A Jealous Midnight

The moment Agniele realized the fingertips of the person subtly urging him were trembling, Ensi’s pheromones revealed themselves. As the scent of plum blossoms drifted in on the hot summer wind, Agniele’s legs—which had been standing firm—moved to invade the steps.

It felt like the day Ensi had experienced his heat. The only difference was that the current pheromones merely nudged him toward a faint excitement rather than making him lose his reason.

Once the line was crossed, the next step was easy. Running to Ensi in a single bound, Agniele interlaced his fingers with the extended hand and wrapped his other arm around Ensi’s waist.

True to someone who trained constantly, the waist beneath his arm felt firm. The touch, which had become familiar lately, filled his embrace tightly. Only then did Agniele exhale a long-held breath, like a man who had been drowning and finally set foot on dry land.

Hearing the breath sounds so clearly at such close proximity, Ensi, whose hand rested on Agniele’s chest, let out a low laugh. Without withdrawing the pheromones he had intentionally released, Ensi naturally rested his cheek against Agniele’s shoulder.

“……Won’t you catch a cold if your hair stays wet?”

The scent was as enchanting as ever. Lowering his eyes, Agniele lifted the arm encircling Ensi’s back and grasped the damp hair in his hand as if to change the subject. It felt somewhat awkward as the strands didn’t slip through his fingers like they usually did.

If I’d known this, I would have dried my hair before coming out. Ensi puffed his lips at Agniele’s awkward attempt to look away. Poking the skin of Agniele’s chest firmly with his fingers, Ensi rubbed his face against the shoulder as if he knew nothing.

“Is that what’s important to you?”

“It’s something related to you.”

He found himself caring about even the smallest things. Things he would normally pass over without a thought for anyone else now caught his eye. It was something Agniele couldn’t help.

Amused by the not-so-bad answer, Ensi let out a short laugh and pulled his hair from Agniele’s hand. Guiding the empty hand back to his waist, Ensi whispered.

“Let’s go up to the room.”

“That…….”

“I’d like to believe you didn’t intend to go back like this—or is that just my greed?”

Truthfully, Agniele was concerned about Ensi’s ice-cold body. There was also the fact that he himself was essentially a novice in these matters. There were a couple of other obstacles, but Ensi decided to boldly erase all of them from his mind.

After all, hadn’t this man rushed all the way here at a single word of longing, despite being treated with an coldness that could be felt as unfair? Ignoring the time, the eyes of those around him, and everything else, solely for Ensi. Following such a person, Ensi also pushed the complicated factors far away.

He pushed slightly against Agniele’s chest to create some space, then tilted his head up to look at him.

“Will you kiss me?”

The plum blossom scent bloomed softly once more. Agniele reflexively tightened his arm around Ensi’s waist.

The pheromones leaking from Ensi’s neck were certainly alluring, but Agniele could have resisted them if he truly wished to.

However, seeing those flushed cheeks that looked shy, he didn’t want to. Instead of speaking, Agniele lowered his head and kissed him gently.

Fearing the touch, which landed as softly as a feather, would vanish too soon, Ensi quickly reached out to cup Agniele’s cheeks. Catching the face that was about to pull away as expected, he bit the other’s lip.

Agniele habitually opened his mouth at the action that had become a signal between them. As Ensi slipped into the opened gap to tease the inside, Agniele’s movements were somewhat stiff, perhaps having grown awkward during the days they hadn’t met. However, he quickly grew accustomed again to Ensi’s movements as he entwined their tongues and stimulated the delicate membranes, exploring the inside as if it were his own home. The tension slowly drained from Agniele’s shoulders as they kissed.

Sensing his partner’s relaxed state, Ensi decided they couldn’t stay in the hall forever and took a step to move elsewhere.

But was it the problem of trying to step backward in an unfamiliar posture? For a moment, Ensi’s foot slipped and he stumbled.

Agniele caught his swaying body, but it was difficult to move like this. When Ensi was forced to pull his lips away, Agniele swept him up into his arms as if he had been waiting for the chance.

Ensi’s eyes widened in brief surprise as his vision suddenly rose. He had internally worried that Agniele might not be proactive, but it seemed those fears were unfounded. Readily welcoming the unexpected action, he laughed and briefly pressed his lips back against Agniele’s.

“Let’s go to the room.”

Ensi placed short kisses on the other’s forehead or cheeks as they climbed the stairs, subtly urging him to go faster. The hand wrapped around Agniele’s neck slipped under his collar, tickling the skin.

Even as he moved his hand with blatant intent, a playful laugh escaped his lips. When Agniele lowered his head to meet his eyes at the tingling sensation, he saw eyes swirling with a mixture of delight and passion.

It seems he has no intention of stopping. Agniele let out a low groan and lengthened his stride as Ensi wished.

Arriving at the room without showing a trace of fatigue, Agniele headed straight for the bed. Perhaps because he had been there several times before, his gait was familiar. After pulling back the thin canopy and seating Ensi, Agniele rested his knee on the bed and caught Ensi’s hands, which were still digging between his clothes.

“Did you dislike it?”

At the hand blatantly blocking him, Ensi purposefully widened his eyes and tilted his head. He lowered his eyebrows to express that he felt a bit hurt.

“It’s not that I dislike it, it’s just…… difficult.”

Hardly a reason to be difficult. Ensi swallowed the thought and began to remove the coat Agniele was wearing. Stroking the bare neck area—which was empty of ornaments as if he had come in a hurry—Ensi moved his hand down to undo the buttons.

Agniele hesitated for a moment at the natural, practiced way these things were being done. But he soon pretended nothing was wrong and undid the knot of the robe Ensi had tied.

“What were you thinking about?”

He thought he hadn’t let it show, but it seemed it was plain as day to Ensi. Ensi, who was turning his shoulders to make it easier to remove the robe, suddenly tilted his head and bit Agniele’s earlobe—not hard enough to hurt.

“……It was a petty thought.”

“Now that you say that, I’m even more curious.”

Ensi, having removed Agniele’s shirt, ran his hand past the chest tightly packed with muscle and down below. Heat seemed to bloom where the touch brushed past, yet it felt ticklish.

“I just became curious about your past.”

“My past……?”

Ensi tilted his head slightly at the somewhat random answer. The hand that had been heading toward the steadily swelling area below stopped in mid-air.

Agniele undid the buttons on Ensi’s back, hoping to move past this. When the final connection was loosened, the already loose chemise slid down the white line of his shoulders.

Past, the past—. Ensi hummed at the touch that held a temperature different from his own cold skin, yet he repeated the same word in his mind. Then, suddenly realizing the meaning, he pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

So, the reason Agniele was suddenly curious about the past was because…….

“You were jealous of someone who doesn’t even exist.”

Ensi’s voice was thick with amusement. Agniele buried his face in Ensi’s neck to hide his expression, which was bound to be pathetic. He felt embarrassed because Ensi had caught the meaning, yet he was happy at the words “someone who doesn’t even exist.”

“You can call it unsightly if you want.”

“Mm…… is that so.”

Agniele took in the skin that had been hidden by cloth and sucked gently without causing pain. Letting out a languid breath, Ensi tilted his head back and pulled him close.

“Still, it means you love me that much…….”

The skin beneath his fingertips was hot. To soothe his partner, Ensi gently stroked the body that held a warmth completely different from his own.

“It isn’t unsightly.”

If anything, it’s cute. Ensi swallowed the latter part for Agniele’s sake. He caught Agniele’s chin as he slowly lifted his head after hearing the answer and kissed him.

In the deep dawn. Agniele, who had fallen into a light sleep while holding Ensi in his arms, lifted his eyelids at a sound that grated on his nerves.

He thought he had set separate guards; had the defenses been breached?

Whatever it was, he couldn’t ignore it now that he had sensed a presence. His brow furrowing slightly, he carefully pulled his arm out from under Ensi’s head. It was a cautious movement, as if he were moving glass that might break at any moment.

Just as Agniele, having substituted a pillow for his arm, turned to leave the bed, the person he thought was asleep caught him.

“Where are you going?”

At the clear voice that sounded as usual, Agniele turned back toward Ensi. Though his eyes showed no hint of sleepiness, he read the fatigue submerged beneath Ensi’s gaze. Thus, Agniele gently removed the wrist Ensi was holding.

“I’m just going outside for a moment. You must be tired, so get more sleep.”

“……You don’t need to worry about it.”

Ensi, who realized Agniele’s purpose even without him saying it, furrowed his brow. Momentary annoyance rose because he knew Agniele was the type to worry even if told not to. Propping himself up halfway, Ensi lifted his head slightly to meet Agniele’s eyes.

“But Ensi—”

“I told you the night is still cold.”

Ensi smoothed out his furrowed brow and let his eyes grow moist. Agniele, who didn’t miss him even in the darkness where only moonlight was vivid, couldn’t bring himself to push his argument any further.

When he reflexively reached out to stroke the raw corners of Ensi’s eyes, Ensi leaned his head into the hand as if he had been waiting.

Ensi breathed quietly and blinked his heavy eyelids slowly. Though it was a trivial action, to Agniele, it felt as if a rain-soaked butterfly were struggling to move its heavy wings.

“Are you going to leave me alone?”

Ensi, who hadn’t yet received a confirmation that he wouldn’t leave, slowly leaned his body toward Agniele. Unable to let him fall, Agniele reached out his arms to support him.

Thump, thump. He could hear the heart beating in a steady rhythm. Ensi, who placed his ear against Agniele’s heart, covered the hand the other had placed on the bed.

“I intended to come right back.”

“You mean you intended to leave me, even for a moment, on this night.”

When he emphasized the words “this night,” the fingertips holding Ensi trembled. It meant he was conflicted about whether to break his stubbornness.

Ensi, reading the thoughts vividly felt in Agniele’s actions, bitten his lower lip noticeably.

If I do this—

“Don’t do that.”

Because Agniele, unable to use his hands, would lean in to kiss him.