By Zephyria 
“Mm….”
Leonardo trailed off with an indistinct voice. He aimlessly scanned the buttons, pins, and belt laid out on the side table in front of the mirror. His Excellency had gathered every piece of evidence that he had been here.
Unable to let go of the sensation of the silk in his hand, he eventually placed his tie neatly beside Hugo’s belongings. Then, flicking a couple of stray buttons with his fingertips, he asked.
“But what about the ones that were ripped? I can’t go to the meeting like this.”
It was a kind of childishness. Knowing he had to go, yet wanting to hold him back just a little longer.
As if noticing this, Hugo, who was sweeping the remaining moisture and traces on the floor to one side, cast a sidelong glance.
Without answering, he moved to the corner of the locker room. He instantly froze the impurities he had formed into a sphere, as he had done before, and crushed them with his jaw strength, bringing something back instead.
It was the spray-type painkiller that Ero had quietly left behind earlier.
“Why that?”
Leonardo tilted his head, looking at what was in Hugo’s hand. The man, who had approached from behind before he knew it, placed the shaken spray on the side table along with his belongings.
“My attendant will arrive soon. He’ll bring clothes for me to change into.”
“…Attendant? When did you call one?”
When Leonardo questioned the unexpected answer, Hugo leaned forward and this time picked up the lonely navy blue tie.
Leonardo watched, wondering if he intended to tie it over the wrinkled shirt, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Hugo pulled the ends to meticulously check if there were any stains on the surface. Then, did he actually hold the silk fabric against the neck of the man sitting in front of him?
“I gave instructions before coming here. I told him to come find me here if I didn’t return within an hour.”
“…….”
“I also instructed him to bring your clothes, so do not worry.”
At the answer from the thorough His Excellency, Leonardo found it difficult to continue speaking.
Listening to this man, it wasn’t that he had just been swept up in the moment…
‘Did he expect this to happen?’
If that were true, it felt a bit frightening. It was because he couldn’t gauge how far ahead the man had foreseen.
“I should treat it before that.”
In the meantime, Hugo, who had neatly smoothed out the silk, began to tie the tie around the reddish-purple neck himself. A tie on a naked body wrapped only in a towel—it was as unbalanced as an apron on a naked body. As the soft sensation brushed against his skin like flowing water, all of Leonardo’s nerves focused there.
Since he didn’t know what was being done and just watched silently, Hugo, meeting those questioning eyes, added briefly.
“I don’t have a handkerchief right now.”
As the long fabric wrapped loosely around his neck, the congestion left by affection and the choker gradually disappeared. While not as good as a handkerchief, the layered tie was useful in its own way. To finish, he fixed it by piercing a laurel pin through the end.
Leonardo shrugged his shoulders, fearing the coldness of the metal might brush against him, but fortunately, it didn’t touch his skin. It seemed he had slid the stick between the fabric and fabric so as not to scratch the skin. Even in that small treatment, his delicacy stood out.
Soon, Hugo stepped back and rubbed the tip of his chin with narrowed eyes.
“Hmm… this way of wearing it isn’t bad either.”
Admiring his own work, he murmured with satisfaction. Leonardo, who had half-turned his head, arched an eyebrow.
“…Are you joking right now?”
The corners of his mouth trembled slightly. As he kept peeking into the mirror, he caught a glimpse of a ribbon shape at the back of his neck, wrapped in cloth. If he had tied it in front of the Adam’s apple, he could have insisted it was a bowtie.
“You want me to walk around like this? Am I a child?”
“It’ll be hidden once you put on clothes, so what does it matter.”
Unlike the huffing Leonardo, Hugo let out a low laugh. After examining the completed subject here and there, he firmly blocked the gesture of the hand trying to undo the ribbon.
“It’s pretty.”
It was a word that felt like a command. That it looked good, so leave it alone.
At that, Leonardo’s hand, which had been about to tear the knot, stopped as if by magic. His expression crumpled as if it were something bizarre.
‘That damn word “pretty”….’
Grumbling, he inwardly criticized His Excellency’s bad taste. He felt like a doll for playing house. A laurel pin, and a ribbon tie.
“You’re having a lot of fun right now, aren’t you?”
“Quite, enjoyable.”
Unlike the shamed Leonardo, satisfaction dwelled in the curved blue eyes. Even though he wanted to argue, that reaction bothered him, so Leonardo only glared and couldn’t undo the knot.
Perhaps because he had done many things to this man today that he normally wouldn’t… he thought that since the man liked it so much, he might just let it slide for once.
Come to think of it, that silk blouse he wore at the villa…
‘He really does have a preference, doesn’t he?’
The clothes that created a fragile impression overlapped with his embarrassing appearance in the mirror. Feeling awkward to face it, Leonardo lowered the corners of his mouth and turned his head away. Just then, the man’s hand, which had been touching the nape of his neck, slid a bit further down.
Startled, Leonardo immediately pulled the towel.
“Ah, what are you….”
He grew tense, thinking the hand was descending toward his swollen chest, but contrary to expectations, the touch headed toward his shoulder.
Because of the sudden detour, he couldn’t stop it in time. Hugo pulled down the towel Leonardo was wearing.
Slip—
The hidden left shoulder was exposed under the bright lights. The expanded and shrunken skin was stained redder than usual.
“…….”
Since it was a scar that looked like it had a long story at a glance, silence flowed between the two for a moment.
Even while his whole body was getting wet in the shower, it was a place Leonardo had clung to his robe to ensure it was never seen.
Realizing the situation late, he tried to cover it again, but the once-exposed wound could not be hidden. This was because Hugo’s hand, holding the towel, gripped it tightly and held on.
As the heavy gaze settled on the scar, Leonardo, feeling the gaze, spoke with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“What are you doing?”
“…….”
“It’s not like it’s your first time seeing it.”
Avoiding the gaze, he turned his body halfway away. Hugo followed the wary profile and, instead of answering, bent his waist to press close to his back. He hugged Leonardo’s upper body from behind with both arms and gently held the swollen shoulder across the collarbone.
Then, he naturally pressed his lips onto the scar revealed before his eyes.
“Ugh—.”
Leonardo, who had been dazed, flinched violently. His eyelids trembled, flustered by the uncontrollable flow. He instinctively grabbed the man’s wrist. He applied strength as if to break it, but from between the lips of His Excellency, who didn’t mind, a tongue crept out.
It swam along the irregularly protruding skin texture, then stood the tip of the tongue to rub the particularly reddish part.
“Ah, hng….”
He also sucked weakly with the mucous membrane as if leaving a hickey. Every time he did, goosebumps rose on Leonardo’s spine and forearms. As if bitten on a vital spot, unable to move, he closed his eyes tightly and shuddered.
“What… are you doing.”
The smooth piece of flesh felted the fragile areas one by one. If it had been before, he might have truly crushed the bone. That was how unfamiliar and shudder-inducing the sensation was.
However, every time a moist trail passed, the area wet with saliva lost its heat and was stained with coolness. As the act continued, the lingering ache in the shoulder was gradually resolved, pushed away by other stimuli. It spread with a refreshing sensation, as if burn ointment had been applied.
Suddenly, the image of himself hovering between life and death in Fidèle’s hut flashed through Leonardo’s confused mind.
The blurred afterimage of the man who had firmly positioned himself behind his back to suck out the poison also wavered.
Then he realized that this mysterious caress was a process of treatment similar to that time.
The jaw strength gripping the wrist loosened considerably. Hugo, who had been absorbed with his lips buried for a while, lifted his gaze over Leonardo’s shoulder.
“Since when has it been like this?”
As the Gold Eyes in the mirror avoided his gaze, he instead looked straight at him and asked coldly.
“I asked since when it has been like this.”
“…During a match. How did you know?”
“You don’t speak up when you’re in pain.”
He thought he hadn’t shown it, but it seemed it was obvious. A sigh of frustration was mixed into Hugo’s following voice.
“You’re usually so cunning, yet you act so foolishly only at times like this.”
Even though he was the one in pain, the situation had somehow become one where he was being interrogated. Leonardo, who had unintentionally become the sinner, pouted his lips. He knew the man’s heart that worried for him, but the feeling of being scolded wasn’t very pleasant.
“This much is nothing….”
At the grumpy mutter, Hugo clicked his tongue. Even so, he buried his lips against the skin again to breathe in a final healing breath. Only when the swelling and heat seemed to have subsided did he slowly pull his face away.
He straightened his bent waist and gently caressed Leonardo’s shoulder.
“Let’s make a few promises before I go.”
With a stream of water produced from his hand, he moderately wiped away the saliva-soaked wound. Then, he picked up the spray he had taken earlier and sprayed it widely over the scar.
“Avoid alcohol for the time being, and do not overstrain your left arm.”
“I was going to do that even if you didn’t tell me.”
At the blunt answer, the blue gaze followed sharply.
“But why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“…You also have many things you don’t tell me.”
“Again, you won’t let a single word slide.”
Consecutive retorts were exchanged. The gazes reflected in the mirror glared at each other, but neither was unaware of the affection contained within. Hugo, who almost fell for the childish nerve war, gave in first.
“Lift your arm for a moment. I’ll wrap it with gauze.”
Leonardo obediently lifted his left arm. Some stiffness still remained, but it was much better than before. He wasn’t sure if it was thanks to the meticulous treatment or the caress that bordered on indulgence.
Entrusting himself to the touch that was no longer unpleasant even when it brushed his shoulder, he glanced back at the man’s presence shimmering behind him. Resting his chin on his right hand, the man hesitated before opening his mouth.
“You know, you.”
The focused gaze landed on his profile. His hands were still moving busily.
“What.”
“Did you know we would end up like this?”
It was a question containing many meanings. On the surface, he was asking if the man knew the situation would turn out this way.
Since he had mentioned giving a heads-up to the attendant, he wondered if he had foreseen even the clothes getting soiled.
However, to Hugo, it sounded a bit more comprehensive.
“…….”
As if subtly probing where this ambiguous relationship stood in the man’s heart.
And Leonardo, who asked the question, wasn’t unaware that it sounded that way.
The eyes of the two met not in the mirror, but with the actual entity beside them.
As the silence grew quite long in that state, Leonardo, feeling awkward, changed the question.
“Why did you come all the way here? Just to say hello?”
Hugo, who was wrapping the gauze with delicate hands, remained silent despite the consecutive questions. Instead of answering, he finished the treatment first. Using the remaining gauze, he tied a knot and cleanly cut off the unnecessary parts with a sharp piece of ice.
Then, he locked eyes with the Gold Eyes that were staring at him. A hand that reached out unconsciously lightly supported the slender-looking chin.
“Because I was concerned.”
At that unexpected answer, the gold eyelashes fluttered slightly. As he just blinked, trying to fathom the hidden meaning, Hugo, who was rubbing his cheek with his thumb, added.
“I worry when you’re not in my sight. And I keep thinking of you.”
It was a plain sincerity without a hint of adornment. Because he murmured it so calmly, it almost sounded like a moodless recitation. But because of that, an unhidden, pure devotion seeped from the man’s serious eyes.
To Leonardo, that sounded far sweeter than any serenade.
‘Ah….’
The Gold Eyes, which hadn’t known how to react, soon curved softly. The corners of his mouth, which he had tried not to show, also curled up subtly.
Although he didn’t hear the answer he wanted,
“Then kiss me.”
For now, this seemed to be enough.