By Zephyria Hugo’s pupils dilated slightly. The thin eyelids twitched beneath his prominent eyebrows.
The subtle change in the cold irises wasn’t solely due to the orange lighting.
It felt as if the pitiful, reddened corners of his eyes, visible through the fallen golden hair, were an illusion.
However, there was another reason Hugo couldn’t move. A voice, still tinged with turbidity, created a crack in the depths of his memory.
Following the mournful voice that scattered through the secret chamber, formless fragments stimulated Hugo’s five senses. Soon, it became someone’s voice, burrowing into his ears. A faint memory overlapped the radiant Gold Eyes.
“Please don’t go.”
In that instant, Hugo’s eyes widened.
Bluish veins bulged on his smooth forehead.
‘What is this?’
He stared intently into the other’s eyes, retracing the afterimage that had flashed through his mind.
The sudden appearance of that afterimage briefly confused Hugo’s consciousness. Leonardo, who was facing his rigid expression, grew anxious as a result.
Extending his hand to the other was a simple impulse, but uttering the words “don’t go” required considerable courage.
Of course, he hadn’t intended to pounce like this… Leonardo suddenly feared that the other might reveal that he was embarrassed.
Because of that, he avoided eye contact and lowered his head, causing his unsteady head to bump lightly against Hugo’s chin and neck.
Feeling the weight, Hugo inhaled sharply and glanced down at the golden head leaning against him.
The hair flowing down his jawline softly tickled his skin. It shattered his thoughts as if telling him not to think of anything else, causing Hugo to let the afterimage that had flashed through his mind pass by.
Instead, he unconsciously moved his Adam’s apple. He tightened his arms, awkwardly readjusting the fellow in his embrace.
He remained unsure of what to do for a few seconds, then stood up and gently sat Leonardo back down on the deck. Of course, he also sat down softly next to him. The two arms that had reached out showed no sign of letting go from his shoulders and neck.
Rather, they were holding on with such force as if to imprison him, so there was no chance of escape.
No, in fact, he had lost even the will to do so. The entreaty of a beautiful man was that powerful.
Hugo’s self-lost hand slowly stroked Leonardo’s back. Then, Leonardo, who had buried his forehead on his shoulder, raised his head with a noticeably flushed face.
“Are you going to go?”
Slender golden eyelashes fluttered. A deep sigh flowed from within Hugo.
He was no stranger to facing the temptations of attractive individuals in the past. But it was as if all the time he had spent without incident was rendered meaningless, as he felt particularly vulnerable to the fellow before him.
Looking at himself, unable to deny or push away this aspect of himself, he wondered if the fellow who had been flirting and laughing, declaring that he was weak to him, was indeed not wrong.
Whether it was feigned clumsiness or an inherently seductive nature, he couldn’t know. However, Hugo, having regained his composure, calmly asked in return.
“You don’t want me to go?”
“…….”
He didn’t know what he meant by asking, but Leonardo nodded clearly. Then, Hugo, who had been sending an inscrutable gaze, asked in a gentle voice.
“Why?”
Leonardo blinked. This was unexpected.
Why… was that important? But between people who were nothing to each other, each of those reasons was important.
The sensation of his hand touching his in the sunlight was so vivid that Leonardo found himself still unable to escape the emotions of that moment. Fearing that he would be the only one moving forward again, his heart, which had been swept away by the atmosphere, suddenly put up its defenses.
Leonardo slowly lowered his arms from the broad shoulders. He straightened his upper body and hesitated before answering the waiting other.
“…If I sleep alone, I think I’ll have nightmares.”
The Gold Eyes that glanced up were aimlessly wandering the floor.
“Someone needs to be next to me today. Flynn is somewhere else. So, at least you… stay here.”
Hugo watched Leonardo’s flushed earlobes and neck as he said that. It was only that part that was flushed, as if due to the lighting, making it both cute and, on the other hand, infuriating.
He couldn’t know what Leonardo’s intentions were, but if he had any sense, he couldn’t ignore the fact that this atmosphere was dangerous. But nightmares? It was truly something a young child would say. Hugo didn’t think Leonardo’s answer was sincere.
It was just a plausible excuse, wanting to achieve his goal while shifting the responsibility. He was saying such insincere things and trying to keep him here, so for some reason, he didn’t want to give in so easily.
If he wanted to manipulate someone much older than him, he should at least show some honest feelings.
Hugo asked again with a dry face.
“Then should I call Flynn?”
Leonardo quickly raised his head.
“…Huh?”
“I’ll call him right away. Go to sleep first.”
Hugo presented a solution and tried to leave. Leonardo followed him with a desperate gaze, then frowned and grabbed his arm.
“No, that’s not what I―.”
Hugo, making an effort to maintain his composure, turned to look at the stubborn fellow who had grabbed his arm.
The unexpected staring contest created a tense atmosphere between the two.
“…….”
“…….”
After a few seconds, as the time the other spent looking down at him silently grew longer, Leonardo quietly released the strength in his grip.
His fallen hand barely clung to the end of Hugo’s sleeve. Leonardo, with a distorted gaze, complained to the heartless other as if feeling wronged.
“You’re really too much.”
Hugo looked down at the precariousness of the pulled sleeve end, fleetingly, like falling raindrops. He then closed his eyes tightly and let out a silent sigh.
‘What am I doing to a child right now….’
Inwardly, he reflected on his childish behavior.
Leonardo was weak to human bonds and goodwill. It was the warmth that someone who had been ignored had longed for, and it was also like the instinct of someone who always tried to protect others. So, even if Leonardo craved a strange affection from him, Hugo thought that it was a more complex psychology than affection in the literal sense.
It was a desire for a powerful person who could pull him out of the mire, and it was like the only oath he had to believe in to be free in an unfamiliar space.
So, like a passing shower. Even if a child who had mistaken his feelings was craving affection, he, as an adult, shouldn’t be easily swayed by it. Rather, it was the virtue of an elder to maintain a distance while being a pillar so that clumsy emotions could be set right.
But this act of urging him to confess his true feelings was, even to himself, the worst. Didn’t Leonardo have a lover in the first place?
If he accidentally heard even a carelessly uttered truth, what was he going to do after that? With this, he was no different from a shameless person who had interfered in a love triangle. Hugo raised his unheld hand and rubbed his eyes and forehead.
‘Haa….’
To be honest, his actions had been far from virtuous. Rather, it was as if he had returned to the same age as Leonardo. Like that imperfect and immature time, swayed by fleeting emotions. He was unable to look at the warmth craved by a wounded child rationally.
Hugo calmly organized his thoughts. As you get older, you become more cautious, even if you become more afraid.
He believed that this time, his reason, which he had barely grasped, had helped him remain an adult.
The large hand grasped the remaining edge of the sleeve and detached it without hesitation. But then, Leonardo, who had let go of his sleeve, blurted out the feelings he had been holding back.
“I was waiting for you to come.”
Hugo’s gaze, which had paused for a moment, lingered on him.
“Today, yesterday, back then―. I kept waiting.”
His tone was calm, but his breathing was trembling slightly. It was clear that his breathing was unstable.
Even though it was clear that the words had come out impulsively, Hugo couldn’t move, as if he were trapped again, when he heard the words “I was waiting.”
He couldn’t let go of Leonardo’s hand, which he had been trying to detach, and held it as it was. So, it was only natural that Leonardo, unable to suppress his emotional turmoil, raised his voice in frustration.
“But even so, are you going to say you’re just going to leave? That’s not even your true feeling.”