Work Text:
He knocked once.
Silence.
He was about to knock again when a voice replied coldly, “Come in.”
Jamil entered the young heir’s room with slight unease. The air was… tense. You could almost cut it with scissors. As soon as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him, he heard his voice.
“How could you?” the white-haired boy murmured, his voice cracking with a thread of frustration Jamil had never heard before.
Jamil sighed deeply, feeling the weight of the dense air in Kalim’s bedroom. The place, usually flooded with warm, cheerful light, with its carpets of gold thread, crimson silk cushions, and the scent of incense, felt strangely gloomy that night. There was barely a dim light illuminating the room. And Jamil knew he had made a big mistake. He was surprised to see Kalim so furious; Even so, it was the first time in his entire life that he had witnessed such a side of the Asim family heir. Kalim sat on the immense bed, hugging his knees and turning his back sharply to Jamil. Jamil could hear the pure resentment vibrating in his voice.
"Kalim… about what happened, I…"
"How could you hypnotize Azul?"
Jamil stood speechless in the middle of the room, the words frozen in his throat. He blinked, processing what he had just heard.
"What?"
"What you heard!" Kalim whirled around, the gold ornaments in his hair clanging violently, finally meeting his gaze. He was furious. Those ruby eyes, usually bright and kind, now seemed like sharp daggers pointed directly at him.
"I don't understand," Jamil replied sincerely, frowning and taking an involuntary step back.
"You hypnotize me? Fine, I can handle it!" Kalim shouted, crossing his arms so tightly his knuckles turned white. His cheeks burned with indignation. "But you did it to Azul too? How many others have you given that look to? Who else are you using your unique magic on behind my back?" Jamil stared at him, completely confused. Kalim had truly left him speechless. The guilt he'd been carrying vanished, replaced by utter bewilderment.
"Is that... is that what bothered you?"
"Of course it did!" Kalim uncrossed his arms, gesturing wildly, visibly agitated. "You barely know him, and now you're using your unique magic on him too! What were you doing with him in the hallways?"
"But what—"
"You did it to your basketball teammates too? That's the last straw! That's why you were always coming back late from practice, right? You were probably doing it with one of them!
“Kalim…”
“Did you do it with Floyd too? Or with Ace? Both of them?” Kalim exclaimed, standing up on the mattress, his ragged breathing revealing how hurt he felt inside. “Tell me, Jamil! How many more did you bewitch?”
“I didn't! Kalim, look…” Jamil pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes to ward off an impending headache. The situation was surreal “After everything I did to you… I left you in the middle of the desert, I made the whole dorm hate you, I betrayed you in the worst way possible… and you're more upset that I used my magic on Azul?”
“Of course! I was the only one who knew your unique magic! I thought… that it was something special between us. Our secret. Now… I know. Azul was so upset he’ll probably want to take you to Octavinelle. I know how self-serving he is, he won’t let any chance of having you around slip by… But I won’t let him! You’re not going with him!”
“Not a chance,” Jamil replied, his face contorted with disgust. “I’d rather leave school than put up with that octopus and his two freaks. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“I’m so glad, Jamil!” Kalim exclaimed, his expression instantly changing. The anger seemed to evaporate, replaced by a spark of relief. Finally, he approached the boy, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, burying his face in his chest and completely surprising him.
Jamil stiffened for a second before his shoulders relaxed. Had Kalim hit his head or something? None of this made any sense. It felt like a scene between a toxic teenage couple in a shojo manga.
"Kalim… don't tell me… you're jealous?" Jamil replied, a faint, almost imperceptible smug smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"O-Of course not!" Kalim retorted immediately, though his voice sounded choked because he still hadn't let go. "But I don't like sharing you with anyone else. I don't eat any food other than yours, Jamil. That's loyalty."
“That’s because you’re too lazy to cook for yourself” Jamil replied, though his tone was unusually gentle.
Kalim let go slowly, taking a step back. He lowered his gaze to the ground, his cheeks flushed a vibrant sunset color, nervously fiddling with his gold bracelet.
“I… let’s forget everything that happened. I’m not bothered by anything you did, really. Just… don’t go around doing that kind of thing with just anyone, okay? Don’t look at others like that.”
“Is that an order, Kalim-sama?” Jamil asked, his words slurred with a hint of irony, but also with a strange devotion no longer driven by duty.
Kalim’s response was simply to bite his lower lip, nodding silently while keeping his eyes fixed on him, subtly demanding his exclusivity.
Jamil bent one leg and knelt on the floor, adopting the posture of a servant, but with a completely new intensity. He took Kalim's bejeweled hand in his own and placed a soft, yet firm, kiss on his knuckles.
"I promise, Kalim-sama," he said, smiling slightly as he looked up to fix his dark eyes on the other's. That sweet gesture seemed to completely disarm him.
"Jamil… I have something else to ask you."
"Is it what I think it is?" Kalim nodded silently, his heart pounding. Jamil stood up gracefully again. He closed the distance between them and gently took Kalim's cheeks in his hands, forcing him to lift his face and bringing it closer to his own. The skin of the Asim heir seemed to burn against his own, so soft, he couldn't help but dig his nails in a little. Kalim stared at him, captivated by the proximity, lost in the depths of his gaze. That gaze… was his Achilles' heel.
Jamil's eyes flashed, reflecting the light from Scarabia's lamps as he uttered the magic words Kalim so longed to hear, just for him, in that velvety voice that could charm even the fiercest serpents.
"The one before you is your master…"