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Lohen never imagined he would ever indulge in romance. Growing up, his parents would only show affection to both him and each other though endless fussing and nagging. Whenever he saw couples hold hands and kiss in films and television shows, he would avert his eyes or stare blankly at the screen, willing for the scene to pass. So between that and how his preference of chaos to dormancy made his peers wary of his presence, love—at least in Lohen’s eyes—seemed like a thing that would never come for someone like him.
And then he met Illuga.
When his parents asked how the two met, Lohen curtly said Illuga was a new student that he shared a class with. When his godfather asked how the two met, Lohen simply said Illuga was his assigned lab partner for the semester. When his neighbor asked how the two met, Lohen cheerfully said he had invited Illuga to sit with him at lunch.
“Why the long look, Theodore?” he questioned when his childhood friend-slash-neighbor scrunched his nose at the news. “Don’t tell me you’re sad that you haven’t been able to get along with the new guy?”
“No,” Theodore grumbled. “I just feel like you’re lying about the whole thing.”
How absurd. Lohen was many things—impulsive, blunt, and calculative—but he was an honest person. So yes, Illuga had in fact been a new student at his school, and yes, Illuga had been assigned as Lohen’s lab partner in their shared chemistry class, and yes, Lohen had invited Illuga to sit with him at lunch. Sure, he had chosen to leave out some details in the process, but his omissions were all to Illuga’s benefit, if anything. His parents had no reason to know that Illuga had attended private school his whole life, and only decided to transfer to the public district due to poor treatment under a new school administration. His godfather had no idea that the only reason why Lohen had been paired with Illuga for chemistry lab was because everybody else in the class had informed the teacher that they did not want to work with Lohen. And Theodore had no way of knowing that Illuga had turned down Lohen’s unserious lunch invitation because he had already agreed to sit with someone else. If anything, they were all better off believing in the simplified stories Lohen had presented to them. That way, he did not have to figure out how to assure them that he was perfectly alright with things being how they were, and did not have to face the possibility that Illuga was probably better off befriending someone else.
And yet, despite all of that, somehow, Illuga became a permanent fixture in Lohen’s life. Unlike most people Lohen had the pleasure of interacting with, Illuga would reach out to him of his own volition. He would greet Lohen warmly as he took a seat beside him in their shared class. At lunch, Illuga would grab Lohen’s arm and physically drag him over to the table where his own friends were waiting. And when they weren’t within the confines of their school building, Illuga would send Lohen blocks upon blocks of texts about things that were unrelated to their studies.
Illuga seemed to have no intention of leaving Lohen alone. So after months of constantly being barraged by Illuga in chemistry class, during lunch hour, and in the messenger app on his phone, Lohen finally allowed himself to lower his guard and let their friendship take root. And to his surprise, they managed to grow quite close. Until one day, in the midst of junior year, Lohen realized he had developed a crush on the other.
If I fell into this relationship, then you must have cliff-dove into it, Lohen thought as he pulled his car into Illuga’s driveway. Because you’d have to be insane to genuinely like someone like me.
And yet, the only reason why Lohen could even say he had a boyfriend was because Illuga had been the one to take that very first step.
“I like you,” he had confessed over a shared plate of fries at the local diner. “Would you like to go on a date this weekend?”
Two sentences, and Lohen’s life was turned upside down.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Ah.” The Illuga of the present leaned back in his seat with a huff. “The night’s already over, huh?”
“Just our night together. The actual night is still young.” Lohen put the car on the park gear. “But as much as I’d like to keep you out longer, I’d rather not upset your old man by breaking curfew.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve broken it if you did.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“Hmm…” Illuga unbuckled his seat belt and turned towards Lohen with a grin. “Next time.”
“Aw, really? You’re going to leave me hanging?”
“I have to incentivize you to come back, don’t I?”
“Isn’t that my job as your boyfriend?”
“You’re right.” Illuga chuckled, then leaned forward to kiss Lohen. When he pulled back, Lohen’s hand found the back of Illuga’s neck and pushed against it. Illuga laughed into Lohen’s mouth as they kissed again.
For a moment, Lohen wondered if he could get away with kissing Illuga for the next five or so minutes he had before curfew actually arrived. And to his credit, it seemed like Illuga had no issue with the idea, as he was nibbling on Lohen’s lip and resting his hands on Lohen’s arms, coaxing him to come closer. But for some reason, there was a very odd feeling tugging at the back of Lohen’s head that made him pull away from the lip-lock.
Is someone watching us? He stole a glance at Illuga’s house—at the dim glow lighting up the windows to the main room and the curtains moving in the window right above it. Illuga’s dad, probably? He must not be super excited about witnessing his son’s weird boyfriend give him an extended farewell.
“Lohen?”
Lohen broke away from his thoughts to press one last kiss to Illuga’s nose.
“I should get going, before my folks have an aneurysm.”
“Okay. Thanks again for tonight.” Illuga leaned back and reached out to open the car door. “Text me when you’re home safe.”
“I will. Good night, Illuga.”
“Good night, Lohen.”
Lohen waited until Illuga had entered the house and the lights in the main room windows had brightened to their full glory. He glanced upward at the upstairs curtain-covered window, noting how they shifted the second the front door swung shut behind Illuga.
Probably just his dad waiting for him to get inside. Lohen put his car in reverse and began backing out of the driveway. Stereotypical parent things. Nothing to worry about.
When he got home, he silently sat through the lecture his parents gave him on timeliness, went up to his room, and dutifully texted Illuga, as promised.
Illuga
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So his dad isn’t home. Lohen set his phone down and frowned. But in that case…who was watching us through the window? Unless there wasn’t anyone at all and it was just my eyes playing tricks on me..? He tapped his foot on the ground. Kind of unusual, but I guess that’s the only thing that would make sense…
His phone buzzed. Lohen craned his neck to read the notification on the screen.
Illuga
Illuga
“You know me so well,” Lohen chuckled to himself. Alright, if you insist.
The upstairs curtains were the last thing on his mind as he got up and made his way to the bathroom.
It had been a while since Lohen had been a guest in Illuga’s home.
Lohen had been to it, of course. Technically, they had been friends before boyfriends, so Lohen had been over a decent number of times: sometimes alone to work on a school assignment, sometimes accompanied by one or three of their now-mutual friends for a hangout. But today, he was going to Illuga’s house for a date as opposed to an ordinary get together.
It was a nice feeling, to say the least.
The plan was simple and easy: lazy movie night. Ordinarily, Lohen would not have even considered doing something as mundane as that—after all, when Illuga had asked Lohen to pick a location for their second date, Lohen had suggested an axe-throwing range, which had caused Illuga to choke on the hot cocoa he had been drinking. But over the past few months, Lohen had come to realize that he could never get bored of spending time with his boyfriend. So Lohen brought over a large bottle of apple cider. Illuga ordered food delivery from a local restaurant. They curled up on the sofa with their dinner and lightheartedly argued over what movie to watch. They eventually settled on a horror film that had been on Illuga’s watchlist for at least three years.
They were maybe fifteen minutes into the film when Lohen realized he was a bigger fan of action than horror—that there was actually quite a large distinction between the two genres that made it somewhat difficult for their fan bases to overlap. Both genres tended to abide by well-known formulas, yes, but action was designed to thrill the senses and get the heart racing with positive emotions. Horror, on the other hand, mostly had a knack for invoking dread and hopelessness in the viewer.
Lohen dreaded the prospect of being powerless. But that was the very thing that horror wanted to instill in its audience. So when the first victim of the film began pleading for their life with the antagonist, Lohen wondered if he had made a mistake in agreeing to the movie. Wanting to indulge in some harmless violence was one thing, but seeing it used intentionally against innocents was an entirely different thing.
Illuga’s hand latched onto Lohen’s arm when the antagonist finally made the first on-screen kill of the film. Lohen flinched and turned to look at his boyfriend. Illuga’s eyes were glued to the television screen, eyebrows raised and lips pursed. An outsider would have interpreted his expression as something akin to anticipation. But Lohen could feel the way Illuga was squeezing his forearm and see how much his jaw muscles were tensing up.
Are you scared, Illuga?
Lohen shifted his free arm so he could place his hand on top of Illuga’s and squeeze his fingers.
It’s okay. It’s just a movie. We’ll get through this together.
The film continued. Lohen could feel his blood pressure rising the more it progressed—partly due to the tense atmosphere and partly due to frustration at how stupid some of the characters were acting. His only reprieve was feeling Illuga snuggling more and more into his side, keeping him grounded in a much less terrifying reality.
You’re seriously clinging onto me though, Illuga. Are you really that scared of the movie?
By the time the film had crossed the halfway mark, Lohen was practically sitting on top of Illuga, with how much Illuga had pulled him into his side—not that Lohen minded in the slightest. Besides, Illuga seemed pretty comfortable with the arrangement, since he had wrapped his arms around Lohen’s torso and nestled his face in the crook of Lohen’s neck. Between that and the blankets they were snuggled under, Lohen was feeling pretty cozy.
And yet, the room was cold.
At first, it felt like it could be attributed to outside factors such as the seasons starting to change, the sun no longer being out because it was evening now, etcetera. But Lohen recalled other parts of the house being significantly warmer earlier that day. He also remembered Illuga having once mentioned that he and his father slept in the living room when their furnace broke down several years ago. So the current temperature of what was supposed to be the most comfortable room in the house was…unnatural, to say the least. Not enough to ruin the experience for Lohen, but just enough for him to be on the edge of his seat.
“Well,” Illuga mumbled when the credits began to roll, signaling the end of the movie. “That was something.”
“Something,” Lohen agreed.
“Felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest at some points.”
“So you were scared?”
“I think anyone would be,” Illuga huffed. “I know you were, at least.”
Lohen snorted. “I wasn’t scared. But I was worried for what would happen next to those idiots.”
“Uh huh. Worried.”
“I’m being honest. If we were stuck in an isolated log cabin with a serial killer on the loose, I wouldn’t leave you alone to go fetch firewood from the woods.”
“What would you do then?”
“Take you with me.”
Illuga snorted. “So we could both get murdered by the killer?”
“The two of us could take him.”
“As much as I’d like to think that’d be true, I’m not sure how helpful fencing and archery would be against a serial killer with a chainsaw and flamethrower.”
“If my archery is moot, then your discus skills wouldn’t do much better. But I guess we could both run real fast if things got too dangerous.”
Illuga’s nose scrunched up as he laughed. “Alright, you’ve got me there.” And with that, he leaned in.
Lohen blinked when he felt Illuga’s mouth pressing against his own. He let out a soft hum of approval and turned his torso so he was at a better angle to kiss back. Illuga let out a soft whine in protest, but adjusted his own position to accommodate Lohen’s movements.
They both jumped when the television suddenly began blasting loud music. Illuga pulled back, cursed, and reached for the remote to close out of the movie, which had somehow decided to replay itself.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“We’re never watching that movie again, right?” Lohen asked.
“Absolutely not.”
“Oh good.”
Illuga patted Lohen’s arm. “Let me up. Need to go to the bathroom.”
Lohen shifted so Illuga could wriggle his way out of the blanket pile. He disappeared into the hallway. Lohen leaned back against the sofa and stretched his arms over his head, wincing when he heard his back crack.
Then he spotted a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye.
He whirled around to look back at the kitchen, where they had left out a portion of their dinner to cool. “So pops can have something to eat when he gets off of work,” Illuga had said. For a moment, Lohen wondered if something had been disturbed. But as far as he could tell, everything was exactly as they had left it.
Weird. Did I hallucinate something? He frowned. That movie better not have summoned something.
But Lohen still felt the hairs on his neck bristling.
“Back.” Illuga’s voice promptly brought Lohen back to reality. “You want to watch something else?”
“One more.” Lohen nodded. “Uh, maybe a comedy this time.”
“…So you really were scared.”
“I was not. I just…want something lighthearted.”
Illuga hummed in skepticism, but took a seat beside Lohen, snuggled into his side, and grabbed the remote to find a more lighthearted movie. They eventually settled on a rom-com that was so terrible they started talking over the film, which led to many fits of laughter in between stolen kisses. Until eventually, the movie and their date night came to an end.
Later that night, long after he had given Illuga a farewell kiss and returned home to his father’s heavy sigh and his mother’s typical fussing, Lohen flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, unsure as to why there was an uneasy feeling in his chest.
It’s probably because of the horror movie, he reasoned to himself. Just a mild case of paranoia. It’s not because I actually saw something messing around with the stuff in the kitchen.
Still, as he laid awake in his bed, Lohen found he could not shake the chill that was crawling down his spine.
Illuga was a creature of habit. It was one of the most glaring differences between him and Lohen. Despite his claims of being very adaptable, Lohen noticed that he would always fall into the same set routines whenever he was given a chance. These routines would apply to everything he did: his studies, his hobbies, and even his relationships with others.
So when Illuga did not send his usual good morning text before the first bell, Lohen instantly knew something was wrong.
Illuga
Lohen
He did not receive an answer until after his first class.
Illuga
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Lohen’s lip twitched as Illuga’s online status switched to away. He swiped his phone across the screen and typed up a list of items to get from the store.
Hours later, long after the last school bell had run, archery practice had ended, and Lohen had done a quick store run, he drove over to Illuga’s house. As he pulled into the driveway, he took note of the light in the upstairs window—the one he knew belonged to Illuga’s bedroom.
Good, he’s awake.
The second he raised his hand to ring the doorbell, he heard the deadbolt move. When the front door didn’t open swiftly after, he grabbed the door knob and pushed it open, ready to shove his grocery bag into his sick boyfriend’s chest.
The foyer, however, was empty.
…If nobody’s nearby, then who unlocked the door? Lohen examined the door knob, but found no fault with it. Unless I was mistaken and it’s been open this whole time? That’s really dangerous, Illuga…
Just to be safe, he closed the door and bolted it shut, giving it a tug for extra insurance before heading up to Illuga’s bedroom.
He found his boyfriend curled up on his bed, cuddling the mint-colored rabbit plushie Lohen had gifted him a while back as he flipped through a book. Lohen smiled tenderly at the adorable sight of his boyfriend resting so comfortably in his pajamas.
“Special delivery,” he announced.
Illuga yelped as he scrambled to a sitting position. When his eyes laid upon Lohen, he instantly covered his mouse and nose with his sleeve.
“What are you doing here?”
“Dropping off a care package.”
“You shouldn’t be here, I’m a mess.”
“Good thing I’ve got a knack for cleaning those.” Lohen sat on the end of Illuga’s bed and set a bag in his lap. “I got you some vitamin C, cough suppressant, and a multi-flavored sugar sculpture as a treat.”
Illuga took the items out of the bag. “Thank you,” he murmured.
“Is your old man home?”
Illuga shook his head, covering his mouth to cough as he did. “He was going to call off work to look after me, but I told him I’d be okay.”
“So nobody’s here to nurse you, huh? Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“I was just going to have leftovers.”
“So you haven’t.” Lohen clicked his tongue. “Alright. I’ll take a look.”
“…Take a look at what?”
“Your fridge.” Lohen pushed himself up. “You sit tight.”
“Lohen, I’m sick, not incapacitated—hey!” Illuga let out a fit of coughs when Lohen left the room. “Honestly, sometimes I can’t with you…” But he pulled his rabbit plushie into his chest and smiled anyways.
Lohen swiftly made his way into Illuga’s kitchen and opened the fridge. He spotted a container of his boyfriend’s signature vegetable soup on the top-most shelf. “Best to reheat on the stove,” he remembered Illuga had said when he brought it over for a potluck at Adorno’s house a month prior.
Well, no use in arguing with the chef.
Luckily, there was already a pot sitting on the nearby drying rack, so Lohen plopped it on the stove, dumped the soup into it, and turned the knob to ignite the flame.
Except the stove refused to ignite. Lohen tried the knob again. All he could hear was a soft clicking sound. He let out a curse under his breath and tried the knob a third time, to no avail. He stared in disbelief at the stove, ears ringing with the phantom of a sound that was suspiciously akin to laughter.
“It’s fine,” he muttered. “I just need a lighter, because apparently, the built-in one refuses to work.”
He pulled open some drawers, frowning when he was met with cooking utensils, silverware, gloves, and even placemats. But alas: no lighter. It got to the point where he was almost tempted to see if he had one in his car for some odd reason. His desperation was not helped by the fact that the entire time, he felt like someone, or something, was watching him from a distance, morbidly entertained by his frantic searching.
“One more time,” he vowed, reaching for the knob. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll just have to use some more unconventional methods…”
Suddenly, the burner erupted with life, sending him reeling a good three steps in shock. He shook out his wrist, hissing at the flash of heat now tingling on his fingertips.
“What the…” He squinted at the now-turned knob in confusion. “Why didn’t you do that the first time? You really had to go and make my life hard for no reason…”
But the stove was working now, meaning the soup in the pot was slowly being heated up. Lohen leaned against the counter and scrolled through his phone for a minute before remembering he needed a spoon to stir the soup.
Just another thing to look for, I guess.
He turned and blinked in surprise when he saw a metal ladle sitting on the island counter—one that he did not recall being there before.
I guess I took it out of a drawer when I was looking for the lighter? But I don’t remember doing that, nevertheless even thinking about doing so…
Well, whatever the case was, it didn’t matter—a ladle was a spoon, so it was a suitable tool for the situation at hand. He took the utensil and stood over the pot, pushing around the chunks of vegetables in it in, only stopping to respond to his mother’s incessant texts. Finally, the soup was heated all the way through and Lohen was able to ladle it into a bowl he pulled off the drying rack.
Illuga was exactly where he had left him minutes before: sitting in bed, cuddling his rabbit plushie, but instead of a book, he was now looking at his phone. He looked up when he felt Lohen’s presence in the doorway. His eyes instantly darted to the bowl in Lohen’s hands.
“What did you make?”
“Would you be excited if I said it was a concoction I made to blast your cold into the atmosphere?”
“The opposite, in fact.”
“It’s just your soup,” Lohen admitted.
Illuga nodded in approval. “Did you heat up a bowl for yourself?”
“My mom is making dinner. She’s insisting on my presence.” Lohen set the soup bowl on the adjacent nightstand and sat on Illuga’s bed. “But I can ignore her and stay here if you want.”
“Ah. Well, as much as I would like that, I don’t want to anger your mother. Besides, you really shouldn’t stay for too long: what if you catch my cold?”
“Then you can come over and take care of me.”
“As if your parents wouldn’t both take off work and smother you with attention.”
“Exactly, which is why I need you to rescue me from their fussing.”
Illuga chuckled. “Thank you, Lohen. I’d kiss you, but I really don’t want you to catch my cold.”
“Then I’ll kiss you instead.”
Illuga let out a surprised squeak when Lohen’s mouth pressed against his own. His hand instantly shot up to grab Lohen’s shoulder, but no force was exerted onto it. Lohen’s chest rumbled with a chuckle of amusement as Illuga instead leaned into the kiss, clearly eager for both affection and attention. When Lohen pulled away, Illuga whined and fell forward in a clumsy attempt to chase his mouth. Lohen couldn’t help but let out a snicker as he decided to indulge his boyfriend with one more kiss, eliciting a satisfied chirp from Illuga.
“I’ll call you after dinner,” Lohen vowed when he finally pulled away.
Illuga hummed. “I’ll try to stay awake for it.”
“I won’t be offended if you fall asleep, just so long as you’re thinking of me.”
“That’s hard not to do, honestly.”
Lohen could feel himself grinning from ear to ear. “Enjoy your dinner. I’ll see you soon.”
“You too. Thanks again, Lohen.”
The next morning, Lohen woke up as healthy as he had been the day before, which, to be honest, disappointed him a little bit.
What I would give to have Illuga nurse me back to health, he thought as he glared at himself in the bathroom mirror. Though I could do without the malfunctioning stove and mysteriously appearing kitchen utensils.
Apparently, Illuga’s father was having company over. Normally, that would mean Illuga was unavailable for the evening, but this time, Lohen found himself to be the recipient of an invite to the party from the man himself.
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Lohen set his phone down.
“I hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass,” he murmured as he opened his closet door. “Socialization can be such a chore…” But I’ll do it for you, Illuga.
The party time came much sooner than he anticipated it would. The second he stepped inside the house, Illuga greeted him with a smile and latched onto his arm.
“I’ll introduce you to everyone,” he assured. “Uh, it’s okay if you don’t remember everyone’s names right away. There’s…quite a lot of them.”
They eventually migrated to the sofa in the living room, with Lohen nestled at the far end with Illuga curled up beside him. When they first sat down, Lohen couldn’t help but take a moment to stare at his boyfriend, admiring his soft silver and burgundy hair, his round blue-red eyes, his cute little beauty mark…
Gods, I really am smitten.
Frankly, the only thing stopping Lohen from dragging his boyfriend into his lap and kissing him until his lungs exploded from a lack of air was the fact that they were surrounded by Illuga’s father’s friends, who were all very insistent on starting conversations with them. Illuga, at the very least, seemed used to it, and was animatedly chatting with them about a variety of things—his life, his studies, his after-school activities, his college applications…everything that an adult could possibly want to know about a senior high school student, really. But even though Illuga was navigating the conversation away from Lohen quite smoothly, making sure that Lohen could speak as little as possible, Lohen still had an overwhelming desire to sink into the sofa until it swallowed him whole to escape the small talk.
At some point, Illuga excused himself to get some food, so Lohen decided to escape to a side room for a moment’s respite from tiresome socialization. His hopes were dashed when he stumbled upon a group of people huddled around a table, talking over a stack of cards.
“Ah, it’s Illuga’s boyfriend!” one of them called out before Lohen could slip away. “Want to join us?”
Lohen flashed the man—Marushkin, if his memory served correct—a polite smile. “What are you playing?”
“Cards,” another man—Olav, probably, based on his hair—answered.
“Hey, is Illuga around?” a woman—Gabieta? Lohen was honestly starting to forget—asked. “Bring him over here, he can show you the ropes if you want in.”
“Oh, okay.” Lohen spun around and walked right back into the living room.
He found Illuga standing near the fireplace, holding a plate of food while talking to his father. Nikita nodded in greeting when he noticed Lohen approaching and quickly excused himself.
My, look at how respectful your old man is, Illuga. My folks could probably learn a thing or two from him about personal space.
“Did you need something?” Illuga asked his boyfriend.
“The people in the side room want to know if you want to join their card game,” Lohen answered.
“Join their..? Oh!” Illuga nodded and set his plate on the fireplace mantle, right next to the old iron lantern resting upon it. “Yeah, I do. You should come watch.”
“Uh, sure.” But Lohen may as well not have said anything at all, because Illuga had already seized his wrist and dragged him back to the side room.
“He’s here!” Gabieta—oh, yes, that was definitely her name—laughed. “Still remember the rules, Illuga?”
“Mmhm.” Illuga plopped down in a chair, patting the one next to him to signal Lohen to sit. “Lohen, are you going to play too?”
“I’ll watch.”
“Okay.”
“Alright then.” Olav dealt Illuga a hand of cards. “As the most senior, Mr. Marushkin should start us off.”
Lohen watched in silence as the four began to play. In seemingly no time at all, they had already gone through three rounds and were about to start a fourth.
“Hey.” Lohen nudged Illuga’s side. “I’m getting a drink. Need me to bring something back for you?”
“Water, please.”
“Okay. Want me to get your plate too?”
Illuga frowned. “What plate?”
“The one you left on the mantle.”
Illuga blinked in confusion. Lohen sighed.
“Nevermind. I’ll be right back.”
Illuga hummed happily before turning back to the card game. Lohen headed straight for the kitchen to grab a soda can and a bottle of water. He then passed by the mantle in the living room, intending to retrieve Illuga’s previously abandoned plate.
The good news: there was indeed a plate resting beside the lantern there.
The bad news: the plate was empty.
Oh. That’s odd. Lohen frowned as he grabbed the paper plate. There was some oil residue on it, indicating it had indeed held food at one point. But there wasn’t even a crumb left on it. Maybe someone else cleaned up the one he left behind and this one belongs to someone else? But why would you leave behind an empty plate for someone else to clean up..?
Whatever the case was, Lohen swung by the kitchen to discard the empty plate.
Illuga was staring at his cards very intensely when Lohen returned. Lohen settled back into his chair, lifting himself up just high enough to press a kiss to the top of Illuga’s head before handing him the water bottle. He smirked when he saw Illuga’s ears flush pink from the gesture.
“Aww, cute,” Gabieta laughed. “You found a sweet one, Illuga.”
Illuga’s ears deepened in color. Lohen sat back in his chair and took a sip of his soda in victory.
“May I join the next round?” he asked.
Marushkin chuckled under his breath as he flipped through his cards. “Need us to explain the rules?”
“I think I’ve got the gist of it.”
“Next round for sure then,” Olav said.
Safe to say, Lohen earned the three’s respects by wiping the floor with them in his first game. But that did not matter to him as much as the proud smile Illuga gave him as he congratulated Lohen on his victory.
Eventually, the party came to an end, and one-by-one, Illuga and Lohen waved goodbye to all of Nikita’s friends. Until at long last, it was just the two of them and Illuga’s father left in the house.
“Go on up to bed, pops,” Illuga insisted. “I’ll take care of things here.”
“You sure?” Nikita asked.
“Mmhm. You’ve had a long day. Go get some rest.”
“Alright, thank you, my boy.” Nikita flashed Lohen a smile. “And thanks again for coming, Lohen.”
“Of course, thank you for the invitation.”
“Anytime.” Nikita ruffled Illuga’s hair, laughing when his son gently swatted his hand. “Alright, this old man’s off to bed now. Don’t stay up too late.” And with that, he climbed the stairs to the upper floor bedrooms.
“I’ll help you clean up,” Lohen said when the man was gone.
“Oh, you really don’t have to, I know your parents probably want you back home soon.”
“Being a good boyfriend is more important than indulging in their desire to control me.” Lohen was already picking up the stray cups and plates in the kitchen and shoving them into a garbage bag.
Illuga’s lip twitched, but he made no protest.
“I’ll check the side rooms,” he said before vanishing into the hall.
Cleaning was not a chore Lohen actually enjoyed doing, but seeing his boyfriend with an extra skip in his step made the effort all worth it. He swept through the kitchen like a storm, eventually making his way into the adjoining living room. As he collected a bundle of soiled napkins, he heard something that sounded suspiciously like the garbage bag tipping over. He rushed back into the kitchen to check, already dreading the extra clean up that was sure to occur.
Instead, he caught sight of what seemed to be a shadow darting around the corner of the kitchen island. When he peeked around it, he found the garbage bag propped upright against the lower cabinet, with not a single speck of trash on the ground around it.
Huh? Lohen peered inside the bag, frowning when he was met with nothing but a pile of disposable plates, cups, and utensils. He looked around the island, but found nothing amiss with it. I could have sworn I saw something…
The sound of a door shutting drew Lohen’s attention.
“Found a few empty bottles,” Illuga said. “I’m taking them to the recycling bin outside. Did you happen to find any others in here?”
Lohen shook his head. Illuga blinked.
“Are you okay?”
“Peachy, why?” Lohen answered, perhaps a little too quickly.
“Are you sure?” Illuga set the bottles on the counter and reached out to cup Lohen’s face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Oh. Actually, that would explain quite a lot about the weird stuff that’s been happening around here whenever I visit. The only problem with that was the fact that ghosts were not real—not as far as Lohen knew, at least. So in reality, it explains nothing.
“I’m fine,” he insisted. “I just thought the bag fell over, that’s all.”
Illuga pursed his lips. His thumb brushed against the beauty mark adorning Lohen’s right cheek.
“Thanks for helping,” he murmured. “I really do mean it.”
“I told you, it’s fine,” Lohen replied. “It’s the bare minimum of what I should be doing.”
Illuga hummed softly as he leaned in. Lohen happily accepted the kiss. His hands rose to rest on Illuga’s waist, rubbing circles into his sides, relishing in the feeling of Illuga’s sweater rubbing against his skin.
I know I said helping clean up was the least I could do, but I’m definitely going to keep doing it if this is how you’re always going to thank me, Lohen mused. He let his hands drag upward, causing Illuga’s sweater to ride up. He could feel Illuga shudder beneath his fingertips as slivers of pale skin were suddenly exposed to the admittedly cool nighttime air. You like that, huh? Guess I’ll have to do it more often…
“Illuga! You still downstairs?”
The two broke apart at the sound of the voice. Illuga released Lohen’s face and took a step back, clearing his throat and pulling down his sweater as he did.
“I am. Do you need something, pops?”
“Have you seen a hat down there?” Nikita asked. “Patolichev thinks he may have left it behind.”
“I didn’t see one,” Illuga answered. “Uh, Lohen, have you?”
Lohen shook his head.
“Lohen hasn’t either, pops.”
“Ah, alright. I’ll tell him to check his car, else we’ll check again in the morning.”
In the distance, a door slammed shut. Illuga let out a long exhale.
“I’m going to take these to the recycle bin,” he said, grabbing the glass bottles from the counter once again. “Could you bring the trash bag out?”
Lohen nodded, reaching for the bag to tie it off. “Yeah.”
All things considered, Lohen was a good student. Or rather, he excelled enough in his classes to not elicit any complaints from his parents and teachers. But unlike his fellow peers, Lohen derived little satisfaction from his class ranking. He position in the higher ranks was only because he was good at picking up new things. But new things coming easily to him just meant they became boring just as quickly, leaving him disgruntled once the novelty had worn off. Between that, his impulsive behavior, and his bluntness, it was no surprise that his classmates did not like him very much, especially the ones who were seriously trying to climb the academic ladder. Lohen had long since accepted that he would forever teeter between being respected and condemned by his peers.
Things were different for Illuga. He was practically a shining star: good grades, easily approachable, and very high in demand for group projects. It was difficult to find someone in their school that hadn’t heard his name or spoken to him at least once. And despite the rumor mill being known for spreading negativity, most things Lohen overheard about Illuga defied the odds by being on the positive end of the spectrum. If anything, anything degrading he heard was related to Illuga’s relationship status—or more specifically, grievances with his partner of choice.
If only they knew that their golden boy pupil was the one who asked out crazy old me.
But Lohen was far too used to such chatter to be bothered by it. Illuga, on the other hand, was less than happy with other people’s disdain with his boyfriend. Lohen found that out the hard way when Illuga slugged a guy in the face while on a double date at the local carnival because, as Illuga’s friend Jahoda would inform Lohen when he returned from the bathroom to her and her girlfriend wiping blood off of Illuga’s knuckles, the guy had accused Lohen of pressuring Illuga into their relationship, called Lohen a good-for-nothing asshole who deserved to die in a ditch, and, to top it all off, tried to make a pass at Illuga. When Lohen examined Illuga’s injuries, Illuga had laughed merrily in his face and chirped in victory over putting the guy in his place.
“Theodore told me that jerk’s always had it out for you because you hung him out to dry for not doing his share of your group project in middle school,” Illuga had explained. “Besides, what made him think I’d be interested in him after all that? No better way to get the message across, I say.”
Needless to say, Lohen had never felt more loved and cherished in his entire life.
That didn’t stop Illuga from putting his foot down with Lohen on certain matters, though.
“If you fail any of your classes, I’m breaking up with you,” Illuga had once declared—an ultimatum so ridiculous that Lohen could only assume that he was joking. Because even if Illuga was being serious, there was no reason for him to get hung up on grades of all things. The only thing Lohen had ever failed was qualifying for fencing nationals, but that was an entirely different beast compared to a measly high school exam.
At the very least, the probably-a-joke threat provided Lohen with the perfect excuse for spending extra time with Illuga: study dates.
Which was why he was currently sitting on the floor of Illuga’s bedroom, head tilted back against Illuga’s bed to stretch his neck from staring too long at his history textbook.
“Are you dozing off again?”
“Why would I be doing that?”
“The last time you asked to study with me, you fell asleep.”
Lohen snickered. “Well, I’ve already read over everything here.”
“Sounds to me like you’re slacking.”
“I’m not slacking. You retain things better if you take a moment to reflect on the information, you know.”
“I…okay, you’re not wrong, but you still need to do well on the test.”
“Why? We already got our first college acceptances. All that’s left is to graduate in a few months.”
“Reminder that you were offered scholarships that depend on your grades?”
“You know I’m good at keeping those up.” Lohen stretched his arms over his head and let out a yawn. “Come on, Illuga, you know there’s no harm in taking a break. Especially since I know you know the material just as well as I do.”
“…Alright. Fine.”
Lohen could hear Illuga shut his textbook.
“Oh? Illuga’s actually going to take a break? How scandalous.”
“Stop that. I get tired of studying too, you know.”
Lohen chuckled. “Let’s do something more interesting then. Have anything in mind?”
Lohen could feel the bed shift as Illuga leaned against it.
“Maybe.”
Lohen felt a hand—gentle and warm—press against his cheek. He allowed it to turn his head to the side, causing Illuga to enter his line of sight.
“You do?”
Illuga brushed Lohen’s bangs to the side. Lohen raised his eyebrow.
“Illuga?”
Lohen blinked as Illuga’s lips met with his own.
Oh?
Kissing Illuga was, of course, nothing new—especially now that they had been dating for well over a year at this point. But the way Illuga was kissing him now wasn’t quite the same as usual. There was something more…intentional behind his actions. Lohen’s suspicions only heightened when Illuga nipped at his bottom lip, coaxing Lohen to open his mouth.
Is this really your idea of a break, Illuga?
But Lohen welcomed the attention anyways. His hands dug into Illuga’s sweater, causing the fabric to ride up and expose a sliver of Illuga’s stomach. Illuga reacted by letting out a sharp exhale through his nose. Lohen let out a surprised sound as Illuga grabbed his shoulders for balance as he moved to sit on Lohen’s thighs. He broke the kiss once he was settled.
…Illuga?
Illuga stared at him, cheeks flushed pink, eyes glimmering with a desire that took Lohen a moment to recognize.
Oh.
If Lohen was being honest, he had fantasized about similar scenarios before. The first one had occurred sometime during their first few months as a couple. In true cliché fashion, it came to him as a dream of Illuga sprawled on top of his chest, his vibrant blue eyes gazing down at him as he ground against Lohen. Several other fleeting fantasies bubbled up in Lohen’s mind in the weeks that followed: Illuga sitting on a table and wrapping his legs around Lohen’s waist, Illuga squirming on the sofa as Lohen’s hand slid down his front, Illuga straddling Lohen’s hips as Lohen thrust them upward—these fantasies all blurred together into an incoherent ball of lust that would occasionally cause Lohen to wake up with a stubborn erection.
Illuga made Lohen feel different from all the other times before: the times where he would frustratingly wake up half-hard “as a side-effect of your body’s natural development process,” as Adorno had put it when giving a sex ed lecture to a very unamused Lohen and a very mortified Theodore many years ago. But instead of getting angry at himself for struggling to keep his body’s new demands in check, Lohen was now frazzled over how his physical and emotional attraction to his boyfriend was making it increasingly difficult to keep things under control.
Illuga truly was, in many ways, Lohen’s personal sexual awakening. And honestly, Lohen wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Lohen.”
Lohen hummed in response, still somewhat lost in his thoughts. Illuga clenched his jaw, let out a sharp exhale through his nose, then wrapped his legs around Lohen’s waist, pressed his palms against Lohen’s back, and tugged. Lohen barely had enough time to cushion the back of Illuga’s head with his hand as they fell on the floor. Illuga’s mouth found its way back to Lohen’s in an instant, luring him into a mind-numbing kiss. He could feel Illuga’s hips jutting upward to rub against his own, causing him to groan into Illuga’s mouth.
Fuck.
Having Illuga—the real Illuga—pressed against his body was a lot more overwhelming than Lohen expected it to be. In his dreams, he was able to manhandle Illuga with little to no effort at all. But here, he was finding it difficult to coordinate his desires with his actions. His teeth clumsily clacked against Illuga’s as he tried to turn his head just enough to deepen the kiss further. His throat and chest rumbled uncontrollably with soft moans as Illuga’s tongue tangled with his own. He attempted to shift positions, intending to lift Illuga by his hips so they could better slot together, but one of his hands was firmly pinned under Illuga’s head, and the other was stuck bearing the main brunt of his own weight. Illuga’s legs tightening their hold around his waist and his body seemingly trying to rub against every single extremity point on Lohen’s body also made it nearly impossible for Lohen to move so much as an inch.
But despite the unidealness of the situation, Lohen still felt his gut flaring with arousal.
Illuga wants me. And that thought was essentially a total victory for Lohen.
When they finally broke the kiss, there was a trail of saliva connecting their lips, stretching into a thin, translucent thread before finally caving in on itself and landing on Illuga’s chin. But his bright blue eyes never once dared to break away from Lohen’s gaze.
In that moment, the fog in Lohen’s head cleared, finally allowing his mind to properly assess their situation.
I’m getting hard—well, it’d be ridiculous if he wasn’t at this point. Illuga looks incredibly cute—this point was especially true now that Illuga’s entire face was flushed and his lips were slightly swollen from the fervor of their kissing. I really wouldn’t mind going further—now that was a new territory of thought that they were encroaching upon.
But there was still something…off about the entire situation. Lohen could feel Illuga’s warm breath on his face, feel his skin burn with the electricity of his touch, feel his blood heating the lower regions of his body. And yet, the room was…cold.
Very cold.
Way too cold.
Illuga must have gotten fed up of waiting, because Lohen suddenly felt warm lips latch onto his chin and nip at the skin there. He instinctively turned his head to give his boyfriend a better angle. As a result, his eyes wound up drifting to the underside of Illuga’s bed, towards the various books and boxes he knew were hidden beneath it.
Only for two glowing orbs to stare back at him, piercing through the darkness like car headlights in the middle of the night.
Lohen liked to think he was good with surprises. When he was a child, he made it his personal mission to launch an ambush on everyone: his neighbors, his playmates, even the nice police officer that occasionally patrolled his neighborhood. Most of his fencing victories were achieved using feints and sneaky maneuvers. And whenever someone else tried to sneak up on him, he always made sure to get the upper hand by suddenly appearing behind them instead. Overall, he was usually very good with handling the unexpected.
But this: this was different. He was making out with his boyfriend, and there was something under the bed watching them go at it.
Who’s there?!
Illuga yelped in surprise when Lohen jolted. His hands grabbed Lohen’s arms, trying to stop his flailing.
“Lohen! Hey, stop that!”
Illuga’s voice was more than enough to snap Lohen out of his panic. He looked back under the bed, but the two orbs had completely vanished.
What..? Was I just…seeing things?
Lohen slowly turned towards his boyfriend. Illuga greeted him with a frown, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Lohen wasn’t oblivious to how Illuga was going to perceive his abrupt movements. He opened his mouth to force out words—anything, really—that could explain why he had spoiled the moment without overly alarming his beloved, without making it seem like he did something wrong, without giving the false sign that Lohen wasn’t actually interested in going further with him…
“I have to pee.”
Illuga blinked.
“What?”
“I’m going to the bathroom.” And with that, Lohen leapt to his feet and dashed out of the room. Illuga sat up with a scowl.
“You better not be doing what I think you are,” he grumbled. “I’m right here, you know…”
Lohen returned maybe five minutes later. He cleared his throat as he took a seat beside Illuga on the floor.
“Feel better?” Illuga asked.
“Much.” Lohen nodded. “So, uh…where were we?”
Illuga unceremoniously dropped Lohen’s history textbook in his lap.
“Arcadia,” he said flatly.
“Oh. Right.”
For the past eight years of his life, Lohen had spent his birthday with his godfather as opposed to his parents. He didn’t mind that very much—Adorno would at least use the day as an excuse to spoil him rotten by getting him extra spicy take out and chocolate cake, which was much more suited to his tastes than the bland roast dinner and generous helping of proper etiquette and discipline his parents usually served.
Needless to say, Lohen was not upset when they told him they had to travel out of town for business, so he would be spending his birthday weekend in Adorno’s care.
At least they now have the self-awareness to admit that I prefer his company to theirs.
This year, however, was shaping up to be much different than the previous eight years. This year, Lohen’s boyfriend had invited him to spend the night at his house, claiming that he was going to make his special day just that: special. And seeing that Adorno chuckled and waved his hand when Lohen told him about the invite, Lohen saw no reason to refuse.
So he was back at Illuga’s house, smiling fondly as his boyfriend set a small homemade cake on the table.
“Baking isn’t my strong suit, I’ve discovered,” Illuga laughed. “It’s certainly not my best work.”
“I think it’s perfect,” Lohen said.
“How would you know that? You haven’t even tasted it yet.”
“Because you made it.” Lohen closed his eyes as Illuga lit the candles. “I’ve yet to be disappointed by anything you’ve made.”
Illuga was silent as Lohen made his wish and blew out the candles. When he opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend, he found Illuga standing in the same place as before, only he now had a stupidly wide grin on his face.
Perfect indeed, Lohen thought when they finally cut into the cake.
“Not as bad as I thought,” Illuga mused after taking a bite. “Hopefully I can make it less dense next time.”
“I’ll happily eat any failed attempts you create along the way,” Lohen said through a mouthful of cake.
“You don’t need to scarf it down like somebody’s going to take it from you,” Illuga laughed, reaching out to wipe a dab of frosting off of Lohen’s chin. “It’s not going anywhere.”
They finished eating their cake slices in merry silence.
“I’ll pack it up so you can take the rest of it home tomorrow,” Illuga said.
“Save a slice for your old man,” Lohen insisted.
“You sure?”
“Mmhm. He deserves a taste of his son’s baking.”
“Alright,” Illuga chuckled as he cut another slice as directed. “Let me know what Mr. Adorno thinks.”
“I’m sure he’ll think it’s very good.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely.”
“You’re that confident, huh?”
“You should be too.”
Illuga hummed in thought.
“I got you some presents.”
Lohen raised an eyebrow. “I thought just being with you tonight was my present.”
Illuga shook his head and huffed as he walked into the living room. Lohen craned his neck to watch Illuga retrieve a bag from the coffee table.
“Here.”
Lohen opened the bag and pulled out the tissue paper stuck inside of it. He then stared at the remaining contents for a moment.
“Like it?”
Lohen lifted his head to grin at Illuga. He pulled out the present—a golden bird plushie resting atop a translucent green water bottle with a poison insignia drawn across the front.
“A bird, huh?”
“You better think of me when you hold it.”
“Oh, I will.” Lohen tapped on the water bottle. “And I can’t wait to see everyone do a double take when I drink from this.”
Illuga rolled his eyes, but he was laughing regardless.
“I knew you would.”
Lohen planted a gentle peck to Illuga’s lips. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Illuga reached up to brush Lohen’s bangs from his face with a smile. “I’m going to clean up here then head upstairs. You can put your stuff in my room in the meantime.”
“Want help?”
“Absolutely not, birthday boy.”
“Okay,” Lohen chuckled. “See you in a bit.”
Roughly ten minutes passed before Illuga entered the bedroom.
“I’m going to shower,” he announced.
“Okay.” Lohen nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
Illuga left the room. Lohen laid on the floor and held up his phone. He scrolled through a wall of birthday wish notifications, only replying to a select handful.
Let’s see: let’s be sure to thank Theodore, Mika, Jahoda, Linnea…
An ominous creaking sound suddenly drew his attention away from his messaging app. He laid very still, holding his breath, waiting to see if the sound would return and allow him to determine its origin. When none came, he let out a heavy sigh.
Your house is nice, Illuga, but boy does it feel like there’s always something weird going on here.
He heard a door open and footsteps approach maybe ten minutes later. He lifted his head to greet Illuga with a smile.
“Hello, handsome.”
Illuga huffed. “Could say the same to you.”
“Will you?”
“Hi handsome. Go take a shower.”
“That’s not cute at all,” Lohen snickered as he reached for his bag and took out his toiletries and pajamas. “Be right back.”
“Take your time,” Illuga called out after him.
Lohen had to say: Illuga’s shower had very nice water pressure. He was rather tempted to stay under the spray for a lot longer than necessary. But then he remembered he had a cute boyfriend waiting to spend time with him, spurring him to cut his soaking session short.
Strangely enough, when Lohen finished his shower and exited the bathroom, dirty clothes in hand, he found that Illuga’s bedroom door was now shut. When he tried the door knob, he discovered it was locked.
That’s odd.
“Illuga?” Lohen knocked on his boyfriend’s door. “I’m done. Can you let me in?”
He heard what suspiciously sounded like a body slamming against furniture.
“Lohen!” Illuga’s muffled voice responded. “You were fast…”
“Uh, yeah?” Lohen frowned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m…okay. Fine.” Lohen heard a thud that sounded like a drawer slamming shut. “I just…”
“Just what..?”
“I’m just preparing myself.” Illuga’s voice was louder now, indicating he had moved closer to the door.
“Preparing for what?”
“I…well, I understand why you may have gotten cold feet last time. We haven’t really talked about this kind of thing or anything…” Illuga’s voice was even louder than before. “So I’m going to make my stance on this matter abundantly clear to you tonight.”
“Your…stance?”
The door swung open. Lohen yelped when his arm was grabbed and he was dragged inside. He stumbled into Illuga’s bedroom with the grace of a newborn giraffe. But his lack of coordination was quickly forgotten when he laid eyes on his boyfriend.
Instead of the t-shirt and pajama bottoms he had definitely been wearing before Lohen took his shower, Illuga was now wearing a silky cream tank top that was a bit loose in his chest area and a matching pair of shorts that barely covered anything at all. When he pressed his hand against Lohen’s chest, Lohen realized that he was holding a bundle of square foil packets and a small bottle of fluid.
Condoms and lube, he realized.
The foil wrappers crinkled as Illuga slid his palm upward.
“Happy birthday, Lohen.” Illuga beamed. “Your last present is me.”
Lohen wished he could say he was keeping his calm, that he was ready to maturely handle the situation and give Illuga the respect and affection he deserved. But his mind was racing a million miles a minute, and his heartbeat was so loud he swore the organ was trying to claw its way out of his body.
“You want to have sex?” Lohen could barely recognize his own voice.
“Yes.”
“With me?”
Illuga’s laughter was light and airy, like dandelion seeds drifting in the wind.
“Yes. Let’s go all the way tonight.”
…Fuck.
Lohen couldn’t tell if he was shaking as he dropped his dirty clothes and took the packets and bottle from his boyfriend. Illuga let out a snort as Lohen rested a hand on the small of his back and pulled him in. Their mouths slotted together like perfectly joined puzzles pieces. Lohen took a staggered step forward, coaxing Illuga to step backwards until Illuga’s knees bent over the edge of his bed and sent them toppling onto the sheets. Illuga let out a happy shriek of surprise as Lohen promptly began groping his torso, relishing in the way the silky fabric of Illuga’s tank top glided so smoothly across his skin. His hands trailed down Illuga’s sides until they finally landed on Illuga’s hips. One palm then slid further down, coming to a stop on the lump that was starting to form in Illuga’s shorts.
“You’re getting hard,” Lohen murmured.
“I wonder who is the reason for that?” Illuga huffed.
“Do you really like me that much?”
“I’d like you more if you did something about it.”
Lohen laughed into the next kiss.
“You really want me to?”
“How much more clear do I need to be with you?” Illuga placed his hands on Lohen’s shoulders. “Lohen, I’ve wanted this for a good while now. So please: fuck me.”
Lohen felt his chest flutter with excitement. He leaned down to lock their lips together once again.
I must have ascended to heaven.
Because being with Illuga—looking at him, touching him, inhaling his scent—was far better than anything a paltry wet dream could conjure up. The real Illuga sighed so sweetly as Lohen kissed him, squirmed so cutely as Lohen moved against him, and cried ever so softly as Lohen upped the pressure.
“Fuck,” Lohen heard himself mutter. “I love you so much, Illuga…”
“Nngh!” Illuga’s eyes squeezed shut as Lohen palmed his crotch again, causing the fabric of his shorts to dampen from arousal. “Lohen, please take it off…”
“You sure? You seem to be enjoying this though.”
Illuga let out a loud whine in protest and thrust his hips upward to rut against Lohen’s palm. Lohen chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.
“In a moment. Let me savor my present before unwrapping it.”
Illuga let out a breathy rasp of defeat. Lohen continued rubbing circles against the silky fabric of Illuga’s shorts. He suppressed a laugh when he felt the cloth getting damper with each stroke.
Not like I’m much better off, honestly.
Despite how uncomfortable his underwear now was, his desire to maximize Illuga’s comfort won over. He teasingly tugged at the waistband of Illuga’s shorts, smiling when he felt Illuga’s stomach clench in anticipation. But before he could divest Illuga of the garment, he felt something…strange hovering at his side. Something cold and breezy, like a draft from a fan. Except there was no fan in the room and no nearby vent from which the air could have been wafting from.
…There better not be something here to ruin the moment.
“Lohen?” Illuga called out when he sensed Lohen’s hesitation.
“Hold on.” Lohen turned his head to look around the room, hoping that the sudden chill down his spine was just utter nonsense and he would be able to ignore it like usual and get back to giving his boyfriend the attention he deserved.
His hopes were dashed when a pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at him.
He blinked once, then twice. But there was no mistake: there was a full blown person staring at Lohen. And it was not someone he knew.
“Lohen, what…wait a fucking minute—”
Lohen’s reaction was purely instinctual, to say the least.
Without making a single sound to indicate surprise, Lohen reached to the side, grabbed the baseball bat Illuga kept at his bedside, and swung hard. The bat cleanly struck the intruding person’s temple—or, rather, it would have if it had made contact. Lohen’s let out a sound of shock when the bat phased straight through the intruder’s face, which tilted back in laughter swiftly after.
“Wha—ghost?!” Lohen lifted the bat, intending to swing again to test his theory.
“Stop, stop, stop!” Illuga shot up and wrapped his arms around Lohen, holding him back as best as he could. “Lohen, stop, it’s okay, he won’t hurt us!”
“He?!”
The yellow-eyed ghost simply smiled as Illuga wrestled the baseball bat from Lohen’s grip.
“Don’t you dare try and look so innocent, Sir Flins,” Illuga snapped, pointing the weapon at the intruder. “Why are you here? What happened to giving me privacy tonight?!”
Oh, the ghost has a name. Lohen frowned. Wait, did Illuga just call it ‘sir’?
“My apologies, young master,” the ghostly man finally said, causing Lohen to jump. “I couldn’t help myself. The opportunity was much too perfect.”
“The opportunity to what, exactly? Cockblock me by scaring my boyfriend?!”
“Well, I must admit, seeing whether he will notice my presence has been a fun little game I’ve enjoyed playing with him as of late.” The ghost—Flins—nodded. “But I truly am sorry, my unorthodox perception of time was not kind to me in this instance. I did not remember until just this moment that you had stated intentions to fornicate with him tonight.”
“You forgot?” Illuga’s ears were starting to flush in both anger and embarrassment. “How could you forget when you were literally just watching us making out?!”
Flins merely smiled. Illuga groaned and lowered the baseball bat.
“Never do this again, okay? It’s not only a massive invasion of my privacy, but it’s also just flat out weird.”
“My sincerest apologies. I will be more mindful in the future.”
“Well, now that you’re done: Illuga, who is this?” Lohen finally asked.
Illuga pressed his fingers against his temples and let out a long sigh. “Lohen, this is Sir Flins,” he finally introduced. “He’s the household deity.”
“…Household deity?”
“The god that protects this house, if you will. Mr. Flins has watched over this place ever since the previous owner found and restored his mortal tether: the lantern that now sits on our fireplace mantle.”
“Oh.” Lohen frowned. “Uh…if he’s a god, then isn’t he supposed to be corporeal?”
“Due to my present circumstances, I do not have a fully material form,” Flins answered. “But I have other ways of exerting my will on this homestead, do not fear.”
“So…you’re effectively a ghost that haunts Illuga’s house.”
“Household deity,” Illuga corrected. “He’s the protector of the house and its inhabitants.”
“The inhabitants too?” Lohen’s eyebrows shot upward. “Oh, is that really why you’ve been messing with me? Were you trying to protect Illuga’s virginity?”
Illuga let out a rather mortified groan. Flins, however, responded without missing a beat.
“I see no need to guard that. The young master is all grown up now. He is free to choose who he wants to lay with and when.” Flins tilted his head at Lohen. “And I must say, he has chosen a very interesting young man to copulate with. In fact, if my senses have not deceived me, he has been working towards this day for a rather extended period of time now.”
“Mr. Flins, that’s enough!” Illuga’s ears burned red as he pointed at the door. “One night! You promised.”
“Ah, the young master is upset. I truly do apologize.” Flins bowed. “I shall leave you two to it. Enjoy your birthday festivities, Mr. Lohen. But do try to be gentle with the young master.” And with that, he faded into the adjacent wall, vanishing with a flicker of blue light.
“I’m so sorry,” Illuga murmured the second the deity was gone.
“It’s okay. I’m just…startled.” Lohen furrowed his eyebrows. “…Maybe a little confused too.”
“…Is his meddling the real reason why you’ve been so jumpy whenever you come over?”
“Uh, I guess? It would explain a lot, at least…”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all the weird stuff? I would explained the situation to you.”
“Well, I didn’t know that’s what was happening? I thought your house was just being old and weird.” Lohen frowned. “Though you could have just told me straight away that you and your pops worship a house god.”
“Well, I would have, but Mr. Flins…doesn’t usually do this sort of thing with guests. He normally keeps to himself and only appears before pops and me, and even then, we treat him more like family than a god. Besides, I, uh, wasn’t sure how you’d respond to hearing about a household deity that can eavesdrop on us at any given moment…”
“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” Lohen frowned. “Well, I mean, I guess it’s fine with me if you’re into voyeurism, but I have to ask that you at least wait until after our first time to pull that card on me…”
“Wha—no!” Illuga snapped. “I don’t want anyone watching us have sex! Especially him!”
“But you said he—oh, right, you said you treat him like family. Okay, that’s out of the picture then. Unless..?”
“No! No ifs, ands, buts, or ors!” Illuga groaned. “Ugh, this is absolutely mortifying…I wanted this night to be perfect for you, but now…”
Lohen couldn’t help but admire just how cute Illuga looked all flushed and embarrassed.
All because he just wanted to spoil me on my birthday…you really are too precious for your own good, Illuga.
“Well, if it helps: I still want to have sex with you.”
Illuga’s face lit up in an instant.
“…Really?”
“Really.”
Lohen hummed happily as Illuga promptly threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.
Changed your tune fast, huh?
“I take it we’re all good then?”
Illuga nodded. “Mmhm.”
“Okay.” Lohen let out a breathy laugh. “So…where did we leave off?”
“I think,” Illuga murmured, “you were going to unwrap your birthday present.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Lohen smirked. “No interruptions for sure this time, I trust?”
“I will fight the world if it keeps me from having you inside me for a second longer.”
Illuga yelped as Lohen tilted him backwards. His back collided with the bedspread with a soft thump.
“Good.” Lohen leaned over Illuga with a grin. His palm flattened against the bulge re-rising in Illuga’s shorts, eliciting a soft gasp from the other. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
Illuga laughed. “Happy birthday, Lohen.”
Lohen stooped down to capture Illuga’s lips in a thankful kiss.
Lohen woke up with Illuga curled up against him, sound asleep. He cuddled his incredibly cute boyfriend for a good ten minutes before his biological clock’s calling was too loud to ignore.
When he finished his business in the restroom, he went straight for the kitchen, opening the fridge with the intention of preparing breakfast for Illuga and his sure to be tired from working graveyard shift father.
“You will find the cookware located here.”
Lohen whirled around with a sausage packet raised high, ready to throttle the intruder. His shoulders only tensed more when he spotted Flins loitering near the pantry.
“You are making breakfast for the young master, are you not?” The ghost-like house deity gestured towards a cabinet. “In here. The medium pan should suffice.”
Lohen apprehensively approached the deity. Flins watched in silence as Lohen held out his hand and stuck it through his translucent chest.
“Yup, it wasn’t just a freaky dream,” Lohen muttered. “But it’s intriguing…can you feel anything?”
“Temperatures, mostly. But please refrain from placing your body parts inside of me, it rather upsets my physical manifestation.” As if on cue, Flins’s image flickered slightly. “I would suggest you save such activities for the young master.”
Lohen withdrew his hand.
“Are you going to tell his old man about what we did?”
“Do you believe me to be a snitch?” Flins chuckled into his fist. “I am but a mere household deity. My only job is to ensure this home and its inhabitants are shielded from danger and hardship.”
“Am I classified as a danger?”
“Oh?” Flins tilted his head to the side. “What makes you say such a thing?”
“Well, Illuga said you don’t normally make your existence known to outsiders, which you’ve explicitly said you were trying to do with me.“ Lohen set the sausage packet on the counter. “So between that and the fact that part of your job is protecting the house’s inhabitants, I can only assume your shenanigans with me have been some form of safety inspection on your part.”
Translucent yellow eyes bore right into red-violet, accompanied by a never-faltering smile.
“I still remember the day the old man adopted the young master and moved him into this house. I have watched them go through many trials and tribulations together over the years. Some minor incidents, I have been able to prevent: dissuading a local robber from targeting this home by turning on the lights, cutting off landline calls from scammers attempting to make a quick profit, reverting back to my true godly form to provide light should there be an electrical outage…” Flins gazed down at his hand, the shadowy forms that Lohen supposed were his fingers curling into a fist. “But at the end of the day, I am but a humble house god. I can only offer safety, not warmth nor guidance.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Flins let out a soft chuckle.
“The young master has been in brighter spirits ever since you began dating. He’s spent countless evenings telling my lantern about you.”
“All bad things?”
“Not all. But those are a minority for certain.”
Lohen clicked his tongue. “At least he’s being honest.”
“It is an honorable quality indeed. The more time I have spent with this family, the more I have come to understand that.”
“Well, be frank with me then: what’s your assessment of me?”
Flins’s gaze was incredibly unsettling, if Lohen had to be honest. Besides his ghostly appearance, his eyes were the one thing that reminded Lohen that he truly was speaking with an inhuman being.
“You are like the wind,” the deity finally said. “A roaring gusto one moment, a tempered breeze in the next. You need no permission to go wherever you want and do what you please. Quite a wild card, you are. I fear it would be quite difficult to conjure up a cohesive plan to defend against you, should you choose to launch an attack on this home.” A smile spread across the god’s face. “But I see no need to make such a thing. I can see your intentions with the young master very clearly. It would not surprise me if you were to one day become a permanent addition to this family.”
Lohen felt his breath hitch.
A permanent addition? Meaning…they’d be willing to have me around forever..?
Up until today, all his conversations with Illuga about the future had been limited to their college plans—how they would schedule phone and video calls at least once a week and take turns making the two hour long commute between their campuses once every month or so. Life beyond that was nothing more than a distant dream—a haze-covered no-man’s-land that neither had been able to muster up the courage to acknowledge.
The only thing I know is that I’d like Illuga to be a part of that life. But I know that things are seldom that easy…
“You appear conflicted. Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with that. Humans are naturally anxious creatures, after all. Besides, you are still very young. You will have plenty of time to mull over such things.” Flins waved his arm. “For the time-being, I can only ask that you take good care of the young master, no matter where the two of you end up.”
“…I will.”
“Excellent.” Flins nodded. “Very well, I shall leave you to your cooking, Mr. Lohen. Please tell the young master good morning for me.”
“Can’t you do it yourself? I mean, wouldn’t it be better coming from you?”
“Alas, projecting a mortal form as complex as this one is quite energy intensive.” Flins’s shoulders began to deteriorate into white noise. “I must retreat if I wish to keep prudent vigil over the house.”
Energy? Lohen furrowed his eyebrows. So even gods need energy. But how would..? His mind drifted to a faraway memory of an empty plate resting beside a lantern. Wait.
“Is that why the food Illuga left on the mantle at his dad’s party vanished? Was that an offering of sorts?”
“Oh my, you really are a fast learner. How lovely.” Flins chuckled. “I will see you another time, Mr. Lohen. But know this: you are always welcome in this house.” And with that, the deity’s image faded away.
Lohen stood in silence for a good minute or three, still trying to process the conversation.
I guess I have his stamp of approval after all..?
Lohen shook his head and turned towards the counters to resume making breakfast. But instead of the three he had been planning on, he made four plates of food.
The old iron lantern on the fireplace mantle was flickering with a soft blue glow when Lohen approached it. Lohen lightly brushed off the dust starting to collect on the surface and set down a plate piled with eggs, sausage, and potatoes.
“Eat up, Sir Flins,” he muttered.
Best to stay on your good side. The last thing I want is Illuga getting angry because I pissed off the weirdo god watching over his family.