Archive of Our Own ^beta

Gepard’s and Sampo’s morning rituals were fairly simple, though the conman didn’t really expect them to be awake in the morning to do said rituals at all. Certainly, the captain’s 20+ hour work shift the night before would be enough of a reason to sleep in until late afternoon but that honestly had been wishful thinking on the raven-haired man’s part.

Both of them were light sleepers for different reasons (or maybe not so different, considering their careers), so when Gepard started to climb out of his embrace and finally free them from the confines of his blanket sauna, Sampo naturally woke up as well. Not that he was particularly happy about it though since he was planning to laze the day away in bed cuddling with his boyfriend. Unfortunately, said boyfriend was allergic to laziness and relaxation.

With a groan, Sampo turned around to bury his face into the pillow. Why was it today, of all days, that the sun decided to be bright? Usually, this part of Belobog rarely gets sunshine, being so close to the worst of the fragmentum corrosion and stellaron, but it seemed that the world (and his boyfriend) was determined to get him out of bed.

“Sampo.” Gepard’s hoarse voice caressed his ears as a cool hand brushed the back of his head.  “Get up. We’ve overslept.” And yet, the young man was still softly running his fingers through his hair. The gentle touches seemed to be lulling him back to sleep.

Sampo pointedly groaned once more before rolling to his side and clinging to the slim waist of his lover. He looked up at Gepard’s unamused expression with a pout. 

“Darling,” he drawled. “Honeybuns. Sweetie pie. The apple of my eye. The love of my life. Have some mercy on your poor, pitiable boyfriend. Certainly, there’s no need to be up this early, right?~”

“It’s almost noon.”

“And it’s your day off!!”

“That is not an excuse to stay in bed all day.”

“It can be.” Sampo batted his eyelashes, targeting a doe-eyed look from Gepard’s lap. “Don’t you want to snuggle with your extremely handsome and exceptionally lovable boyfriend?~” The conman was very well aware that his green eyes were the other’s greatest weakness. The blond had caved to his suggestions and desires many times in the past just by this alone. But while there was a flash of hesitance in the other’s expression, Gepard shook his head as if physically resisting the other’s pleading eyes. Tsk.

“Serval and Lynx are coming to visit this afternoon, and I promised that I would prepare lunch for them.”

Now Sampo actually clicked his tongue out loud. What utter betrayal by his accomplice! The conman helped the eldest Landau out of the goodness of his heart to get her overworked baby brother to finally take a day off-- and yet, this was the thanks he got? Interrupting his alone time with his sweetheart when she knew he was going to be here today?

Sampo’s (sulking) thoughts were interrupted by a shadow over his face, and then he stopped thinking altogether when he felt cold-chapped lips brushing against his. Before he could even react, Gepard had already moved away with an enticing faint pink on his normally pale cheeks.

“Why don’t you take a bath first?” the blond coaxed, his calloused hand moving the lock of raven hair off his face. Admittedly, Sampo had a weakness for Gepard’s hands. They weren’t soft or particularly pretty, but their fingers were long and robust. The young Landau often took care of his fingernails (probably influenced by his sisters) and so they appeared neat and orderly like the rest of him. And since most people only saw them in gauntlets or gloves, the rare but elegant display of pale fingers was striking and gorgeous. Every time they wandered near his face, all that Sampo wanted to do was to reverently kiss each finger or lasciviously suck them. 

Gepard, unaware of his boyfriend’s heated thoughts, innocently tapped one of those lovely fingers on the conman’s lips. “And I’ll go make us some brunch, okay? Pancakes and bacon?”

Ugh, that’s foul play. Though he rarely had spare time to do so, Gepard was an excellent cook and his dishes often looked as if they could be served at a high-class restaurant. It was a talent that Sampo never expected from the strict and virtuous Silvermane Captain since he was raised as the distinguished son of the noble Landau family, but one he would happily take advantage of.

But despite the emptiness of his stomach and the drool building up in the back of his mouth, Sampo refused to admit defeat-- at least, not without further incentives of course.

“Hmmmmm…” Sampo put on a thinking expression, his green eyes filled with sly intentions. “Not enough, sweetheart. I’m afraid you’ll need to up the price just a litttllle bit more~”

The captain’s immediate response was a look of exasperation though it was hard to miss the soft indulgence in the other’s sky-colored eyes. “What? Then what do you want?” There was a cool hand brushing back his bangs from his forehead, the fingers gentle and careful as they scratched his scalp. The conman wanted to purr at the pleasant sensation. 

In response to the question, the raven-haired man lifted his chin and puckered up his lips in an exaggerated fashion. Sampo half-expected an eye roll, maybe for the blond to kick him out of bed out of slight irritation, but instead Gepard’s too-blue eyes warmed out of fondness, the cerulean color nearly too gentle for Sampo to look at directly. He could feel that familiar, smoldering tenderness trying to settle into his chest, pressing on his lungs and heart. 

Gepard lowered his head slowly and Sampo found his heartbeat echoing in his ear. 

The kiss was much longer than the last, much more than just a brush of lips. Sampo could feel both the softness and roughness of the other’s skin. He could taste the other’s heavy breath. He could even smell the very faint scent of soap, the so-called ‘scentless’ one that Gepard would have to special order through Serval.

During the kiss, he observed the other’s beautiful face through half-lidded eyes, memorizing every butterfly-flutter of blond eyelashes and recording every tiny gasp he could hear. Gepard’s hand rested lightly on Sampo’s throat, the captain’s fingers grazing the conman adam’s apple subconsciously as a hot tongue briefly licked parted lips.

Unfortunately, everything ended too quickly much to Sampo’s taste. He had a hand weaved into Gepard’s soft blond hair, and when the raven-haired man allowed the other to move away, he audibly swallowed at the delectable sight of flushed skin and pink lips, swollen from when he worried the plump flesh between his teeth. Those striking blue eyes were hazy out of desire and Sampo barely resisted the urge to tighten his grip on those golden locks to pull the young man down once more. 

“Sampo.” Now Gepard’s voice was hoarse for an entirely different reason and Sampo couldn’t help but hyper-focused on the wet sheen of the young man’s lips. There was a brief show of tongue when the blond licked in between his lips and the conman’s mouth suddenly dried. “Is that enough?”

Like hell it is. Sampo is so stupidly hard right now.

But apparently, his increased libido also meant an increase in his hunger because two seconds after the question, his stomach decided to make itself known by making the most pathetic grumbling sound known to man. 

Both of them froze on the spot, staring at each other with comically wide eyes, and Sampo felt the heat of mortification rising from his neck. Much to the conman’s embarrassment, Gepard was unable to suppress the snort that escaped through his nose, a hand covering his wobbly smile as he tried not to laugh blatantly in the other’s face. 

“Al-Alright,” Gepard managed to say with a wavering voice, a brilliant and lighthearted grin brightening his beautiful face into something even more stunning than all treasures in the world. He looked infinitely more youthful like this; as if the years battling against the Eternal Freeze and the fragmentum corrosion could not touch him. “What kind of pancakes do you want? I think we have some blueberries left.”

Sampo stared much too long at that smiley face, stared at how those deep-blue eyes lightened into a bright sky blue, and dumbly replied, “Blueberries sound hunky-dory.”

Gepard's eyes crinkled to match his lovely smile, unaware of its effects on his besotted boyfriend. “Take your time in the bath. By the time you’re out, brunch should be ready.”

Cruelly, the blond moved the conman off of his lap, and Sampo, because he was still stunned stupid by his beloved’s beautiful smiles, let him go. It took much too long for the raven-haired man to come back online to the present and by the time he had his wits again, Gepard was doing arms and back stretches on the side of the bed.

There was an enticing view of pale skin when the blond raised his arms up along with the bottom of his shirt and Sampo could see the hint of flexing back muscles as he twisted his torso.

Aeons, this man is trying to kill him. 

Sampo covered his face with both of his hands, his lust warring with his hunger. Maybe he could convince Gepard for a quickie?

He took a peek at the window on the left of their bed, squinting at the bright light shining through the glass, and groaned in despair. When are Serval and Lynx coming again? Not anytime soon, right? But there was no way Gepard would let him do anything to him if he knew his sisters were on their way to visit. He still hadn’t gotten over that one time Serval made a surprise visit and screamed to the entire apartment complex that her brother was getting laid after seeing the collection of hickeys on his exposed neck and shoulders.

The conman then turned his head back around to look at the pale and unblemished back of Gepard’s neck. While his beloved’s skin was easy to mark, the traces would fade within a few days. Sampo had made it his unofficial mission to give the captain one or two bite marks every other day, especially in places where everyone but the receiver himself could see them. It was always fun to see Gepard flustered over finding them in unexpected locations on his body. 

Licking the canines of his front teeth, Sampo tried recalling how many days since he had indulged himself on the other’s creamy skin. Unfortunately, he would have to hold back on account of the Landau sisters’ impending visits.

Sampo had no doubt this was all intentionally planned by Serval. While each Landau sibling had their own independent life and hobbies, they were all fiercely protective and supportive of each other. Serval was quite happy to know that her little brother had a life outside of the battlefield and the Silvermane Guards, but she also had mixed feelings knowing that her upright and straightforward baby brother was dating Belobog’s most well-known, silver-tongued conman.

Surprisingly, she had only threatened Sampo with bodily harm twice and his arrest about four times since she found out about their not-so-platonic relationship. A lot less than he had expected considering how protective she tended to be over Gepard, even if her ‘lil Geppie’ was a good head taller than her and about more than twice her mass.

But thinking about it again, she’s probably getting all her resentment out by trolling him at every available convenience. 

With a dramatic sigh, Sampo finally forced himself to sit up from the bed, grimacing at the uncomfortable and sticky feeling of sweat plastered on his skin. As much as he adored cuddling underneath the blankets with his boyfriend, he could do without the heater set on max and the suffocating amount of blankets drowning them. The only reason the conman hadn’t sweated a pool in the mattress was because he happened to be snuggling with the human air conditioner named Gepard.

Regardless, he definitely needed a shower. It’s too bad he wouldn’t be able to convince the captain to join him though.

Swinging his legs to the side of the bed, Sampo stretched his arms up with a slight twist of his neck, moaning when something in his spine creaked at the action. He was gracious enough not to laugh when he saw Gepard’s reddening ears from the corner of his eyes. 

“Stop that,” the captain scolded with a flustered frown as the conman moaned once more while doing shoulder stretches. 

“Stop what?~” Sampo asked coyly, rolling his right ankle thrice before switching to the other foot. “I’m just stretching~ What’s wrong darling ? You look a little red there~” The raven-haired man eyed the blond’s reddening neck, his lips curling into a mischievous smile when Gepard avoided his gaze. And avoided looking at him in general as he walked over to the conman’s side of the bed and… started picking up his discarded clothes on the floor.

“Ah hey, I can get those--” He would’ve suggested for Gepard to just leave them be but the last time he had done that, the Silvermane captain made a face as if he had said he was going to walk around the garrison buck naked instead. “I’m just going to wear them again after the shower--” Ah, yeah, there’s the face he’s talking about. Sampo was starting to feel offended.

“... Don’t tell you’re going to reuse the underwear you’re wearing?”

Sampo blinked once at him. “Uhhh, yeah? It’s not like I got another pair with me.”

“You kept leaving your clothes here,” Gepard reminded him as he carried Sampo’s (dirty) clothes with a grimace to the laundry baskets in the corner. There are two different colors: navy and maroon. The conman had seen the navy basket before but not the maroon one. 

“They’re in the wardrobe. Just wear those.” The blond dropped the dirty clothes in the maroon basket. Huh.

Sampo blinked once more. “Wardrobe?” He turned his eyes toward the large wardrobe placed against the far wall, eyeing the keyhole he could see on one of the doors. He recalled seeing the wardrobe last night and had briefly wondered when the blond had purchased it because it wasn’t there the last time he visited.

“Yeah,” Gepard replied nonchalantly as he opened the mentioned wardrobe right in front of him. “You even left your… Brughel Poisson stuff here.” There was a mixture of exasperation and a hint of amusement at the mention of this certain disguise-- probably because while he had fooled the entirety of the Belobog to think that Brughel Poisson was a real person, the only one that ever saw through his disguise was the Silvermane Captain himself (and Serval to a lesser extent).

Taking a glance past his boyfriend as the blond grabbed a few things from inside of it, he could see some very familiar clothes either on hangers or folded neatly on the shelves. Inside the wardrobe were also a few drawers, which Gepard had also opened to pull out a clean pair of boxer briefs for Sampo.

Sampo blinked a few more times with wider eyes, trying to remember when he had left 70% of his entire wardrobe, including most of his costumes, in Gepard’s apartment.  

After getting what he needed, the blond-haired man closed everything up and moved toward Sampo to pass all his clothes to him. “Try not to use up all the hot water. I want to wash up before Serval and Lynx get here,” was the parting sentence, casually paired with a parting kiss on the cheek, before Gepard left the conman alone for the kitchen. 

Sampo held his clothes in a frozen state, staring too long at both the extra laundry hamper and the wardrobe which seemed to hold only his clothes. Though Gepard didn’t say it outright, he was neither subtle nor evasive about who they were for, and the conman was struck with a sense of incredulity and disbelief. 

He looked down at the clothes in his hands. They were immaculately folded and washed judging by the familiar scent of Gepard’s laundry detergent. 

Sampo swallowed once, clutching onto the fabric with a sudden restlessness. He stood up and headed out of the bedroom only to be hit by the domestic image of Gepard in an apron ducking into the pantry to grab all the ingredients for their brunch. He watched as Belobog’s rare morning sunlight bathed the kitchen in a warm glow, including the owner of said kitchen. The soft and slightly messy blond hair turned golden and the icy countenance of Belobog’s Indomitable Shield melted into a soft man who loved pretty flowers, rock music, and his rebellious sisters. And one petty conman, apparently. 

He walked towards that scene, barely holding back the impulse to grab Gepard and hide him like one of the many treasures he had hidden all over the Overworld and Underworld. But once the Silvermane Captain caught his scent, it became impossible to sneak behind him. And Sampo, despite the underlying dark tones of his deep subconscious thoughts, could never do anything against the other’s consent. (No matter how much he tried manipulating the blond to a certain decision, to a certain direction, Gepard always had the freedom of choice, and in the end, for some inexplicable reason that was beyond the conman’s understanding, his choice was Sampo.)

Three steps in, the young Landau abruptly looked over his shoulder, giving the conman a pointed raised eyebrow. Ah, right. Taking a bath.

Sampo cheekily smiled at his beloved, blowing him a flying kiss before leaving (fleeing) to the bathroom. He ignored the warm ache in his chest and the large lump crawling up his throat. 

Immediately as he walked through the door, he noticed that parts of the bathroom had changed since he last visited. There was only one sink but the space surrounding it was enough to hold both his and Gepard’s toiletries. Generally, Sampo had his stuff wherever there was space but it seemed that the captain did some organization. 

Gepard’s stuff alone barely filled up the counter space around the sink. There was a bar of facial soap, a slightly used razor, a bottle of mint-flavored mouthwash, and a tube of toothpaste. They were all arranged neatly in the left top corner just next to the bathroom mirror. 

On the other side was all Sampo’s stuff: a bottle of facial soap, a jar of facial cream, a stick of deodorant, a mixture of colognes and perfumes, make-up remover, a collection of eyeliner pencils, some small makeup palettes, a few makeup brushes, etc. Frankly, the conman was surprised that the other managed to fit everything into one side and somehow categorized them by uses and color.

And last but not least, there was a mug near the faucet which held two toothbrushes: a simple gray one and a rather gaudy mauve-colored one. He remembered Gepard throwing the mauve toothbrush at his face after cruelty rejecting his kisses one morning because ‘your breath smells like the underside of a dumpster when did you brush your teeth last time, Sampo?’ Seeing them together in the same cup suddenly brought a weird popping feeling in his stomach, as if he had lit one of his bombs and swallowed it.

Sampo opted to drown that feeling in cold shower water. Gepard’s apartment was way too hot anyway.

He came out smelling a bit like mixed berries. The young Landau rarely kept scented products and if there were any, they either belonged to Sampo or had a very weak fragrance. The mixed berries shampoo was one of the few things that Gepard tolerated and while he would never use it himself, he seemed to enjoy smelling it on the conman for some reason. 

Despite the cold shower, the heat from the large geomarrow heater in the living room immediately warmed up his body as soon as he exited the bathroom. There was a towel over his still dripping hair, knowing that if he came into the kitchen with it, Gepard would act like a disgruntled wife and gently rub his hair dry for him. From there, Sampo would wrap an arm or two around the blond’s thinner waist, bringing them closer together. His boyfriend wouldn’t notice at first, focused on the task before him until everything was sufficiently dried. The conman would then drink in his flustered expression, the way his ears would turn red before the rest of his face before leaning down to kiss his blushing cheeks. And maybe his nose. His lips. And his flushed neck. Of course, he’ll stop there because he still wanted those blueberry pancakes.

Unfortunately, his plans were canceled due to an obnoxious series of knocks from the front door that nearly rattled the walls of the apartment.  

“Geppie!!! You better be decent when I come in!!” Serval clearly announced through the door and apparently for their neighbors to hear as well. 

Sampo didn’t even have time to hide (an instinctive reaction) before the eldest Landau unlocked the front door and entered into the apartment unceremoniously. They both froze at the sight of each other, the conman in a defensive ‘run and hide’ posture while the rockstar still had a hand on the doorknob. Then Serval made an appalled expression. Which, rude. She should’ve known he was going to be here. 

“Why are you half naked? Where’s your shirt?”

Sampo let out a groaning sigh and started drying his hair since now he couldn’t use it to be lovey-dovey with his boyfriend anymore.  

“Lady, the heat in here can end the Eternal Freeze. I ain’t wearing a shirt when it’ll just turn into a useless sweat rag.”

“Well, put one on anyway. Lynxy is going to be here any minute now and I don’t want her to see— that.”

“‘That’??!?” Sampo squawked in outrage. “Excuse me Miss Rockstar, but I have you know as one of Belobog’s most handsome gents that my physique--”

“Sampo, put a shirt on,” Gepard butted in while using his apron to dry his hands, pointedly ignoring the mumbled, ‘That’s not what you said three nights ago’ from his sulky boyfriend. He walked towards them with an exasperated expression on his face. “Serval, you’re here early.”

“Heya,” was the rockstar’s casual greeting, a playful grin on her face as she leaned against the frame of the opened door. “Little Lynxy finished her survey expedition early so we decided to drop in now. She’s downstairs chatting with old man Jenkins for a bit so I went ahead to make sure she didn’t end up stumbling upon you two making out.”

“Lynx would at least wait for me to open the door.”

“Well, I’m sure you don’t want her seeing that nice, big ol’ love bite on your neck there~”

Gepard automatically slapped a hand around his neck, only to remember that between his work and whatever the hell Sampo was doing, they hadn’t indulged in that kind of intimacy for a while. The younger Landau gave his sister a very unamused expression. “I regret giving you a key to my apartment.”

Serval first answered with a cackle. “But Geppie, who would take care of all of your poor plants if I can’t get in?~”

“Sampo helps me out with them if I’m too busy to,” was Gepard’s offhand answer, not noticing how said conman had almost tripped over the side table as he was dragging a tank top over his head. “Oh, and can you convince Pela that she doesn’t have to come in to water my plants anymore? Between her regular work, her role in Lady Bronya’s Belobog revitalization plan, and everything else, she doesn’t have to use up her free time to check up on my garden.”

“I’ll try.” The rockstar looked highly amused by his request. “But Pela is somewhat committed now. She’s half convinced that your plants will die without her.”

“She did save a lot of my plants,” Gepard admitted with a tint of pink on his cheeks, a sheepish expression displayed on his face. “But unlike Pela, I have a lot more free time now that the fragmentum corrosion has slowed down, and with the help of Wildfire and Sir Oleg, we have more than enough people to arrange shorter shifts and longer leaves.” Which was probably the only reason Gepard didn’t correct the HR personnel when they told him about his ‘requested’ leave. If it was any other time, not only would he ask Pela to look into the security breach, he would probably hunt down the main culprits either to lecture or arrest them.

For a brief instant, both Sampo’s and Serval’s (the main culprits’) eyes met, acknowledging their short-lived alliance a few days ago before turning their attention back to Gepard. They both honestly didn’t think that the younger Landau would accept the paid time off-- at least, not without some convincing involved. And maybe the intervention of the Supreme Guardian. 

“By the way Serval,” Gepard crossed his arms and leveled his eyes at his sister with a raised eyebrow. “Is there something you want to tell me? About my ‘requested’ leave?”

Serval’s smile froze on her face. Her eyes darted towards Sampo who quickly averted his gaze. The asshole even started whistling as if there wasn’t anyone else in the room who knew about her involvement in Gepard’s impromptu vacation. Fortunately, before she could think of a lie (or drag Koski under the tram with her), Lynx popped up from right behind her. 

“Brother Gepard!!” called a young sweet voice, her excitement shown by the way she threw herself into Gepard’s arms. Compared to her older brother and sister, Lynx was small and petite, and Gepard practically engulfed her when he reciprocated her hug. 

“Lynx,” Gepard greeted her softly, his stern demeanor instantly melting in front of his younger sister. He had a hand on the top of her hat as he took a step back to give her some breathing room, though Lynx nearly followed along with him as she clung to her brother’s apron. Though as independent and stubborn as her older siblings, the youngest Landau was cheerful and bright by nature. Very unlike Gepard’s strict and firm demeanor or Serval’s casual but chaotic attitude. Sampo, who was watching the whole affair from the couch, couldn’t help but be amused by their differentiating personalities. Though regardless of those differences, anyone with working eyes and ears could tell how much they cared for each other. “You both came here quite earlier than I was expecting. I haven’t even started preparing lunch.”

“Ah, yeah,” Lynx replied sheepishly, her excitement slowly waning back to her originally mellow personality. “The weather has been good recently so we were able to get back early! The team has collected so many specimens— ah wait, let me show you—” The youngest grabbed the worn bag she always seemed to carry with her from her back and reached inside to show off what she found in the Snow Plains. 

“Let’s—“ Gepard stopped her before she could reveal her latest find because once she got started, it would take half an hour to get her to stop. “—have brunch first. Since you just came back from an expedition, I’m sure you’ll like something other than ration bars and jerky. Today, I just happen to be making blueberry pancakes.”

“Uh. Those were my blueberry pan— yeouch!!” Serval, who had closed the front door and moved next to Sampo, slapped the conman upside the head to shut him up.  

“Oh! Can I help you make them?” Lynx’s eyes shone brighter at the mention of pancakes. Gepard was not wrong about the ration bars and jerky. Since the snowstorm had been receding, the snow exploration team went further into the snowfield south of Belobog and didn’t come back until a week later when all of their supplies ran low. And instead of going home to recover from a long trip, she went straight to Serval’s workshop to look for her sister and her best friend Pela, holding both of them hostage for an hour to gush about the details of her recent discoveries from the survey. In other words, she did not have a decent meal in a long while. “Or--Or I can help set out the silverware and plates instead?”

“I just finished making the batter. All that’s left is to cook them in the pan. Shall I leave that to you?” 

“Of course! I promise I won’t flip it onto the ceiling this time!”

“That’s…” There was a rather helpless look on Gepard’s face. “Don’t follow Serval’s example. There are easier ways to flip a pancake than throwing it into the air—”

“Hey, that’s half the fun!”

“—Here, we’ll use the spatula and I’ll show you how to properly flip the pancake.” As Gepard led his youngest sister into the kitchen, he eyed his other two guests with something akin to skepticism and wariness. The matching grins on their faces did not reassure him at all. 

Though it would be farfetched to say that his sister and his boyfriend were similar in personality (at the very least, Serval was incapable of lying as long as you pressured her enough. But on the other hand, Sampo was the complete opposite and seemed to lie even better under scrutiny), their compatible chaotic energy made Gepard fear for Belobog’s infrastructure. 

“I want extra blueberries on mine, Geppie~” was the sing-a-song request from Serval, whose smiley expression didn’t even twitch under his brother’s unyielding stare. 

“Oh and extra butter on mine, darling~” Sampo then added in, mirroring his sister’s musical tone with a bit of a kissy face and a wink at the end. 

Gepard hoped his expression was enough to convey what would happen if he found them messing around before devoting his attention to the eager Lynx. 

Both Serval and Sampo kept up their cheerful facade until they were sure that Gepard was suitably distracted and not paying any attention to them. After half a minute, they dropped their grins into something less suspicious and less likely to make everyone else run the other way out of fear for their livelihoods. 

With a carefree sigh, Serval promptly sat on the chair closest to Sampo, which prompted the conman to give the rockstar a wary side glance. Compared to his boyfriend, the trained soldier who could solo fight against several fragmentum monsters without a scratch by the end of the battle, the raven-haired man was a lot more intimidated by the eldest Landau sister. Even the big and terrifying Mr. Svarog, who could probably snap him in half and folded him into a human cube, could not put the fear in him like Gepard’s big sister. 

“...I’m not going to eat you,” Serval pointed out in amusement as she noticed Sampo scooching a little bit further away from her.

“Hehehe, of course not…” His nervous laugh at the end said otherwise though, leaning back as Serval leaned forward as if she could sniff out his highly appropriate and very understandable fear of her. “But if I may be so bold--” Sampo’s business smile and hand-rubbing motion didn’t have their usual charm when he was wearing just a tank top and sweatpants. “I have a feeling Miss Serval isn’t here just to, uh, interrupt my plans with her brother.”

“Oh? What makes you think that?” The innocent smile on Serval’s face was too frightening to look at directly. “Also, what kind of plans did you have with my lil’ Geppie?~”

Sampo started sweating. Not that he wasn’t already sweating because of the geomarrow heater nearby. “Uh, well, I-- I was going to convince Geppie here to, uh, stay in bed a little longer.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Of-Of course, not with me in it! Hehehe….”

The corners of Serval’s smile curved up a bit more.

“And--And later on, we’ll have lunch! Probably from that nearby seafood place.” Ergo, really the only restaurant open on this side of the city, ran by a stubborn old couple who said that they would rather freeze to death than abandon the restaurant owned and run by their family for more than ten generations. Funny enough, some of their grandchildren ended up becoming Silvermane Guards just to help protect the old place and it became the go-to eatery for the frontline soldiers that didn’t want to eat in the garrison cafeteria or make the trip further away from the Restricted Zone to find decent food.

Admittedly, it was also one of Gepard’s favorite restaurants but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to convince the old couple to move their place further away from the fragmentum corrosion. Mr. and Mrs. Berkley always thought it was cute for him to try, and every time they went to grab takeout, Sampo had witnessed the Silvermane Captain’s facial cheeks being pinched to death by them before they threw in a 15% discount on his order. 

“Ah, I haven’t seen Jane and Kurt in forever! Maybe we’ll go have a late lunch there today,” Serval considered with a hum, finally leaning away to give the conman some breathing room. “Anyway, I’m just pulling your leg. I know you and my brother are fucking so--”

If Sampo was drinking anything, he would’ve spat it out. Instead, he made a sort of wheezing dying sound from the back of his throat. 

“Lady, you-- you can’t point fingers at my shirtlessness when you say stuff like that with your little sister in the same room --”

“She’s in the kitchen!”

“An open room kitchen!”

“She’s not listening to us! Look, once she’s focused on something, it’s hard to pull her attention away from it.” They both peeked into the kitchen and true to Serval’s words, Lynx was hyper-focused on the frying pan in front of her, wielding the spatula Gepard gave her like a weapon to vanquish the pancake instead of flipping it over. It was all very cute to watch, especially since Lynx had her nose scrunched up in concentration. Anyway, since the youngest was occupied, the eldest Landau continued the conversation with ease. “Anyway, you’re right. I didn’t come here just to poke my nose into your love nest.”

“Love-what?” Sampo sputtered, looking visibly startled as Serval gave the conman a raised eyebrow.

“Your love nest?”

“... You mean your brother’s apartment??”

“I mean, yours and Gepard’s apartment, which is also your love nest.”

“I--I don’t live here???”

The look Serval gave him implied many things about his intelligence. Which, rude.

“You water Geppie’s plants.”

“Um??? So do you and Pela??”

“Yeah, but I’m family and Pela is like our second little sister. You also have a key.”

“I… have a lot of keys. I just can’t tell you what they open.”

“I mean a key to this apartment, dumbass. And all your things are here.”

“Not all my things.”

“Essentially most of your things. I had to help Geppie move in your new wardrobe! I was there when he took all your clothes from the closet, which filled up more than half the space there mind you, and organized them into the shelves and drawers.” Serval squinted at him. “And Geppie also asked me how he should go about organizing your stuff in the bathroom. Did you know that you own about the same amount of cosmetics as I do?”

“I only got the cheap brands though.”

“Marie-Anna’s are not cheap!”

“Hey, do you know how hard it is to find a foundation and concealer in my skin tone? You can’t skimp on good foundations and concealers!”

“If you can afford Marie-Annas, at least choose a better lipstick brand like Peony-Ps.”

“None of Peony-P's lipstick collections have the colors I want. I prefer Vogue's bolder colors, thank you very much, even if they are cheaper.”

“Speaking of colors, I saw that you have this barely used eyeshadow pallet— the one from CARA? There’s a lot of nice blues on there so can I borrow it?”

“Oh, that? You can keep the whole thing. Everything on there clashes with my eyes.”

“I’m glad you two are getting along,” Gepard drawled from behind Sampo with two steaming mugs in his hands. He moved around and set both of them on the coffee table: a pastel purple one for Serval and a red rose-printed one (a gag gift from the Trailblazer, apparently) for his boyfriend. They both could smell the strong scent of black tea in the cups. 

“Aww, Geppie. Like I already told Sampie, I’m not going to eat him~” Serval teased with a snicker as she picked up her mug and took a sip from it. 

“No, but I’m still worried for the integrity of my living room.”

“But not for the integrity of your boyfriend?~” Sampo casually quipped with batting eyelashes, looking up at his beloved with big green eyes and pouting lips. The conman expected the eye roll from the captain but not the nonchalant kiss on the corner of his pursing mouth. It barely lasted half a second before Gepard straightened up once more with barely a change to his expression. 

He was starting to miss the days when the Silvermane Captain would be flustered over a simple gentlemanly kiss on the hand. But on the other hand, he would be deprived of all this casual affection. Never mind that on some days, he still didn’t know what to do with it. Like right now, Sampo found himself gaping as a faint shimmer of mirth twinkled in Gepard’s beautiful blue eyes. “I’m sure you can squirm your way out of trouble, like always.” And just like that, he left the conman to fumble in the aftermath and at the mercy of his very amused older sister who also bore the same twinkling eyes. Not that Sampo noticed because his own eyes were too occupied with following the departing back of his boyfriend. 

“ I realized my gaze again~

Is following your figure~ ”

Sampo was snapped out of his dazed stare by a melodious but annoying singing voice. Most of the music sung by Serval was loud and sharp, followed by the shrillness of her guitar and the harsh tempo of her lyrical words, so he barely recognized the soft and sweet voice she was using now. 

“ Why is your smile always~

So warm and pleasant~ ”

Irritatingly enough, Serval had perfect control over the volume of her voice so that Sampo was the only one that could hear her singing. 

“ But why being next to you~

I feel relief in my heart?~ ”

But despite her beautiful singing, the mocking undertones were easy to detect. “Hey—“

“ So I think maybe I’ve always— “

And the lyrics were hitting a bit too close to home. “Serval—“

“ Been in love with you~ ”

“Can you— Since when do you write love songs??” Sampo groused but thankfully, that seemed to be the end of it because Serval cackled so loudly that he was sure Gepard and Lynx looked over in their direction.

“Oh, not for a long while. This old song was made back in my… my academy days.” It didn’t have to be asked out loud whether it was written for a certain someone, but Serval quickly brushed off her solemn mood, reverting back to her playful personality. “Though the lyrics were a bit different from when I first wrote it.”

Sampo momentarily thought back to the lyrics, recalled how Serval seemed familiar with every single note of a melody he never heard of even during his time as Mechanical Fever’s bassist, and wondered how many times she had sung or played this love song before today. 

The raven-haired man swallowed and felt the need to avert his gaze elsewhere. “Ya know, I thought you weren’t, err, cool? With me and Gepard?”

The answered, raised manicured eyebrow was a bit too judgemental for words. “Well, yeah, because I thought you were going to break his heart.” Serval’s words were as blunt and fierce as her music, as headstrong and determined as her own personality. “I know you both have some sort of history that I wasn’t privy to, but when I first found out, I thought Gepard was finally having his first rebellion streak! Like, come on, my uncompromising, rigid, single-minded brother dating a, a—“

“Dating me?” Sampo deadpanned, both amused and a little offended. Though he couldn’t really blame the elder Landau for her disbelief. To be honest, he’s still in disbelief himself. 

“No offense, Sampie, but you’re— you’re—“

“Charming?” Sampo offered with a flutter of eyelashes and a hand on his chest. Serval eyed the gesture with an impolite snort. 

“Obnoxious for sure.”

“Rude.”

“And also a criminal, may I remind you?”

“ Ex -criminal. I was pardoned, may I also remind you?”

“That was after all that Stellaron business. And you were dating Gepard before that.”

“And now?”

“Now…” Serval took a glance toward the kitchen, her smile noticeably softening when she saw Lynx on a small stool with a handful of berries in one hand, and on the other, she seemed to be arranging them on a plate full of pancakes. Gepard stood nearby, watching her with his arms crossed as if he was a drill sergeant watching over a group of cadets on a training field, wearing that ridiculous pink and yellow, flower-printed apron Serval had bought for him as a gag gift years ago. “You make him happy.” Sampo looked as if that was the last thing he expected Serval to have told him, his averting eyes suddenly focusing on the amused yet solemn expression of the eldest Landau. “You make him happy, ya know?” She gestured with her head over to where the two other Landaus were and the conman couldn’t help but look at where she was nodding toward.

Gepard was gazing over at them, probably making sure they weren’t getting into some kind of mischief that only two chaotic beings could create. And once he noticed Sampo looking in his direction, his sky-blue eyes seemed to automatically crinkle into a smile, completely melting his normally-icy features and— Oh. 

There was something floating in his throat, rising from his chest until all that was left was the strong compulsion to walk up and kiss those smiley eyes. 

Sampo coughed as if he was trying to expel the impulse before turning back around to a much too smug Serval. Why was he never the smug one whenever he was faced with Serval?

“So…” Sampo cleared whatever was lodged in his throat. “We’re good now?” Because on the day Serval found out about their not-so-platonic relationship during a very random visit to Gepard’s apartment, she seemed amicable about it up until she cornered him alone with threats about throwing him to an Automaton Grizzly and personally removing his balls with a rusty screwdriver.

“As long as you treat my brother well,” she said cheerily, though she somehow managed to make it sound like a threat at the same time. “Oh, that reminds me. There’s something I need to ask you about.” Serval shifted closer to him, her previous playful expression disappearing into furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. “Did Gepard… Did you hear anything from Gepard about our father?”

Sampo paused for half a second, not expecting the shift in both the atmosphere and conversation. His eyes flickered briefly towards the kitchen to check on the other two Landaus before scooting even closer to make their conversation more private. “Not really. I mean, we don’t really talk about your, uh, other relatives.” The conman knew that Gepard came from one of Belobog’s oldest and most noble lineages-- aeons, there wasn’t anyone in Belobog that didn’t know of the Landaus. You either had to be living under a snowdrift or from frickin’ outer space to not know of the Landaus. Sampo was not the exception to this-- it was practically his job as an informant to know the ins and outs of multiple noble families.

Alas, did Sampo care about all that when he first started dating Gepard? Not really, beyond when he would finally get dumped because of it. In reality, these elitest-type families often expected their progeny to uphold certain kinds of responsibilities, and those responsibilities did not include dating a petty criminal, much less a man on top of that. 

But then he got to know Gepard-- and while Gepard did care for the Landau name and the responsibilities involved in said name, he put very little thought into the aristocratic part of it. He cared for his honor as a Silvermane Guard, for the spirit of Preservation, and for the people he would protect in and out of the battlefield, but not for the trivialities of upper-class society. He would take a 12-hour patrol around the city walls, fight off an army of fragmentum monsters, and be the Shield that Belobog needed, but he would not attend a high-class social party if it meant leaving the Restricted Zone without his strength for an unaccountable amount of time.

To Gepard, being a Landau -upholding the Landau name- meant marching into the frost-whipped lands, corroded with monsters and ice, and giving everything, even his life, to protect the peace of Belobog’s everyday life. Not whatever his kiss-ass relatives did or wanted him to do.

Serval leaned back slightly, crossing her arms.“Do you even want to meet our parents?”

“Uh, no,” Sampo admitted without a moment of hesitation. Did he want to meet the people that raised his Geppie to be the perfect soldier, where all that mattered was the people and the will of the Supreme Guardian but never himself? The same people that made Gepard compelled to take one impossible task after the next impossible task on the frontlines, where every action, every order, could lead to his death? Where he had spent every waking minute out in the frigid cold since his youth and would never be able to escape from the chill of the Eternal Freeze even under several layers of blankets and the geomarrow heater set to max? Those parents? Heh, he’d rather meet the Supreme Guardian in handcuffs with a list of his crimes taped to his chest. “I mean, I’m not exactly the kind of guy you take to meet your parents, y’know? Sure, I’m charming and handsome. An absolute delight to have for company with a winsome smile and a nice ass to look at. I can entertain a crowd of strangers with a flourish of my hand, and anyone’s parents will be enchanted by my voice--”

“The same one that’s giving me a headache right now?”

“Hey, not everyone can be Belobog's most beloved Rock Star with thousands of fans crawling at their feet.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“You make it sound as if you want to stay on this subject.” Normally, Serval would be the last person to mention her parents, especially in concern toward the patriarch of the Landau family. While she let go of a lot of things in the aftermath of the Stellaron Crisis, she could not let go of her grudge against her father no matter what Gepard said. 

Their father was a cynical and prideful man whose actions did not match the so-called vows he had made for the people of Belobog. The eldest Landau remembered many of his lessons, and now that she was older and more experienced, she could safely say that most of those lessons were full of shit.

Serval looked as if she swallowed a mouthful of lemons. “I don’t, but Mom… Well, I got a letter. She said Dad wants to see Gepard and asked me if I could tell him to come home and visit them.”

There was a second of stillness, as if the air froze despite the apartment’s stifling heat, and Sampo flickered his eyes to the kitchen once more. He could see Lynx digging into one of the kitchen drawers, probably gathering utensils for the dining table, and Gepard at the stove— frying eggs from what the conman could smell from the couch. The scene was full of contentment and quietude. “Well,” Sampo looked away from the peaceful picture and set his gaze back on Serval, the greens of his eyes suddenly sharp, “Are you?” 

Serval’s blue eyes matched the derisive edge in his own, her lips taking on a somewhat predatory grin. “How could I, an outsider , be involved in the affairs of the distinguished and noble Landau clan?~” The posh tone she used reminded him of all those snooty noblemen and women he used to scam (still scam from time to time but what Gepard didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him). She even got it down to how they would speak through their noses with their nostrils flaring up for everyone to see. This was one of the very few times that he was able to see proof of her upper-class upbringing. “As an exile, essentially a nobody , I should keep my disgraceful ass out of the esteemed Landau family’s pompous noses.”

“ Arse, you mean, arse ,” was Sampo’s unnecessary correction, which Serval took to heart.

“My apologies, I mean my disgraceful arse .” Both of them giggled and snickered as if they were preteens saying their first swear word. “Seriously though,” Serval sighed, putting an elbow on one of the chair’s arms and leaning her head on her knuckles. “Me and Geppie had moved out of that house long ago and yet, my father still thinks we’re under his thumb.” Whatever their father wanted to talk to Gepard about, she doubted it was anything considerably ‘fatherly’. Honestly, from the way it was written, the letter felt more like a summons from a commanding officer than a simple home visit.

Sampo crossed his legs and mimicked her head-on-knuckle pose. “So even if you don’t mention a thing to your brother, the Landau patriarch doesn’t seem like the type to give up. I don’t see a reason why they didn’t ask Geppie first before they tried you.”

“Pfft, apparently he’s too busy to visit home--” was the simple reason she gave, letting out a rather huffy snort. “At least that’s the excuse Gepard gave to Mom.” Not that he wasn’t actually busy between all his Silvermane Guard duties and his other responsibilities outside of that. Bronya had entrusted much of the cooperation between Wildfire and the Silvermane Guards to their reliable captain so not only was he doing his usual work in the frontlines, but he often traveled down to the Underworld as an ambassador. After all, there was no one in the Silverman Guards that could melt the stone-cold, embittered hearts of Belobog’s Underworld citizens other than the very Shield of Belobog himself. Nowadays, he barely had time to even visit his own dear sister-- hence their intervention. “But he also told them that he’ll come to visit for a short time during the next Solwarm Festival.”

“The Solwarm Festival? Which is in, oh let’s see, five months?”

“Yup!” Serval chirped, straightening up her sitting posture to clap her hands together. “Dad’s a lot of things but he’s a soldier first before a father. He won’t interfere with official Silvermane Guard business but that could only last for so long. Now that there’s a bit of a lull at the war front, the family is probably going to start pushing him to take over his other responsibilities as the heir of the Landau family.”

Sampo quieted at that and tried not to think too hard about what Serval meant by ‘responsibilities as the heir’. Surprisingly, rather than feeling anxious over it, he felt a surging flare of anger in his chest instead. 

He thought of the first time he saw Gepard with two pots of flowers in his arms, looking back at Sampo over his shoulder with an apprehensive smile because ‘gardening is an unbefitting hobby for a man and a Landau’. He thought of the first time he came over (invited himself over) to Gepard’s apartment, surprised by how empty and militaristic it was, devoided of personality and personal items. His office in the Restricted Zone was only slightly better due to that single plant specimen on his desk given by his younger sister. He thought of the first time they slept in the same bed when a nightmare gripped Gepard by the throat so tightly that the captain wasn’t able to breathe until Sampo told him to. And the thing was, he wasn’t dreaming about monsters, ghosts, or even the snow-filled battlefield. He dreamt of failure and disappointment, of caving into the weight of everyone’s expectations, well aware that once he did, he risked the lives of the people and his soldiers, of his family and his sisters.

He thought of the time Gepard pushed him away, ordering the nearest private to escort him out from the Restricted Zone as he ran towards the gates, the screech of monsters and fragmentum ghosts bombarding the eardrums of everyone in the area. The captain didn’t hesitate to run in the direction that could mean death for a lot of Silvermane Guards. ‘Because it’s my duty,’ he would explain to Sampo later on after the conman cornered him in an empty alleyway during one of Belobog’s darkest nights. 

“So what if you’re given a choice other than your ‘duties’, Captain?” he has asked one part curious, three parts malicious, and six parts desperate. Gepard’s terrible night vision would not allow him to see the other’s expression, but Sampo could clearly see his. There was a little bit of confusion, probably because he didn’t understand why he was being interrogated by the conman in the first place, but the rest was just a whole lot of resignation and nothing else, as if he could not see a future where his ‘duties’ weren’t involved. Because his past, present, and future had always revolved around those duties, as planned since the day he was born. 

Ha, and now the family that made him like this -made him into this perfect little puppet soldier to ‘bring glory to the Landau name’- decided they wanted to completely seize what little control Gepard had of his life? Heh, what a joke.

Sampo was barely able to smother the suffocating heat in his lungs, the burn traveling from his stomach to his throat, and took a glance at the eldest Landau from the corner of his eyes. His grin was more like a bear of teeth. “Ah, as you know, in my line of work, I do appreciate being in the loop of all the gossip of upper-class society, especially when it’s about the ever so dignified and reputable Landau family. Can’t find a more reliable informant than someone with first-hand knowledge! But—Why are you telling me this?”

He understood that Serval didn’t want to get Gepard involved with their family’s machinations, but that didn’t explain why she felt the need to disclose all of this to him. Why involve lil ol’ Sampo in their family’s discourse?

Serval opened her mouth and then closed it, her eyes darting to something past Sampo. “I’ll tell you later,” the rockstar hissed at him, her words nearly blending by how quickly she said them before she suddenly switched to her ‘I’m a good big sister!’ persona. “Gepard! Is it time to eat finally?”

When Serval flashed an innocent-looking grin at her brother, who walked up to them not too long ago with the apron hanging on one of his arms, it earned an expression of skepticism from the younger blond. Sampo immediately unwound himself from his, admittedly, tense posture, uncrossing his legs and leaning back on the couch as if they weren’t having a serious conversation seconds ago. The dark light in his green eyes disappeared— or rather, it was hidden beneath the layers of tenderness and affection that arose at the sight of his beloved. Tilting his head back to get a good look at his boyfriend behind him, the raven-haired man also gave the same kind of ‘innocent’ smile to the Silvermane Captain. 

“… What are you two planning?” Gepard questioned after a beat of a second. 

“Why, Gepard!” Serval gasped every so dramatically. “What are you trying to imply about your older sister?!”

“And your boyfriend!” Sampo declared every so woefully, bringing up his puppy-dog eyes the moment Gepard used his accusation voice on them. 

“I… forget it.” Gepard released a sigh, well aware that it was virtually impossible to get anything out of the both of them when they were tag-teaming him like this. “Just promise me that everyone gets out in one piece.”

“Aw, Geppie, is that how you see us?”

“Whatever do you mean, honeybuns?”

Said ‘Geppie’ and ‘honeybuns’ rolled his eyes but seemed content with their answers because he gestured over to the small dining table that barely fit four people with a wave of his hand. “Time to eat. As long as it didn’t involve more paperwork for me or Pela and didn’t disturb the Silvermane Guards’ usual business, you can continue your conversation at a later time.”

“Oh great! I’m starving!” Serval, completely unaffected by her brother’s (understandable) suspicion, basically bounced out of her seat and skipped to the dining area, where Lynx proceeded to proudly describe her entire experience in pancake-making to her older sister. Surprisingly, Sampo didn’t follow her immediately. Instead, he stayed in his seat, not even moving his gaze from his boyfriend’s beautiful profile. Gepard immediately noticed the other’s uncharacteristic stillness.

“Sampo?” Gepard peered down at those focused emerald eyes with an inquisitive smile, his hand unconsciously reaching out for the fringe of dark hair that always seemed to fall on the other’s face. He brushed it back, and the conman didn’t even blink at the gesture. 

Without warning, the raven-haired man grabbed the hand near his face, but his touch was neither forceful nor particularly demanding (Gepard never reacted well to those kinds of contacts in the first place). Sampo felt more than saw those long fingers twitch but they didn’t move otherwise— not until he brought the lightly scarred palm to his lips. 

Gepard didn’t exactly jerk his hand back, but it definitely had more strength than the small twitch earlier. Sampo watched as the other’s ears and cheeks turned slightly pink.  

“… Serval wanted to go have a late lunch at the Berkleys,” was what Sampo said instead of all the other inappropriate things swirling in his head, keeping in mind of the Landau sisters not too far away. The conman thought his boyfriend would be ecstatic over spending some time with his sisters. Between Gepard’s Silvermane Guard duties and Lynx’s back-to-back expeditions, it was rare for all three siblings to come together. But instead of the expected joyful light in the other’s blue eyes, there was a hint of hesitation instead. 

Sampo blinked twice in confusion. “Not feeling for Berkleys?”

“No— I mean, we really shouldn’t encourage them to continue their business here.” It was Gepard’s standard Captain of the Silvermane Guard lecture, one of the rare ones that he had never been able to follow through. Mostly because Mrs. Berkley always ended sweet talking him out of eviction and won. 

“I think Serval will make us go there regardless of that,” Sampo pointed out in a wry tone. “Besides, I remember you saying that you missed their carbonara not too long ago.” 

Gepard seemed a bit embarrassed by the reminder of the unconscious remark he made, golden eyelashes fanning when the blond-haired man looked down. “I can still eat their food even if they move closer to the Administrative District.”

Sampo made an exaggerated gasp. “The Indomitable Shield of Belobog, the Paragon of Preservation, the Idol and Hero of all Frontline Soldiers, leaving the Restricted Zone for matters other than official Silvermane Guard business??!? Is it more than -15 °C outside??”

“I— I go out! For things other than work!”

“Groceries do not count, darling ,” the conman drawled, a mischievous grin forming at the other’s indignant expression. “Neither does visiting your sisters.”

Considering that Sampo had many times witnessed Gepard ripping off the head of multiple fragmentum monsters with just a swing of his shield, ‘cute’ shouldn’t be a general description to use for the stoic young man. Still, it was the only word that the conman could think of when he saw the captain’s pouting lips. “We—We went out to that cafe one time.”

“ One time. You were less than impressed with their baked goods selections.”

“Baked goods should not taste like a mouthful of sugar.”

“We were eating cupcakes!”

“I tasted the frosting more than the cupcake.”

Sampo snorted out a small chuckle of disbelief. This was an old argument whenever the cafe was brought up.

“Excuse you, the frosting is the best part of the cupcake.” Gepard had an expression that screamed ‘I beg to differ’ and Sampo’s grin grew bigger. “But we’re getting off-topic. Come on, I thought you would be happy spending more time with your sisters regardless of the location.”

“No, no, I am,” the blond immediately reassured, naturally intertwining their fingers together despite the slightly awkward positioning. “I just… didn’t think they would be staying that long…”

“Long?” How long did Gepard think they would be staying over? Considering the time now, the Landau sisters probably wouldn’t leave until after their late lunch (or early dinner?) at the Berkleys. “Do you have something planned later on?” 

The Silvermane Captain looked a bit sheepish at the question. “No… I mean-- never mind. Let’s eat before Serval starts stealing our portions.” Gepard began trying to slip his fingers out of their intertwined hands, only to find that Sampo wasn’t even loosening his grip to let him go. Looking down at his unmoving boyfriend, the blond was a bit baffled by the conman’s raised eyebrow, obviously not easily willing to let the conversation end. 

It was rare for the raven-haired man to be insistent. Usually, if someone was (consciously or unconsciously) avoiding a certain topic (for example, the Landau patriarch for Serval), Sampo would skillfully maneuver the conversation until the uncomfortable subject was buried ten feet under multiple of banters and lighthearted dialogues. Then again, it was also rare for Belobog’s most uncompromising and headstrong Silvermane Captain to act so evasively. Gepard was not one for tricks and schemes, often honest to a fault even if it put him at a disadvantage.

But even with Gepard’s honest personality, even if he couldn’t lie, there were times when he wouldn’t tell the truth either. 

(The only son of the main Landau family was trained since young to suppress his fatigue, his pain, his emotions , in order to become the best kind of Silvermane Guard befitting of the Landau name, and so out of habit, he would bury all his grievances, his fears, and his sorrows deep into the recess of his soul, not to be seen in the day of the light, until it piled up and corroded his sanity. And he would’ve just let it rot, let it gnaw on his weary bones, and burn a hole in his chest because he believed that if he didn’t preserve, who else would? His elder sister who was exiled from their family? Little Lynx who was too young, too small to take on such burdens? To his soldiers, most of whom were only willing to participate in an endless war due to their desperate home situations?

And so he became the Indomitable Shield, the Iron Wall that defends the peace of Belobog’s everyday life. An icon of justice, preservation, and security, an image of nobility, grace, and integrity, and a model of stagnation , dullness , and blandness . Everything that Sampo loathed .)

“Hey, hey—what’s all that? No need to be shy~” Though Sampo still held a smile on his lips, his voice was uncharacteristically firm. “Why don’t you tell good ol’ Sampo Koski whatcha thinkin’?” And though he was the one asking, he knew how this ol’ song and dance would go. Gepard would insist that nothing was wrong, that there was nothing to talk about, his behavior defensive and anxious until the conman either coaxed or needled the answer out from him. The answer would come out in a burst of emotion, desperate and distressful-- or maybe it would come out quiet and resigned, as if admitting to being anything less than the perfect, stoic soldier would be the same thing as hanging a rope around his neck.

But none of those things happened. Instead of the stiff, pale expression he was expecting (the one that often had an underlying hint of panic and terror), Gepard seemed rather flustered, his ears pinkening slightly. “It’s really nothing, I just—” There was a grimace from the captain, but it seemed to be one made out of embarrassment. He used his free hand to cover his lower face, his cheeks the same rosy color as his ears. “I just thought…the rest of the day would be spent with just the two of us…”

The last part was practically mumbled and nearly indecipherable, the hand muffling most of the sentence, but it was enough for Sampo to feel as if he was being hit with a two-by-four to the chest.

This is truly foul play. Completely and utterly against the rules. He would’ve been proud if he wasn’t the victim in this instance.  

For Gepard Landau, Mr. Emotionally-Constipated and President of the Repressed Club, to admit anything considered ‘selfish’, much less that he actually wanted to spend some time alone with him—

Sampo suddenly found himself flustered as well, his own cheeks taking a reddish hue. “We… Your leave doesn’t end until next week,” he reminded the captain, his silver tongue feeling numb and clumsy.

“I know,” Gepard grumbled, looking anywhere but the conman himself. “I’m being unreasonable. But…” The weeks and months following Lady Bronya’s inauguration had been busy in many different ways. Now that the Overworld and the Underworld were connected once more, they had to reassign many Silvermane Guards from other areas of Belobog to the new patrol routes underground. They also had to register all the new or returning personnel that were originally based in the Underworld and train them alongside Wildfire's members, if necessary. Not to mention the extra training needed for those that wanted to help out with the frontlines. 

Suffice to say, if they didn’t include their seemingly short nights together, more than half of which Gepard was past the brink of exhaustion and half-dead on their bed, the time spent with just the two of them in the past weeks could be counted on one hand.

 It’s embarrassing to act so needy when they saw each other plenty of times throughout the weeks and practically slept in the same bed. But he missed the simple times when it would be just the two of them, in the apartment that just recently felt like theirs , where they could just enjoy each other’s company without caring about their responsibilities or statuses. The times when they were both sitting on the couch, with Sampo playing on his phone while laying his legs across Gepard’s lap and the blond using them as an armrest as he was reading one of Pela’s recommended books. The times when they had too many words to tell each other or no words at all, having meaningless discussions like ‘whether ice cream would be better on a cone or in a bowl’ or having no conversations at all where silence and actions convey more than words could. 

Sampo was right though. They had a whole week to do just that and Gepard was being unnecessarily demanding if he told his boyfriend any of this. 

“Just--- Forget it. Come on, let’s eat.” Gepard finally used his strength to pull his hand out of Sampo’s grip and turned away to head toward the breakfast nook, a bit abashed to look at the conman directly. However, after taking three steps away from the couch, a familiar hand grabbed onto his arm and turned him around, and it was only because of Sampo’s berry and pine-wind scent that he didn’t reflexively lash out against the sudden use of strength. 

He relaxed instantly as soon as he saw those bold green eyes, only to tense once more when another hand cupped the sensitive nape of his neck and pulled him into an open-mouthed kiss. His sound of surprise was immediately swallowed into the other’s throat, along with his ability to think or to escape. As always, Sampo was masterful with his tongue, controlling the intensity of the kiss with a deliberate movement of lips or a skillful lick against the wet insides of the blond’s mouth. Blood rushed rapidly to Gepard’s ears, dyeing his skin from the neck up into a glowing blush. By the time Sampo finally allowed him to move away, Gepard finally remembered the necessity of breathing, warm air coming into his lungs by stutters as his blurry vision caught the conman breaking the single string of saliva attached to their lips with a slow lick. 

“Ugh.” Gepard startled at the sound of his Serval’s voice, hit with the reminder that he made out with his boyfriend in front of his sisters. Their dagger-like gazes dug into his back and the mortification of his actions crashed into him all at once. “Really? In front of my blueberry pancakes?” 

His elder sister’s words only cause him to blush even harder, the red color now reaching below his neck and to his shoulders. Sometime during the kiss, Sampo had snaked an arm around Gepard’s waist and didn’t show any signs of letting the flustered blond go, so the only thing the younger man could do was bury his flaming face into the other’s shoulder.

Sampo took advantage of the position to brush his lips against the captain’s ear, causing Gepard to shrink his neck. He instinctively tried to retreat from the moving mouth, flinching at the caress of hot air blown against sensitive skin, but the grip around his waist wouldn’t allow him to withdraw at all. Everything that the conman touched seemed to tingle and burn. 

Gepard could feel the other’s smirk imprint against the area below his ear, and a low and hoarse voice vibrated against his skin. The Silvermane Captain, in his flustered state, was unable to hear every word murmured into his ear but what he did manage to catch was enough to make his whole body flush with heat, his entire face turning into bright crimson. 

Wha-Wha-Wha-What is this idiot saying in broad daylight?!? And in the same room as his sisters?!?

Both out of anger and embarrassment, Gepard sent several short but painful jabs to the conman’s side but Sampo only laughed it off and curled his arm tighter around his mortified boyfriend. 

As the Silvermane Captain was trying to regain his composure, Sampo looked past his boyfriend’s hunching shoulder to make eye contact with the Landau sisters. Serval, for the most part, looked amused, but her smile also implied that was considering whether to stab Sampo with the fork in her hand. And Lynx, as quiet as a mouse, had both hands covering her blushing face, though her wide, unblinking eyes peeking through her fingers made the gesture rather useless. 

Sampo tried, and failed, to hold back a smug smile.

“Shoo, shoo,” he told the girls, using his free hand to make a ‘shooing’ gesture. “There’s nothing to see here. Go back to your pancakes.”

“You’re sucking tongues with my little bro--” Lynx squeaked and Gepard sputtered at Serval’s crude language. “--while I’m trying to enjoy my meal and you’re telling me to ignore that??”

“Hey, it’s not like you saw anything!” Gepard completely had his back facing his two sisters and their heights are similar enough to where Serval would see their closeness but not the lip-locking action itself.

“I don’t have to see it to know what you guys are doing!”

“Well, that’s what happens when you decide to enter the Koski-Landau ‘love nest’--” Gepard made a muffled choking sound while Lynx squeaked even louder. “--So you’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Ha! Big talk from the guy that had a mental crisis over said ‘love nest’ five seconds ago!”

“I’ve decided, why go against the flow? Sampo Koski is an adaptable and easygoing guy and ‘Koski-Landau love nest’ rolls off the tongue quite nicely if you asked me~”

The face that Serval made was both priceless and too funny to describe: somewhere in between absolute disgust, outrage, and nausea. “Are you trying to get me to leave by being gross?”

“Now, why would I do something like that? Belobog’s most beloved and cherished Rockstar, Miss Serval Landau, is always welcomed to the Koski-Landau Love Nest~” 

“Stop that.”

“And of course, Belobog’s Most Intelligent and Brave Miss Explorer here is also always welcomed to the Koski-Landau Love Nest.”

Lynx snorted behind her hand and responded in a muffled voice, “Thank you, Mr. Koski.”

“No problemo! Always happy to welcome such valuable clients-- I mean, valued friends and family~” If Sampo wasn’t wrapped around his boyfriend, he would be doing his signature shady hand gesture. “Buuutt I must inform you that the Koski-Landau Love Nest only opens from 1-to-4 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, if you need to make a visit, please call ahead of time or I can’t be held responsible for whatever you might stumble upon entry.”

“One: that is the most bullshit way of saying ‘I’m being gross with your brother so don’t come unless you’re into that kind of stuff’—“ Gepard made a dying sound, which seemed less tragic paired with Lynx’s wheeze of second-hand embarrassment. “And two: 11 am to 5 pm. And add in Saturdays and Sundays.” Serval haggled without shame. 

“Uh, no can do on the weekends, missy.”

“What do you mean ‘no can do’?! Unlike you, I’m a working-class citizen with regular working hours!”

“I believe as the Big Boss of Neverwinter Workshop, you can easily adjust your hours as you please. Pssh, you barely get customers during normal working hours anyway.”

“I--I don’t have a lot of customers, but I’m busy regardless!”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Uh-huh!”

In the middle of their banter, Sampo felt Gepard trembling slightly in his arms, and when he looked down to check up on his boyfriend, he saw the other’s head turned towards him, blue eyes glistening with mirth and his lips pursed to hold back either a chuckle or a giggle at their silly banter. When they made eye contact, the younger Landau’s expression seemed to warm further, his normally pale cheeks ruddy with happiness and pleasure, and Sampo felt maybe something he could call contentment settled down in his chest. As if Gepard’s happiness was like the sun and all he could’ve done was bask in its rays and let the warmth seep into his bones. 

The soft, chaste kiss he placed near the hairline of Gepard’s forehead was thoughtless and casual. It didn’t even last past a second, but it elicited a tender, fond laugh from the blond nonetheless. 

“ Fine ,” Sampo groaned in the most dramatic tone possible, as if he had signed away his life instead of a few hours of alone time with his boyfriend. “You’ll get your weekends, but now Tuesdays are off on the deal. And the hours are still from 1 pm to 4 pm.”

“11 am to 4 pm.”

“Noon to 4 o’clock. Take it or leave it missy.”

“ Only if you add Fridays as well.”

“Look lady, I need one date night at least.”

“Weekend date nights are overrated anyway.”

“Says the single middle-aged woman--”

“We’re the same age, asshole! Who are you calling middle-aged?!”

“I suppose I don’t have a say over these ‘visiting hours’?” Gepard interjected with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“Pfftt, not with your hours, Geppie.” “Only if you start coming home at a decent time, honey~”

Of course, they would only stop fighting in their shared joy to tease Gepard, so the Silvermane Captain retreated with a long sigh as Sampo and Serval kept bickering with him in the middle. He hid his smile in the curve of his boyfriend's shoulder.

“Umm…” Lynx suddenly spoke up with a muffled giggle behind a hand. “I don’t have normal working hours. As long as I can send a message ahead of time, can I come to visit regardless?”

“Oh pardon my forgetfulness. Obviously, these rules apply to everyone with the exception of Miss Lynx Landau.”

“ Excuse me? That’s blatant favoritism!”

“Well, Little Miss Lynx here is my favorite Landau.”

“I thought Big Brother was your favorite Landau?”

“No, he is but in a different way, ya get me? Anywho, I hope you guys like cold pancakes because that’s what you’re having if you keep ignoring them.”

“And whose fault is that?! And we’re not done here!”

“Uh, yes we are. We agreed that visiting hours are on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Noon to 4 pm.”

“ No . I did not agree to that! I want Fridays instead of Thursdays and from 11 am to 4 pm.”

This argument continued even after Gepard had finally recovered from his flusteredness, dragging his ridiculous boyfriend to the dining table with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. It also didn’t stop when both his older sister and the conman were stuffing their faces with pancakes, not until Lynx, halfway through her scramble eggs, compared them to the squabbling corvids she saw on her last expedition. The fact that they both squawked in offense like said birds nearly had Gepard spitting out his tea and Lynx snorting milk through her nose in mid-laughter. 

An unusually sunny morning on the north edge of Belobog became an unusually sunny day instead. The rare sunlight that hadn’t touched this side of the city in weeks, maybe even months, shined through the window and onto the dining table. The room seemed to glow along with the people in it, and when Sampo looked to the side to see those bright blue eyes, the color pronounced between soft golden hair and the warm hues of the daylight, he wondered if this was what it was like to fall in love with the sky. And no one would blame him for reaching out and kissing the smiling lips of said sky.