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It was the onset of the evening Light hour. The manor hallways echoed none of the usual bickering, but the lamps remained lit. They served as reading light for Seiichirou who sat on the stairs with papers on hand.
"Master Kondu, I reckon it's not good for your health to work there," Milan uttered in concern.
"Ah… Yes, you are right." Seiichirou apologized but did not move, his voice also laced with worry because the master of the house has not yet returned.
Earlier, the Kingdom of Romany inducted new knights into the Royal Orders, and to celebrate, a welcoming party was to be held at night. This was requested by the First and Second captains and only endorsed by Prince Yurius under two conditions: only knights without active duty can attend, and all three captains must be present. 'To encourage good camaraderie', he asserted, looking specifically at the Third captain, who often rejected such occasions. There was no escaping the prince, so Aresh complained to Seiichirou over lunch; however, the older man encouraged him to go.
"He's not wrong. Plus, you could use some revelry to enjoy in from time to time."
And so the accountant went home by his lonesome. But the moon shone high, and since he finished dinner, bath, and take-home work, Aresh has yet to arrive. He watched the door closely with Milan, the papers he held serving as distraction against his anxiety.
Suddenly, Valtom announced. "Master Aresh has returned."
Seiichirou dashed to his room to return the papers, telling the maid that he'll follow. But when he got back, an unexpected guest was also at the door.
"Aresh… and, Sir Orjef?"
The Third vice captain was carrying his superior on his shoulders. Seiichirou rushed down the stairs and joined the frantic housekeepers.
"Hello, Kondu," he laughed nervously, stumbling in his position.
Typical of him, Aresh raised his head at the mention of his name. "Seii…chi…"
A red haze was painted across his face, and his eyes were unfocused. Indeed this was a new image of Aresh, but everyone was familiar with that look. Seiichirou approached with unease and cradled his knight's head.
"How," he began slowly, "did he get this drunk?"
Orjef started with a sigh. "His Highness is to blame, he got very intoxicated and dared us officials into drinking. 'For camaraderie!' he kept saying. He couldn't convince his knight guard, so he pressed Aresh instead. Everyone cheered with the Prince and, well… they found no reason for him to decline."
Seiichirou didn't know if he would pity Aresh or be mad at Yurius first.
"Almost everyone got tipsy," the vice captain continued. "Only Radim and I were spared among the officials."
"But what kind of alcohol could possibly inebriate him like this?" Valtom interrogated.
Faltering, Orjef revealed. "It was… mareignis."
The house servants gasped, so Seiichirou had to ask. Mareignis was a notoriously hard liquor made of magicule-rich tropical ingredients blended through alchemic ways that further upped its concentration. The drink hailing from Aresh's hometown was another reason why he couldn't say no.
Seiichirou struggled with his words. Meanwhile, Aresh has been staring at him the whole time.
"I'm home now, Seiichirou," he mumbled. "I don't wanna drink that… terrible stuff anymore. Seiichirou, I'm home…" He then shuffled towards his lover.
"W-Welcome home Are—hold on, you're heavy!" Seiichirou caught his embrace with Valtom's help.
"I'm really sorry, Kondu, Valtom," Aresh's older cousin said. "I should've managed our subordinates better. I'm taking responsibility for this, which is why took Aresh home myself."
"Please don't be," Seiichirou consoled. "Thank you for bringing him back. I hope he wasn't too difficult."
"Not much, he can still walk after all." Orjef smiled fondly. "Halfway through the second glass, he gave up and just wanted to go home. I thought Aresh would finish it, but I guess he didn't want you to worry."
Seiichirou found some relief in this, no longer bothered by the weight leaning on him. Amidst the conversation, Valtom tasked Pavel to make a clearing remedy and Milan to take the cloak and arrange his bedroom. Seiichirou and the butler bid Orjef goodbye and, slinging his arms over their shoulders, carefully assisted Aresh up the stairs.
･ﾟ ･ﾟ·: ｡･ﾟﾟ･
The younger man was unusually chatty, yammering about the rowdy event. When they arrived in his room, the bed was made and his sleeping clothes were prepared. Aresh groaned as he was gently laid down, and when Seiichirou was about to let go, he suddenly clung around his arm.
"I'm home, Seiichirou," he muttered, dragging out his name.
"Yes, Aresh, you've been home for five minutes now."
He slowly blinked, but his mind was funnily active. "Sleep with me tonight."
"What are you saying?!" Seiichirou exclaimed, to the butler's amusement.
"I want you right beside me." At this point, he was pulling him down.
"Aresh…!"
"Stay," he insisted, booming like a command that prolonged like a stubborn kid's.
Milan had just entered the room with a tiny basin of water and a small towel when the lovely scene unfolded. Pink colored Seiichirou's troubled face, and in this situation, he had to think of the most ideal way to deal with this side of Aresh.
"Valtom, Milan, is it okay if I nurse him myself for the rest of the night?"
The servants heeded his request with a cheesy grin. Valtom removed his boots and Milan placed the basin and towel on the floor beside the bed. They would also inform Pavel of the setup, which Seiichirou shyly nodded to, before they left the room. He then turned to Aresh and finally sat next to him.
"Alright, let's clean you up."
"No," he firmly said. He reached his other hand to Seiichirou's hips and pulled him onto his hot body.
"A-Aresh!" he complained. "You gotta change before going to bed. Let go!" He tried budging out of his grasp but he was firmly bound on top. How is he sluggish but still so strong?!
The couple continued to wrestle when Pavel knocked on the door, possibly bringing the remedy with him.
Seiichirou called out. "Just a second!" He looked down again to the stubborn man and leaned towards his face. "I'll be back. I promise."
Aresh tried to kiss him, the spicy aroma of booze lingering on his mouth. But as soon as Seiichirou felt his grip loosen, he swiftly leaped out of the bed and walked to the door.
"Pardon me," Pavel whispered. "Master Kondu, I've brought the clearing remedy for Master Aresh, alongside a jug of water."
The remedy was held in a tall glass and looked like watered-down juice with a strong citrus smell.
"Um, how does this work?" Seiichirou asked, taking the tray.
"It should be ingested straight away, though it may not taste good, so please have Master Aresh drink water afterwards. Since this is homemade, it may not take effect as quickly as a sobering tonic, but it shouldn't take 20 minutes."
Twenty minutes wasn't so bad, he thought, wondering how fast the equivalent tonic would work. Seiichirou thanked the chef who closed the door, and when he returned Aresh had dozed off. He was just gone for a minute. That mareignis must actually be very strong to knock him out in one and a half glasses.
"Aresh, the remedy is here. Please wake up," he nudged, placing the tray of liquids on the bedside table. Seiichirou knew how to help a wasted person, but he hoped the remedy actually "cleared" without side effects. It was his first time encountering Aresh drunk, and he wished he wasn't the vomiting type.
He sat on the bed, and perhaps he stared too long, but Seiichirou found himself massaging the crease between Aresh's eyebrows. Eventually he stirred, violet eyes blinking the sleepiness into sparkles at the sight of the man who called to him softly. He reached for his face, and the first thing he said was...
"You're so handsome."
Seiichirou froze. His heart skipped a beat.
"Have I told you that before?"
Seiichirou was at a loss for words, jaw hanging.
"No? I should've told you long ago how handsome you are."
Seiichirou couldn't think. But he could blush. And to hide that, he pulled away and crouched down to the basin on the floor.
Unbelievable. Aresh had a skill for strumming his heart like that over and over again.
When he got back up, he was still staring, awestruck by some beauty he didn't understand. Seiichirou started wiping his face, much to Aresh's annoyance for 'blocking his view', to which the former rolled his eyes.
After doing his neck, Seiichirou unbuttoned the jacket and removed his shirt, shoving away his spirit-drenched kisses every few seconds. Then he cleansed his upper body, from the soft chest to the muscled abdomen, glimmering in the dim light under the damp towel. It was only then that he noticed things he hadn't seen before.
They've been touching each other for almost a year, but this was the first time Seiichirou saw an old scar on his stomach: small and shallow, skin slightly uneven but barely noticeable because it aligned with his muscles. He then moved to his lean, lightly sunburnt arms where he saw two or three paler marks. It shouldn't come as a surprise, after all, this was a man whose hands calloused from his swords.
Seiichirou flipped Aresh sideways to wipe his back, and there were more of the smoothened scars. One in particular caught his attention, located roughly in the middle of his upper back. It was faded like the others, but still the most prominent mark he spotted so far. He wondered how Aresh got it, if it hurt back then, and if it reminded him of a bad memory during intimate acts when Seiichirou scraped against it.
Suddenly, Aresh spoke. "You should touch me more often."
"Eh?!" His fingers twitched in surprise.
Aresh huffed; without seeing his face, Seiichirou could tell he was smirking.
He managed to put on his nightshirt and flip him back but left it unbuttoned because his temperature was somehow rising. Then he very quickly moved along his lower body. Figuring he didn't need to wash anything, Seiichirou simply changed his work pants into sleeping ones, ignoring the occasional twitches and soft moans that's definitely not indication of why Aresh was heating up.
Finally, Seiichirou was done with this part, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief. Aresh caught this and made another attempt to pull him into a kiss.
"Ah, stop it, will you!" he urged.
He grumbled back. "After everything you did?"
"I was cleaning you up! And we're not yet done."
The younger man pouted. It's not like Seiichirou could resist that look.
"How about you drink the medicine first. Then we'll see," he suggested, holding the clearing remedy.
Hesitantly, Aresh sat up and took the pungent glass from his hand. He couldn't inspect it properly due to the dizziness, but if he really wanted to kiss Seiichirou, he had no choice but to do as he's told. So he chugged the liquid in one go.
"Gah!" he coughed as he finished the concoction. "I could've gone better with a tonic…"
Seiichirou grabbed the glass back to fill it with water and brought it immediately to his mouth. Aresh downed it quickly, and suddenly both strong scents were gone. Whether it was the alcohol and the remedy nullifying each other, or the water simply diluting them, the otherworlder did not get it. This was a world too magical for his understanding.
The glass sat back on the tray and Aresh tipped his head, pained either by the dull headache or the awful taste. He swallowed and the apple in his throat bobbed; the witness hushed.
"Very good."
And then, Seiichirou pressed his lips onto Aresh, force just enough to carefully put him back onto his pillow.
"Now go to sleep," he ordered.
But he smiled and said, "No."
Like a stuff toy in his embrace, he threw Seiichirou to the other side of the bed. And like a kid he giggled.
"Aresh, it's bedtime…"
"But I can't sleep."
"Why? Is there something else you need?"
"Yes. The handsome guy beside me, please."
Seiichirou had given up fighting his blushes. "You are so drunk."
"It doesn't change the fact."
"Your vision must be hazy right now."
"It is," Aresh confirmed, "and the clearest thing I see is your lovely face."
"You know what—" Seiichirou pointed a finger on his nose, "—you're one to talk!"
"Then that makes two of us." Aresh pushed the older man on his back and laid on top of him, initiating a kiss.
No one in this world could deny that Aresh was handsome, Seiichirou understood that since their first meeting in the palace courtyard. What he couldn't comprehend was how this same alluring man had always had a big crush on him. Sure, he saw that there was brilliance beyond those fatigued eyes. But given his physique, he never thought that any part of it would be just as admirable in his eyes.
Out of nowhere, Aresh groaned in his mouth, sounding rather pained than pleasured. Seiichirou pulled back to check on him.
"Sorry…" Aresh grunted, then pressed his head on his shoulder. It must be a bad headache, though it didn't seem like he would throw up.
In this weakened state, Seiichirou flipped them carefully and arranged the pillow on his head to rest comfortably. He was about to fix his shirt up too, but a nostalgic chill suddenly ran down his spine. A sick man laid on a bed with his shirt unbuttoned, and the person who nursed him hovered right above his naked body. The scenario looked too familiar.
"Is this what you felt the first time we did it?" Aresh asked casually.
"Well…" Seiichirou took a second to look back in time. "Do you feel limp and confused and embarrassed?"
Aresh's brows furrowed again. "Did you actually feel that way? I'm only warm right now."
He took this language as a sign that the remedy was slowly working and buttoned him up. "Like you said, it was the first time, so..."
In fact, it was a night of many firsts: falling ill in a foreign land, sickened by an element as naturally-occurring as oxygen, being medically treated with sex, and doing so with a man (in the receiving end, to add). Who wouldn't feel limp and confused and embarrassed?
Seiichirou was nearly done with the shirt when Aresh held his hand. "Treat me like I treated you back then."
"I don't have magic, I'm allergic to it," he retorted.
"That's not what I meant." But Seiichirou knew that. "Make lov—"
"I'm not taking advantage of a drunk man's clouded mind."
Aresh whined. "I'm literally asking you to…"
He ignored said drunk man and finished the buttons, after which his wrist was softly gripped.
"Pretty please," his lilac eyes pleaded, "my pretty Seiichirou?"
So he's insufferably shameless when he's drunk! he thought against his racing heart. He took a mental note to not let Aresh get close to that firewater ever again, especially when they visit his town.
Then again, it's not like Seiichirou could resist that voice. He ran his slender hands on the shirt he just fixed and drew close to his face.
"I'm not undressing you again."
"But—"
Effectively, Seiichirou shut him up with kisses. Tongues and arms wrapped around each other, their passionate make-out flowing smoothly, slowly, deeply, like a hot soothing drink in a late night. Aresh grew warmer, just enough to melt his mind, but not enough to arouse him. As the minutes flew by, his arms gradually loosened and his kisses dwindled into snores. He was finally asleep, so Seiichirou pulled away.
He quietly hopped off to tidy up, throwing his uniform into a basket and discarding the basin and towel in the bathroom, as Milan instructed. After a sip of water, Seiichirou silently returned to their bed and brought the blanket up their bodies.
･ﾟ ･ﾟ· :｡･ﾟﾟ･
It was the onset of the morning Wood hour. The bedroom was illuminated by the sun, which served as a gentle light for Seiichirou to observe his lover. He woke up to Aresh snoozing peacefully beside him, his face glowing like a halo hidden underneath dark silky hair. He swept it up to get a better look, but strayed and instead ran his fingers through it.
Before long, the angel-faced woke up and muttered, "Good morning."
Seiichirou tucked the hair behind his ear. It took some time because he couldn't stop staring, but the words eventually came.
"You're so beautiful," he breathed.
Aresh smiled heartily. "You're one to talk."