of the blissful trance.
"How did you manage to get a twig in there?" Hong Lu held a small twig in front of Gregor's eyes.
"No idea, from the E.G.O, maybe?" As long as there were no maggots…
"How do you even shower, old man?" Why was he getting scolded now?
"Like… A normal person would?"
Hong Lu let out a little annoyed 'tsk' and a sigh.
"I'll have to do it for you, then, can't have you walking around like this, Mister Gregor…"
Gregor scoffed, rolling his eyes. He could hear the smirk on Hong Lu's lips as he said that.
"Are you sure you aren't enjoying this more than me?" He knew the younger man had peculiar tastes, but as he pointed out before, Gregor couldn't find a better word to describe him than 'ridiculous'.
"Well… Maybe, but as I said, this is about you, not me… Close your eyes please"
Gregor did as told and Hong Lu rinsed the product off his hair, maybe they should have washed beforehand, the water was getting a bit nasty.
"I guess we should shower after this, huh?" He read his mind. "Together, of course" his tone of voice was completely happy and pleasant, no mischievous intentions behind it, but Gregor knew better. "Ah, I didn't think we'd need a shower, I'll have to think of something… We can do this again, with better planning"
"Sure, bud, whatever"
He couldn't go back, could he?
"I just keep getting more and more lucky then" There it was, the mischief.
Hong Lu hugged him from behind, his sudden movements causing the water to splash wildly, trapping him between both his arms and legs, face resting on the crook of his neck, if he looked slightly up, he could be able to see the blush forming on Gregor's cheeks, which already tinted the tips of his ears a bright shade of pink. Gregor felt Hong Lu smile against his neck and shuddered, he should have been used to that too, Hong Lu was impulsive and unpredictable around him. But he never was unpleasant. Yes, he could make the older man feel annoyed at times but it was endearing in a way, it was just… It was just Hong Lu, a ridiculous mischievous imp.
"A warning would be nice next time, Hong Lu"
Hong Lu's metaphoric puppy ears perked up at the mention of his name instead of a term of endearment; he liked to hear Gregor say his name.
"What's the fun in that?"
"Well, it could save us an emergency rewind if my arm decides to act on its own… No hard feelings, you know how it is, I'd rather not have to deal with it either" He didn't know if it was because of their shared mirror world identities, but seeing Hong Lu get hurt upset him the most.
"Ah, yes… It would be a little awkward to have to explain to Dante the situation, not like they'd ask questions, though…"
Gregor sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to rest it on Hong Lu's shoulder. It was so warm and comfortable he could fall asleep like this.
Hong Lu's hands caressed his torso, making him flinch when they got close to his lower abdomen. Hong Lu chuckled, going back to just simply holding him.
"Thank you for accepting my silly request, Gregor"
"It's not like I had too much of an option there"
He was not immune to puppy eyes and Hong Lu had them perfected.
"You have no idea how much it means to me"
"But why…?"
Oops, he said it out loud.
"Why?" He didn't sound surprised, just contemplative. "Hm… Because being around you makes me happy, you make me very curious and you're unique"
He didn't know how to react to that word, was it said in a positive way? He wanted to believe it was, but that little voice in the back of his head constantly told him to not get his hopes up, he was a disgusting vermin after all.
"That's… That's not true, bud, I'm just a regular guy" He didn't want to self-deprecate in front of the other man.
"No, there's only one Gregor, the one that's mine, the one that still cares about others no matter how nasty they'd been to him" Hong Lu peppered his right shoulder with butterfly kisses, stopping at the junction of skin and chitin, he didn't want to ruin the moment by making Gregor upset.
Gregor was getting flustered, ah, how shameful it was to be feeling that way as a grown man, but the complete serious and genuine tone on the younger's words just had that effect on him. He knew he wasn't lying, and that made him question himself even more. He hadn't done anything extraordinary, he also found himself to be repulsive, but yet Hong Lu treated him as some kind of treasure.
"The water is getting cold, we should get out right about now" Hong Lu left the bathtub with loud splashing and the sound of water dripping on the tile floor while he grabbed their towels. He quickly dried his body off, and turned to Gregor, holding the other towel open in his hands, as if telling him to get in there.
Gregor rolled his eyes before getting out, being trapped by Hong Lu inside the towel in a tight embrace. He let out a tiny yelp when he realized his feet stopped touching the floor and was being manhandled into a bridal carry by Hong Lu.
"Put me down, I can walk on my own"
"I don't want to" He smiled with his eyes, his jade one glinting mischievously before walking out into the bedroom.
Hong Lu dropped Gregor on the spacious bed, discarding the towel in the way, causing him to shudder a little at the sudden touch of cool silky sheets on his naked skin.
"I'm going to ruin your nice bedsheets, bud" He sat up and lifted his insectoid arm to not touch the bed with it.
"Don't care"
Hong Lu straddled him with a giggle, pushing him back into the sheets, holding both his wrist and his roach arm over his head.
"You're going to hurt yourself holding me like that"
"I'm not, and you won't hurt me either" Hong Lu smiled gently at him again, bending over to whisper into his ear. "Besides I know you're in control, Gregor"
And as if to try to prove him wrong, his arm twitched, scratching the nice headboard with its sharp carapace. Hong Lu looked at the damage and smiled wide.
"I wonder how that'd feel on my skin"
Gregor stayed very still, looking into his eyes with a serious expression.
"Don't say that ever again"
Hong Lu just laughed it off before trapping his lips into a hungry kiss, Gregor squeezing his eyes shut and trying to suppress a surprised squeak coming up his throat.
It was sloppy, both with the eagerness of the energetic youth and the inexperience of the veteran.
Surprisingly it was Hong Lu who broke the kiss.
"Your lips are chapped" he lightly traced along his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue before giving him a surprisingly chaste peck. "You keep licking and biting them when you're not allowed to smoke, are you?"
Gregor looked away, sheepishly.
"Guilty as charged"
"I should give you something for it"
"It's alright, bud, there's no need"
Hong Lu just hummed before going back in for a kiss, now trailing down his neck, nuzzling against Gregor's scraggly beard and laughing to himself, he was being careful to not leave any marks after one big teasing incident against the older one.
His hands left Gregor's wrist and arm to roam against his sides, caressing him gently, almost in an adoring way, while he kept trailing down kisses all over his torso, poking out the tip of his tongue to trail to his lower abdomen, a hand moving to caress his thigh.
"H-hong Lu!" He perked up at his own name. "Can we… Can we stop here tonight? I'm… Honestly, I'm very overwhelmed, bud" Gregor covered his flushed face with his hand, his bright pink ears betraying him again, glassy eyes looking down at Hong Lu. He did look as overwhelmed as he claimed, his chest raising up and down with heavy breaths, panting under his hand, he looked like he was using all his willpower to stay in control.
Hong Lu removed Gregor's hand from his face and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Sure, but you have to promise to make it up to me another day"
He sighed, almost relieved "Sure… I'm sorry it's just that I-"
Hong Lu stopped him. "I know, I won't push it"
He knew that sometimes Gregor's body dysmorphia was stronger than him and had learned to respect his space.
Hong Lu straightened his back, still straddling Gregor, his arousal apparent.
"Would you like to watch while I take care of this situation?" He gestured at his own crotch.
"Not really… Not right now" he added after hearing Hong Lu's dejected whine.
"I see" Well, it will solve itself on its own. "Can I keep spoiling you, though? Nothing sexual" His bright attitude was back.
Gregor nodded. "Just give me a moment"
Hong Lu hummed as he got up to go back into the bathroom to remove the bathtub's drain stopper and get a couple more things before going back into the bedroom, Gregor already looking calmer and sitting with his legs folded, a small expression of discomfort (or regret?) on his face, as he looked at the carpeted floor, squinting.
Hong Lu left his glasses on the bedside table, making him look up at the small clinking.
"What's with all that?" He tilted his chin at the small towel and comb Hong Lu carried in his arms.
"Let me brush your hair"
"Ah right, that was the whole point of this"
Hong Lu nodded, smiling sweetly, before sitting behind Gregor and making him tilt his head back again, resting the back of it on the small towel, which he started using to gently dry his hair, massaging his scalp softly.
"If you dry it roughly your hair can tear, did you know?"
"No, I didn't"
"Yes, and you have nice hair, it would be a shame if you went bald"
Gregor chuckled "Don't make those jokes"
The older man let out a happy hum at Hong Lu's attention, he was relaxing again, and felt himself almost falling asleep due to his ministrations.
"Oops, straighten up, Gregor, okay?" Hong Lu had a hand on his shoulder, steading him.
"Ah, sorry 'bout that, it felt too nice"
"I knew you'd like it… You know, you always come to me to tie your hair up when you are equipped with your Liu ID, you insist you cannot do it on your own and you even give me a cute red ribbon to tie it with, it's adorable"
Gregor blushed again.
"That's embarrassing…"
"I like it, I like it when you're more direct and outgoing… That ID of you has a lot of bravado but is a huge sweetheart" Hong Lu chuckled, starting to comb Gregor's hair gently to untangle it.
Maybe someday Gregor would be able to be just as confident, at least in front of him.
Hong Lu kept brushing his hair in silence, focused on the task, while Gregor kept nodding off at the caring, relaxing touch.
"Just a minute… I'll be done in just a minute"
Gregor nodded, and was tightly hugged from behind when Hong Lu was done. He kicked the towel and comb off the bed while pulling them both to lay on their sides, head pressed against his upper back.
"You can go to sleep now~"
"Wha-? Not like this, it's kinda chilly in here, you might get a cold"
Hong Lu looked down at his naked body.
"It's fine"
"No, it's not"
Gregor shrugged himself off the hug and got up to rummage in the bathroom until he found what he was looking for. "Put this on" He threw one of the silk robes at Hong Lu's face who just chuckled and did as instructed. "Now we can sleep"
"You're not getting anything for yourself?"
"No, I'm used to it"
He still didn't want to ruin the nice fabric with his arm.
Gregor went back to his spot in bed, letting himself be used as a teddy bear by Hong Lu, who clapped and the lights dimmed. Gregor thought that was exclusively a thing from dumb infomercials.
"Sleep well, have sweet dreams" Hong Lu grabbed his face gently so he'd turn his head to plant a kiss on his lips, letting him go and running his fingers up the chitinous arm. "And you too" he giggled to himself.
"Sleep well, Hong Lu and… Thank you"
Hong Lu squeezed him closer, giddy, before setting up to sleep.
–
They overslept, they threw on clothes quickly and left for the kitchen, Gregor convincing Hong Lu to go in after waiting for a bit, to not raise suspicions.
Gregor casually walked in to a familiar sight, a couple of the Sinners still having their breakfast while Rodion fixed them coffee, it was weird how generous she could be sometimes considering her selfish nature.
"Good morning, Greg~" She probably had been awake for a while now, she wasn't necessarily a morning person but she seemed to be in good spirits.
"Morning, Rodya" He just replied, checking the pantries looking for something to eat, grabbing a bag of vanilla biscuits. "I'm sure you already know how I like my coffee"
"Of course, with a bit of milk and sugar"
"It's interesting how the incongruences between different mirror identities manifest on each Sinner" Meursault started to uncharacteristically chat, while he spread strawberry jam on his toast. "Your Rosespanner personality only drinks his coffee black, no sugar"
"I don't know how he manages" Gregor sat at the island, next to Don Quixote, who was scarfing down her cereal, which looked unnaturally bright in colors and had some star shaped marshmallows floating around in it.
Rodion placed the cup of coffee in front of him, patting Don's head in the meantime.
Hong Lu waltzed into the kitchen at that moment.
"Ah, Rodion, you're making coffee for everyone again?"
"Another sleepyhead?" She joked.
"It seems like I forgot to set up my alarm" They all knew he didn't use one. "Ah yes, I prefer tea, if you don't mind, it's in the cupboard all the way to the right, the blue tin"
"Make that fancy shit yourself, dear, I'll ruin it" Hong Lu sighed, Rodion sitting at Gregor's other side with her own cup of coffee while the airhead went to boil water.
"Hey Greg, your hair looks different today" She took a sip of coffee, and Gregor paused, biscuit mid-dunk inside his own cup.
"Does it?"
"Yes, it looks softer" She reached a hand out to touch it, managing to creep a small pet before Gregor swatted her hand away. "It is softer!" Gregor put his own hand up to his hair to check.
Hong Lu chuckled from the counter. "That's because I helped him with it"
Gregor froze in place.
"Now that I pay attention to it, you also don't reek of tobacco" Rodion rested her chin on her hand, giving him a smug smile, while sniffing the air. "Is that lavender?"
"He took a bath in my room" Gregor buried himself in his cup of coffee, pretending he didn't exist anymore in the room.
"A bath??"
"Yes, I have a bathtub…"
"Say, Hong Lu, sweetie" Rodion's eyes were bright, almost as sparkly as Don Quixote's, smiling big and warmly at Hong Lu, who had a small cup of tea in his hands. "Wouldn't you like to have a sleepover with your bestie Rodya???" She fluttered her eyelashes at him and tried to make herself look cute.
"I'll think about it" He kept a warm smile on his face but his tone of voice was a clear 'no' .
Gregor finished his coffee and excused himself to go outside to have a smoke, walking through the corridor all the way to the front of the bus, taking his place behind Dante after exchanging their good mornings.
Gregor patted his pocket before fishing out his pack of cigarettes, touching a hard surface that wasn't his lighter and taking it out.
It was a stick of lip balm.
He snorted to himself and put it back in his pocket.