By Zephyria 
……Huh?
A faint, acrid smell lingered in the air. The familiar scent was, he realized a moment later, the smell of the cigarettes he usually smoked. Slowly, through his hazy consciousness, Grayson lifted his eyelids and saw a man sitting right next to him.
Dane…?
Grayson blinked a couple of times with half-open eyes. Was this a dream? …Or reality?
He needed to pull himself together and check, but he couldn’t wake up properly. He just blinked, half-asleep, until Dane, noticing the movement, turned his head. Their eyes met, and Dane gave a faint smile at Grayson’s dazed face, still heavy with sleep.
“Did you sleep well, pretty boy?”
It’s a dream.
Grayson was certain the moment he heard Dane’s voice. There was no way Dane would smile at him and speak in such a tender voice.
A happy dream…
Grayson closed his eyes again. He didn’t want to wake up. His consciousness drifted away again, but his limp hand, as if possessing a will of its own, groped across the mattress and climbed onto Dane’s body. The purpose was obvious. He grinned as Grayson gripped his chest again, the same chest he hadn’t let go of throughout the Rut.
Even as he drifted off to sleep, Dane let out a dumbfounded sigh at the hand kneading his chest. He raised his fingers to tap Grayson’s head as if knocking, but stopped in mid-air and looked down at Grayson. Just then, Grayson’s ear twitched briefly back and forth. Dane paused for a moment, then finally lowered his hand. And Grayson fell into a deep sleep again, as if passing out.
“What? Is that really true?”
Koi, receiving the unexpected report, raised his voice in dismay. The familiar voice continued to flow from the other end of the phone. Koi held his breath and listened to her, occasionally repeating responses like, “I see,” and “Right…” When the story was over, Koi let out a short sigh and nodded.
“Yes, I understand. Thank you for telling me, yes…”
After exchanging some perfunctory greetings, he ended the call. Silence fell abruptly. Koi paced around the reception room with a serious expression. The Eiffel Tower was visible outside the window. He had come here with Ash, who was in France on official business. Koi’s mind was in turmoil after receiving a report on what had happened while he was away from the United States.
He was walking slowly from one end of the reception room to the other, his face full of worry, when he suddenly heard the sound of the door lock being released. He stopped walking and turned his head, and Ash entered through the door.
“Ash.”
Koi smiled brightly as if he had been waiting for him and approached him. Naturally, they hugged each other tightly and shared a kiss, after which Ash took a deep breath. He was inhaling Koi’s Pheromone scent. Koi waited for a moment for this ritual to pass, then opened his mouth.
“Did the work go well?”
“More or less.”
Ash replied casually, burying his nose in Koi’s neck. Koi gave a wry smile and gently chided him.
“How can you do it ‘more or less’?”
“It’s okay since you only say useless things anyway.”
Ash still spoke in an uninterested tone. In the end, Koi could only smile and shake his head. Then, Ash rubbed his neck with his nose, causing him to shrug and burst into laughter.
“It tickles, stop it.”
Koi, his face still flushed with laughter, grabbed Ash’s face and kissed his lips. Ash also smiled and gently nipped his nose. Since Ash showed no sign of letting go of his waist, Koi carefully brought up the matter in that position.
“Um, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me.”
Usually, unwelcome news followed such a statement. Ash waited for Koi’s words without revealing his feelings. He hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself and opened his mouth.
“Bernice called me.”
“Bernice.”
“Yeah.”
Koi nodded as if to confirm, repeating the name that had come from Koi’s mouth.
Bernice was the secretary of Ash’s father, Dominic Miller. She had been reporting on Ash’s condition and handling related matters under his orders, and after Dominic’s death, she had been working as Ash’s personal secretary ever since. Currently, she was in charge of the overall management of the children, so a call from her meant that something was wrong with the children.
Koi continued, seeing Ash waiting silently for his next words.
“It was about Grayson…”
Ash didn’t urge him, even though countless ominous thoughts were already running through his head. He waited patiently, and Koi finally seemed to make up his mind and confessed.
“Grayson went to a party, she said.”
Ash frowned for the first time. What was the problem with that? Wasn’t it rather late? How long had it been since he told him to extract his Pheromones? As if sensing the question in Ash’s mind, Koi continued.
“He extracted his Pheromones with an injection.”
Koi felt the arms that had been holding him until then flinch. Koi continued, his expression worried.
“Bernice said that Grayson went to the party but only extracted his Pheromones with an injection and then went home. She immediately followed him and confirmed that he entered the house safely, but it seemed like he was in Rut. He hasn’t come out of the house for three days since then… Oh, Bernice contacted the fire department. She told them that he would be taking a few days off due to Rut aftereffects.”
Ash didn’t react at all until Koi finished his explanation. He just stared intently at Koi, not even blinking.
“…Why?”
After a long time, he moved his lips. Soon after, Ash continued with a frown, as if he couldn’t understand at all.
“Why would he bother doing that?”
Koi took a deep breath before answering. And he brought out the conclusion he had reached with Bernice.
“Because he has someone he truly likes.”
Ash didn’t react immediately. He just stared at Koi without moving for a while, then let out a short breath.
“The guy who tried to graft himself onto a dog when Chase refused him so much is doing that?”
Koi quickly explained the reason in response to the cynical remark that came back without fail.
“Now Grayson also knows what it means to like someone.”
Ash’s face was full of disbelief. Koi continued to desperately persuade him.
“You know, Ash. Grayson’s emotional organs are broken. But we don’t know if Grayson actually can’t feel anything, or if he feels it but doesn’t realize it. If Grayson just hasn’t realized it… then this time, he’ll really be different.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Ash, please listen to me.”
Koi grabbed Ash’s arm and pleaded.
“He’s doing exactly what you did when you were young. Don’t you remember? The time you got an injection to extract your Pheromones after we broke up.”
Ash closed his mouth. Encouraged by his silence, Koi continued enthusiastically.
“We didn’t tell him anything about it, but he’s doing it on his own, on his own. Isn’t that amazing? What do you think that means?”
He couldn’t hide his joy and raised his voice.
“Grayson is feeling something for Dane!”
“Koi, calm down.”
Ash stopped him with a cold voice.
“I know more about Grayson than you do. There isn’t a hospital I haven’t taken him to or a doctor I haven’t met with him. Grayson has no emotions, he doesn’t have them at all!”
“We could be wrong!”
Ash widened his eyes in surprise at Koi’s shout. Koi is refuting my words. Seeing his face stunned by the shock, Koi desperately repeated his words.
“Please, Ash. Think again. I know you’ve done your best. But maybe we’ve been trying in the wrong direction.”
Soon, his eyes became moist. Koi asked, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Isn’t it a million times better for us to admit our mistakes than to conclude that our child is wrong?”
Ash didn’t say anything for a while. He just stared at Koi’s distorted face, who was desperately holding back his tears.
“…Ha.”
After a long time, he let out a sigh. Ash, who had suddenly embraced Koi, who was expecting an answer, whispered in a low voice.
“I can’t lose you.”