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The party was still in full swing when they slipped away, its noise trailing after them down the corridors - laughter, voices, the steady pulse of celebration.
They had stayed close all evening. Seated side by side, speaking with others when required, listening when needed. Barely a glance exchanged between them.
The dragon had been loud and unapologetic. He did not admit defeat, nor repent for his actions. From his perspective, he had done what he must - protect the labyrinth and the many lives within it.
That much was clear to all.
Closing the corridor, however, had been a unilateral decision.
Not meant to protect lives.
Well - maybe one.
Something lingered between them still, quiet but insistent. The corridor - once severed, now restored - pressed faintly at the edge of awareness, a steady presence neither chose to acknowledge aloud.
Step by step, the noise faded.
By the time they reached the labyrinth room, silence had settled in its place.
The door closed behind them.
For a moment, neither moved.
No words were necessary.
Rimuru stepped forward first.
His hand caught in Veldora’s cape, then higher - fingers threading into his hair as he closed the distance between them. The contact was brief, almost tentative. Then it turned certain.
Veldora answered in kind.
The rest followed without pause - movement, heat, proximity reclaimed. The space between them disappeared as though it had never been meant to exist at all.
A different battle raged, as the tension of the day found its release and its edges softened.
. . .
“Rest, Rimuru.”
The slime lay stretched over him, his human form - cool, bare - pressed against Veldora’s warmth, as though unwilling to leave even that small distance between them. Elbows rested lightly against his chest, fingers tangled deep in unruly blond hair. Long blue-silver strands spilled over Veldora’s shoulders as Rimuru leaned in again.
Soft kisses, unhurried at first - then deeper. Then again.
Rimuru did not stop.
“You need sleep,” Veldora murmured when he found a moment to breathe. “We both do.”
There was no real insistence behind it. His arms circled Rimuru loosely, holding him there without restraint.
“…Soon.”
The answer came easily, and meant nothing.
Rimuru shifted, mouth trailing along his jaw instead, slower now, but no less deliberate. His teeth grazed lightly, playful, testing.
That was enough.
Veldora moved.
Rimuru barely had time to react before the balance shifted beneath him - his weight guided and turned with ease until he was pressed face down into the bed, breath caught briefly against the sheets.
Veldora followed him down without pause, settling over him. The motion was fluid, controlled, leaving little space to resist unless he had wanted to.
A hand caught his wrist, pinning it just above him. The other slid through his hair, drawing it aside, exposing the line of his neck.
Rimuru didn’t pull away.
“If you don’t stop me,” Veldora said, voice low, edged with something sharper now, “I might not let you go.”
Rimuru turned his head slightly, just enough to look at him through the fall of his bangs.
“Is that such a bad thing?”
For a moment, Veldora stilled.
Then a low growl vibrated through him - felt where their bodies touched, close and unbroken.
. . .
Rimuru’s hand rested on Veldora’s chest, tracing slow, absent circles. His golden eyes were unfocused, distant. He lay quietly, folded into the crook of Veldora’s arm, head resting against the warmth of his shoulder.
“Sleep.”
The word came soft, edged with quiet command.
Rimuru obeyed - almost.
His eyes slipped closed, and a moment later, a tear followed, falling soundlessly against warm skin.
Veldora stilled.
His hold tightened, just slightly.
“Hey… what’s wrong?”
The words came quietly, drawn out with effort. “…I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
Rimuru’s fingers stilled against his chest.
“The part where I wake up… and you’re not there.”
For a moment, Veldora said nothing.
Then he shifted, drawing him closer, one arm firm around him.
“I’m here.”
Rimuru huffed mutely.
“I’m not going away from you,” Veldora said, more certain now.
“You cut yourself off from me,” Rimuru muttered. “Again.”
“To protect you.”
Silence lingered for a breath.
“Hey,” Veldora said, softer now. “Look at me.”
He tilted Rimuru’s chin up with a careful touch. This time, he followed, opening his eyes without protest.
“I would tear my own soul apart if that’s what it takes to keep you safe,” Veldora continued, voice steady, unwavering. “And you would still be there to put me back.”
Rimuru’s gaze flickered, uncertainty still lingering beneath it.
“And if it doesn’t work?” he pressed. “If you come back… different?”
Veldora exhaled quietly, something almost amused threading through it.
“I doubt that. You’ve already left your mark on me far too deeply.”
It did little to convince him.
Veldora leaned closer.
“And if I am different…” he murmured near his ear, voice lowering, “I’ll just have to fall for you all over again.”
A pause.
“Maybe I’ll even do it better this time.”
The words ended in a light bite, sharp enough to startle.
Rimuru jerked slightly, breath catching.
“You... ”
The protest broke off, heat rushing back into his face far too quickly to hide.
“You’re insufferable.”
But the tension had shifted.
The fear, sharp and suffocating moments ago, loosened its grip - pushed aside by something far more familiar.
Veldora only laughed softly, unrepentant.
Rimuru turned his face into his shoulder, fingers resuming their slow, absent circles as his breathing steadied.
“Go to sleep,” Veldora murmured.
“…You first.”