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Chapter Text

“Is it cake, or is it ice cream?”

Sorey examined the slice of “cake” Mikleo had carved, resting on its plate on the table in front of him. Its layers were frosty cold mint chocolate chip.

“It's ice cream cake.”

Sorey considered the notion. “So it's ice cream, but you formed it into a cake shape?” He poked at the anamoly with his fork. Mikleo was a perfectionist in all things, including the precise position of the cherry in its frosting throne at center-top of the geometric slice, cut at exactly 1/6. “Isn't that sort of denying its true form?”

“Would you just eat it before it melts?” Mikleo still had an apron on. Sorey wondered if enough mana had settled into it, or if anyone who walked into the inn's kitchen might see a floating apron and nothing else. At least he wasn't holding the knife anymore.

Sorey forked a bit of the cake and lifted it into his mouth. He hummed happily at its cold sweetness as it melted on his tongue. “It's good,” he said, mouth still full.

Mikleo's severe grimace relaxed back into something resembling a smile. He leaned on the table. “Okay then, happy birthday.”

“You didn't have to make me a cake.”

“Of course. We're the same age again for another three months.”

Sorey laughed. “And that's exciting for you?”

“Just eat your cake before the others figure out that it's here.”

“Oh, but I can't finish it by myself. We should invite everyone.”

Mikleo removed the apron and tossed it aside. “All right, but finish yours first before you call them, especially Lailah. She doesn't look like it, but I think she can swallow a cake like this whole.”

Sorey continued eating. “Won't you have some?”

“I tasted it as I was cooking.”

“That's not good enough!” He grabbed Mikleo's arm and pulled him to his side of the table. Mikleo feigned a struggle, but let himself be dragged along. Sorey pulled him into his lap and made him sit. “Come on, eat your cake, Mikleo!” Sorey held the fork with a big chunk of cake on it up to his face.

Mikleo glared at it hovering there for a moment, and then begrudgingly opened his mouth. Sorey pushed the cake past his lips, and Mikleo ate it. It was a bit larger a piece than he could chew easily. His cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's.

“Good, huh?”

“I know,” Mikleo said, mouth muffled by cake. “I made it.”

Sorey brushed his hand into Mikleo's hair and ruffled it until his distinct swoosh was swooshing in the wrong direction. Mikleo groaned and attempted to get up.

“No, no, I'm sorry,” Sorey laughed, gently pulling Mikleo back to him. He wrapped his arms around his waist and laid his head against his chest. It was a comfort to find that Mikleo's heart was beating just a little faster than normal against his ear. “Thank you for all the great birthdays.”

Chapter Text

Sorey wondered what the rest of the group thought of them.

He'd noticed the others giving Mikleo and himself a wide head start whenever they reached a town. The other seraphim wouldn't jump back into his head right away, and Rose would hang back with them. He wondered if they assumed he and Mikleo were doing anything particularly intimate, and what they thought that might be if they did. Or if they simply wanted to let the boys geek out to themselves.

And usually, all they did was geek out. Sorey's idea of having a great time with Mikleo was finding something new and bouncing ideas off each other regarding its origins and purpose for hours on end. Since neither of them had ever been to any of these towns, there was plenty to take in, plenty to talk about, just the two of them.

But Mikleo wasn't smiling or lost in thought when Sorey pointed out the big town bell, and asked him what metal he thought it was made of. He glared back at him, saying nothing.

“Okay, what's wrong?” Sorey sighed. “The only time you don't say anything is when you're mad.” Really mad. Not just annoyed.

“I'm not mad.”

“Uh yeah, whatever.”

Mikleo huffed and put his hands on his hips, shifting his weight in a way that was a little more dramatic than it needed to be. Sorey almost laughed, but figured that would make things worse.

“You need to tell Sergei that you and Rose aren't really married.” He turned his head back to Sorey, violet eyes glaring at him. “He trusts us now, so there's no need to keep up the charade.”

Sorey looked over his shoulder to see how far back the others were. Pretty far. Far enough to lose them. Not to make them worry, or anything. The seraphim could return to him whenever they chose, and it wasn't like Rose would have any trouble finding him if she had a reason to. Having an assassin for a Squire was pretty cool in a lot of ways.

He grabbed Mikleo by the arm and pulled him around a stone wall. Behind it was a garden full of hedges blooming with white flowers. He led him under the bow of a tree with willowy branches. He had never seen anything like it, and became momentarily distracted from his original purpose by the patterns cast by sunlight filtering in through the leafy curtains that hid them from the rest of the world.

“What the hell, Sorey?”

Sorey grinned. “Are you jealous of my fake marriage?”

He kissed Mikleo before giving him a chance to answer. Usually all they did was geek out, but there were some times...

“No, I'm not jealous!” Mikleo pushed away from him, but not very hard. If he wanted to be away from him he could easily take a step, or disappear into his vessel.

“Don't worry,” Sorey said, pulling him back. Mikleo allowed it, although he gave Sorey a scowl that could curdle milk. Sorey couldn't stop grinning at how much angrier he was about to make him. “The shepherd can probably have as many wives as he wants. You know, like the kings of old?”

“Seriously?” He began to pound on Sorey's shoulders.

“Well yeah, unless you'd rather be my concubine. Shepherds can have those, too, I bet.”

“I don't want either of those titles, you ass!” This time his hit was a solid fist to Sorey's shoulder.

“Ouch.” Sorey released Mikleo from his arms to rub the spot he'd struck. “You ever thought about switching to hand-to-hand? That's a mean punch.”

Mikleo turned as if he was about to leave, then rotated back on his heels, with a sly smile. He placed his hand on Sorey's shoulder, right where he'd punched him. Sorey was pretty sure a bruise was forming, but he didn't care. “Do I need to remind you who you belong to?”

“Oh,” Sorey laughed darkly. He leaned in to croon against Mikleo's ear, “Be gentle with me, Lord Mikleo.”

Mikleo's attempt to be cool in the situation fell apart and he blushed hot red from ear to ear. “God damn it, Sorey.”

Sorey kissed him again, on his forehead this time. Then he touched his face, pushed his bangs up with his fingers so that he could see all of Mikleo's face. “No, those titles don't suit you. Yours is much more impressive than that. My one and only, Mikleo.”

Chapter Text

The sun set over the battlefield just as things were heating up. To be honest, the humans didn't need any help painting the place red. It was their nature to hate and suffer and die.

If you needed any proof of that, you could have just looked at the blood-stewed sack of meat that used to be Rolance's most chivalrous knight. Stabbed in the back by men in his own colors, and they weren't even hellions yet. Every time Symonne set to a task, the stupid humans would do her job for her before she'd even gotten underway.

Not that seraphim were any different. This seraph Master Heldalf had captured for the task was already brewing in malevolence. She kicked him and he fell to the ground. “You think you can just run off with your love and pretend the world doesn't exist?” She laughed. “That's the surest way to hellionize. In fifty years or less, you'd both be dragons anyway. So, this is hardly a murder as much as it is a mercy killing.”

“You haven't killed me yet.” He huffed a strained breath and coughed. “Your oath prohibits as much, doesn't it?”

“You're lucky this Shepherd isn't a slouch.” Symonne could already see the black and red miasma thickening around them. “He'll probably be able to kill you. I'd hope so, if I were you. If not, you'll be stuck like this for an age of the world.”

- - -

Symonne watched from a safe distance as the Shepherd and his friends so valiantly fought the Tiamat. No one came to cheer them on, not even that annoying princess. Maybe Maltran had gotten the job done anyway, even if she had eaten the big one in the process. Symonne thought it would be easy to just kill Sorey under these conditions, while he was trail worn and ragged, drowning in the hate his fellow humans perpetuated. But she did not question her master's intentions.

Finally the dragon was slain. The shepherd's own hands killed this one.

She considered taking stroll down there and informing Sorey of his knight friends' demise. He'd find out soon enough on his own, but it would be nice to see the look on his face and hear his pathetic crying. To see that fussy water seraph try to help him in vain, or to see that annoying Prime Lord racked with guilt and self-loathing. But again, the stupid humans did her job for her before she had the chance.

The clashing and screaming of battle rose again in the wake of the dragon's defeat. Cries of “monster” and “demon” rose up from the valley, along with even darker clouds of malevolence, and she knew her job was done.

The people ran in fear from their shepherd, and that was all that was needed to defeat him.

- - -

Mikleo watched the remaining humans fleeing the battlefield. “At least they stopped fighting.”

“They'll be back tomorrow.” Sorey spoke in a low, tired voice. “Back at it again, fighting. Like they don't even need a reason anymore.”

“Sorey,” Lailah began, but she couldn't complete the thought. Mikleo watched her waffling. His own fists were clenched.

“It's because of Heldalf,” he said. “The humans wouldn't be at each other's throats like this without Heldalf and Symonne messing with their minds. Once we handle Heldalf--”

Sorey stood, back to his friends, looking over the ridge into the valley littered with bodies. “The dragon only emerged because they were already fighting. That dragon used to be a seraph just like you, Mikleo. Just a seraph who had loved ones like you. How many times will we have to stop them? How many people have to die?”

Mikleo walked up to the ridge, closing the distance between him and Sorey. He clapped a hand onto Sorey's shoulder and pulled, hard. He made Sorey turn and face them. “We are all still here with you, Sorey.”

Lailah nodded. “Yes. We're right here with you, Sorey. Don't lose hope when we're so close to the end.”

“The end?” Sorey said it like he wasn't sure there was one.

Rose yawned. “Hey, don't downplay the whole part where we killed a friggin' dragon!”

“We're pretty awesome,” Zavied chuckled.

Edna turned and made a “hmf” sound.

“I think we're ready to take on Heldalf for sure, now,” Rose said. “So don't give up now.”

Lailah kept smiling, but Mikleo noticed how forced it was. “Aren't you and Rose tired from your ordeal?” she asked. “You must be exhausted.”

“I know I am,” Rose added.

Mikleo studied Sorey carefully, his face in profile. He did look tired, but not the way that Rose did. Mikleo had only seen this expression before once, when Dezel died. He wanted to ask if he was all right, but something about that look on his face chilled him to the core.

“I think I should take a walk,” Sorey said. “Just a little walk.”

- - -

The Bicroft Ridge was a terrible place for Sorey to be walking alone. Every last drop of Mikleo's being was telling him it was a bad idea, that he needed to run to Sorey and be by his side right that moment. Cover his eyes, carry him back to a warm bad, cook him a meal, and let him know that there was still something good in the world. But, he knew better. Sorey had to come to his own conclusions. Ignoring the brutal reality of this situation would only breed even more malevolence.

It was draining him, too. All of them. Rose was so exhausted from the battle, she had fallen asleep on Zavied's lap. Zavied didn't even say anything lewd about it, which was enough to show how much of a toll this was taking on him. Edna seemed shaken by the whole event. Killing a dragon probably made her think of Eizen. Would ignoring that inevitability corrupt her heart as well, given time? Then there was Lailah. Walking back and forth across the ridge with her hands folded together.

Mikleo found himself feeling exactly the same things that Sorey was feeling. It was true that Symonne and Maltran had done their parts in arranging the war, but there were hundreds—thousands of humans who willingly took up arms against each other before the malevolence even touched their hearts. And even more behind the front lines, cursing people they've never so much as met, just for existing. It made Mikleo sick to think about. He longed for Elysia and his carefree life with Sorey.

But Sorey was human, and so were Alisha, Sergei, and Rose, and all of them were good and honest people with pure hearts and like Sorey. They were worth protecting. They were worth fighting for. Mikleo knew that. He had to keep showing that to Sorey.

Chapter Text

“How could you break the pact?”

Mikleo grit his teeth and stood arms and legs apart, back arched and fists clenched. Swirling black and purple clouds consumed the sunset skies above as the new malevolent domain cast by Sorey's fallen spirit began to eat up the rolling hills and cliffs. The ocean reflected the turbulent color and crashed against the rocks beneath them.

Lailah's eyes were wet with tears and her elegant posture was gone, shoulders wracked with grief. Mikleo knew that she was suffering, but right now, he didn't care. Edna turned away from the rest with her umbrella hiding her face. Rose hung her head and gripped the handles of her blades tightly even though they were no longer under attack.

“We can't just abandon Sorey!”

Zaveid was the only one strong or angry enough to look him in the face. “We're not abandoning him.” Mikleo saw the muscles in his arms tighten, and expected to be punched or slapped or picked up and carried away against his will. But Zaveid only clenched his fist until it was shaking. “If we stick around Sorey with all that malevolence, we'll change before we can help him at all.”

Mikleo took a deep breath and let his arms hang by his sides. “I see.”

Lailah finally made eye contact and took a step forward, holding her arms out as if wanting to embrace him, but she was too ashamed to do it. “Mikleo, we all want to save Sorey.”

Mikleo turned his back to them. “And, I know you will.”

Lailah's eyes widened. “We will? Not you? You don't mean to,” she stopped short as Edna returned to the group, stepping past her.

Edna collapsed her umbrella and looked up at Mikleo. “Of course he's going back.”

“I know that you feel this loss greater than any of us,” Lailah said. “But you mustn't go back to Sorey. You'll be tainted with malevolence. Water is particularly delicate. What's more, if anything were to happen to you, Sorey will only get worse. He cares for you so deeply. To lose you, and what's more, to lose you to his own malevolence, would push him past our ability to ever save him.”

“Water is delicate, but ice is resilient. That's what you said. So, I won't be water any longer. I'll become like ice.”

Lailah opened her mouth to speak again, but couldn't force words.

“Sorey needs someone to stay by him. I trust you all with both our lives. Please trust me.”

- - -

Sorey sat on the stone floor, leaning his head against a wall painted with a mural of the Glenwood continent, illuminated by the pale light seeping in through the ceiling above. What once was a warm sunbeam was now tainted by the color of his domain.

He and Mikleo had discovered the mural years ago, and were still having arguments to the day over its origin and significance. Sorey had wanted to believe in the grandeur of their findings, in the possibilities they presented, while Mikleo was the doubter, always saying that simple explanations were usually true. But here he sat alone, and he was beginning to agree. The world wasn't as special as it had once seemed.

He'd chosen the Mabinogio ruins as his place to rest due to its distant proximity from all human civilization. There wasn't much he could do for the plants and animals to prevent them from being infested with his malevolence, but at least he could keep the damage to a minimum.

There were also the fond memories he had here. Everything reminded him of Mikleo and their happy childhood before everything had gotten crazy. Of finding Alicia and meeting another human for the first time. Holding onto these moments he hoped would slow the progress of his manifestation.

A sudden awareness jolted him out of his half-sleeping thoughts, and he lifted his head. Despite all of his effort to remove himself from the world, some idiot was wandering into his domain. Each step the intruder took reverberated in his being like a heartbeat. They navigated the ruins with ease, penetrating the depth of it without being lost in the maze. Sorey covered his face and groaned. There was only one person it could be.

- - -

Sorey followed the pulse he felt and met Mikleo face to face on the external platform that wound about in broken pieces on the outside of the ruins. The wind screamed through the weary cracks in the architecture. Behind them the sun had set, leaving the sky black and starless.

“Cool domain, huh? I didn't really mean to do it, it just sort of happened. Anyway, I'm surprised you can even stand in it without your pact with Lailah.”

The antagonistic tone must have come as a surprise to him. Mikleo shuddered so hard that Sorey could see it from where he stood. He made a transparent effort to steady himself as he held his staff in front of him. “Don't kid yourself,” he said. “Your domain isn't anywhere near as bad as some of the others we've been in.”

“So why didn't you reform the pact with Rose or something? Or, you know, just wait around for a while? I'm sure another shepherd will show up.”

Mikleo lowered his staff. “I'm not the only water seraph in the world either, you know. The others will be fine without me, but I don't think you will be.”

“Now who's kidding themselves?”

Mikleo's face scrunched into a frown at that. Sorey had to smile. Mikleo saw it, and his own expression softened.

“Sorey. I won't let you go through this alone.”

Sorey closed the space between them with a few heavy steps. He put his hands on Mikleo's shoulders, felt him flinch at his touch. He shook him. “I don't want you here. Go away.”

“No.”

Sorey wanted to push him away, far way, but instead pulled him close. He wrapped his arms around Mikleo's slender shoulders and held him, staff and all, to his chest. Mikleo buried his face against him and Sorey rest his chin on his head. The howling winds died to a soft groan.

“I thought you'd say that.”

“You ass.”

Sorey stroked the back of his head, threaded his fingers through his cool, silky hair.

“If you stay here with me, you have to promise me a few things. A seraph needs to take an oath to gain power, right? You'll need all the strength you can get to withstand being around me.”

Mikleo spoke muffled by Sorey's cloak. “What kind of oath?”

“First, you won't let me do anything horrible. No matter how bad things get, or how much I change. Don't let me kill innocent people.”

“Okay. Shouldn't be too hard. Keeping you in line has always been my job.”

“Second, if my malevolence is too great for Rose and the others to cure, I want you to kill me. Don't waffle over it like I've done. Just get it over with before I hurt anyone.”

“Sorey...”

“Shut up, okay? You know you have to do it. And you know I wouldn't want it to be anyone else.”

“I'll agree... but I won't let it come to that.”

“All right, then. Just one more thing. Whatever happens, don't be bitter. Don't let yourself become a hellion over me, even if I'm lost. The malevolence you'll be exposed to through me is great enough without piling your own in with it.”

“Understood. It'll be my oath.”

Sorey pulled him away just far enough that he could look into his face. Mikleo tried to smile, though it was a poor attempt. Sorey did a better job smiling back. “So what do we do now?”

“I'll become your prime lord.”

“Huh? Can you do that?”

Mikleo removed himself from Sorey's embrace completely, folded his arms, and looked at him, smug. “I watched Lailah do it. I don't see why not.”

Sorey laughed. He hadn't laughed in weeks. “Well, if it's that easy, sure.”

- - -

Mikleo said the words, and embraced the union between himself and his shepherd once again. But the space in Sorey's soul that once felt refreshing and bright, now had a sickly heat to it. He could feel despair and resentment growing like poison vines around his heart, suffocating them both now that they were mutually linked.

He appeared to Sorey, now inside the ruins again and sheltered from the wind and lightning. Sorey sat against the mural they'd discovered years ago, legs sprawled out.

Sorey looked at him up and down. “Your clothes.”

Mikleo looked for himself and found his gold and ocean blue tunic was now a stark, empty white. “I suppose it's an effect of bonding with a tainted shepherd. The items I've infused with mana, like my clothes and staff, have also changed.”

“Eh. White looks good on you.”

Mikleo crossed his arms and grimaced. “How can you make jokes with this overbearing sense of malaise eating you up inside?”

“Can't hide it from you now, huh?” Sorey leaned his head back against the mural and sighed. “I don't know how the bad guys get anything done with this depressing feeling weighing them down all the time.”

Mikleo knelt in front of him, between his sprawled legs. He pressed their foreheads together. “I still love you,” he said, petting his cheeks with both hands. “None of this is your fault.”

Sorey sucked in a breath and held it to keep tears from coming out. He threw his arms around Mikleo's neck and held him tightly, squeezing him against his chest for all he was worth, like he might disappear if he let go at all. He sobbed into his shoulder, chest heaving against him until he was exhausted.

Mikleo held him, petting him, kissing the top of his head, until sleep finally came. The first sleep he'd had in days.

Chapter Text

Sorey felt himself falling before he realized he had tripped. His face planted into the stone covered in dust, filling his mouth with grit. The ruins had given him plenty of bad falls in his life without tripping over his own feet, he thought.

“You're getting weaker,” Mikleo said from a few steps behind. His expressions had grown so muted lately, it was difficult to tell if he as joking. He stood there looking down at Sorey as he rolled over in the dirt without offering a hand to help.

“I'm fine.”

“It's because you haven't eaten.”

Sorey rubbed the back of his head. It was pounding. Maybe he really was hungry, or maybe Mikleo was just having that effect on him. “Well yeah I didn't have anything today, but I ate plenty last night.”

“That isn't the kind of nourishment you require. It might be irony, but remember that all the hellions we've met who managed to remain at least vaguely human were the ones who had no qualms about killing, or consuming another's flesh. If you keep denying your nature, you'll transform even quicker.”

Sorey sat there on the floor of one of the ruins' many silent chambers and crossed his legs, content to rest for a moment. “I'm not so far gone as to take an innocent life.”

“Then take a not-so innocent one.”

It was the ease at which he delivered the line that startled Sorey more than its content. They were certainly into grey morals now, but still. “Would you condone a thing like that?”

Mikleo's expression lit up his face again where it had been vacant for so long. “If it comes between you and some worthless murdering scumbag, I'll feed him to you myself.”

Sorey forced himself to stand, and felt dizzy as he did. “I won't let you infect yourself with malevolence any more than being near me has already done.” He tried to stand up straight, but his vision was swimming with floating sparkles. It wasn't the first time he'd felt this way, and it certainly wasn't the first time Mikleo had noticed. If he could just rest for a moment, it would go away.

Mikleo took on a familiar posture with his fingers pressed to his lips, looking intently at an empty space in front of himself in thought. “True,” he said. “If you eat up some human garbage, you'll just absorb their malevolence. That'll only speed both our transformations.”

Sorey was too tired to process what he was hearing Mikleo say.

“What you need is the pure flesh of a Seraph.”

It was too much. Sorey grabbed Mikleo's shoulders, both to steady himself and to make sure that Mikle was looking at him. “I can't do that. You won't let me do that. Will you? No. You promised. You made an oath--”

“Calm down.” Mikleo brushed Sorey's hands away from his shoulders. “I'll hold to my promise. That said, I don't see why you can't have a taste. Let me borrow your sword for a moment.”

Sorey fell to his knees again. “Are you offering yourself? No. No, I can't do that. Not you. I'd rather die this way.”

Mikleo shifted his weight and put a hand on one hip as Sorey knelt in front of him, wringing his hands as if in prayer. “Don't be so dramatic,” he said. Then he sighed and wrested Sorey's sword from his side. Sorey was still too light headed to put up much of a fight.

He watched, defeated, as Mikleo traced the crease of his palm with the edge of the sword. A thin hairline of red blood seeped out from his fair skin, then more, until it was dripping from him in thick sticky beads. Sorey could smell it in the air and he knew Mikleo was right. He needed it.

He took Mikleo's hand, carefully as he could, resisting the urge welling up inside to bite into his soft skin. He looked up at Mikleo, kneeling, holding his hand like a proposal. Mikleo nodded.

Sorey pressed his lips against the wound just to taste it first. He expected the sharp metallic taste of blood to fill up his senses, but it was not bitter. Mikleo's flesh tasted neither sweet nor savory but of some new sensation that was both alien and nostalgic at once, and he wanted more of it. He flattened his tounge against the slice in Mikleo's skin and let it drip into his mouth. He lapped it to keep even single drop from falling to the ground.

Mikleo winced.

Sorey stopped at once, kissing instead where he had so gluttonously tasted his blood. “That's enough,” he said. “Thank you, Mikleo.”

He buried his face against Mikleo's stomach, wrapped his arms around him, and held him tight. He was still so warm despite everything. He felt Mikleo's hand press gently against his head. Then fingers wove through his hair.

“You don't need to thank me.”

Chapter Text

Mikleo pushed Sorey's upper lip up with his thumb and examined his canines. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “Those are fangs, all right.”

Sorey pulled away, licking his gums and feeling at them with his fingers. “I thought if I got enough pure flesh in my system on the regular, I wouldn't start changing so fast.”

Mikleo folded his arms and shifted his weight onto one leg. He watched Sorey fussing over his new dental accoutrements and smiled crept across his face. “It's probably due to your taste for my blood,” he said. “Your form is shifting to reflect it. I suppose it could be worse.”

Sorey thought about it for a moment, then a dumb grin came over him. “Yeah, I mean, what if it reflected my other tastes? Would I start growing dicks out of my head like horns or something?”

“Sorey!” Mikleo's voice was loud and his face had turned red, but the sound of Sorey's boisterous laughter eased his spirit and he let the crude joke go. How long had it been since he last heard that laugh?

Sorey took Mikleo's hands. “Hm, do you think it'll make it easier?” He said. “I hate seeing you cut yourself.”

Mikleo closed his eyes. “You can try it, if you wish.”

Sorey watched him lift his chin and expose the soft pale flesh of his neck. He hadn't told Mikleo everything yet. He would, soon. Just not yet. There had been other changes. Not just in his teeth, but in his senses. He could feel where the warmest, freshest blood flowed through him. He could smell it just under the skin. He could swear he felt Mikleo's heart beating without even touching him.

He placed his hand gently under Mikleo's chin, and unbuttoned the collar of his jacket. His skin was pale and white as cream except for on his cheeks and his nose and the center of his chest, which were dusted rosey pink, brighter every second. With a thumb pressed against the side of his neck, he could feel the pulsating blood of life flowing through Mikleo's body.

Sorey pressed his lips against that spot and kissed it tenderly. Mikleo sighed. His body relaxed in Sorey's arms. Sorey held him, supporting his weight in case he should get light-headed and fall.

His new teeth brushed against the skin, soft and fragrant as the flesh of a ripe peach. He pressed into it, listening carefully for any painful utterances from Mikleo. He pressed until the skin was broken and the sharp taste of blood flooded his senses.

“Why does it...” Mikleo mumbled half his thought, vibrations of his voice reverberating through Sorey's face. “Why doesn't it hurt?”

Sorey removed his bite. “It doesn't hurt?”

“No, it feels,” Mikleo covered his mouth with his hand. “That feels so strangely good.”

“I don't know,” Sorey said, smiling. “I'm just glad it doesn't hurt you anymore.”

“You've barely had any.” Mikleo pulled at his collar. “Don't you want some more?”

Sorey didn't need to be invited again. He tightened his arm around Mikleo's waist and bit into the soft parts of his neck, sealing his lips around the puncture so as not to allow even a bead of that precious blood to escape.

Mikleo's body slacked and his eyes went half-lidded. He let out a pleasured sigh that sounded so sweet in Sorey's ears.

Sorey knew that Mikleo wouldn't tell him to stop, that it was up to him to stop when he'd had just enough, but he wanted more. He took just a little more as long as Mikleo was enjoying it. But that was all, he had to stop. He pulled away, licking the wound as it still bled, then with all his willpower, he blotted the punctures with the tail of his cloak.

Mikleo opened his eyes again and leaned onto Sorey's shoulder. He sighed dreamily, a sound Sorey had only heard after a particularly good orgasm. "You okay?" Sorey laughed. "I didn't think it would feel that good for you."

"Mm, yeah, well," Mikleo said. “You might like having extra dicks on your head.”

Chapter Text

It was getting dark outside as Sorey returned home from the laundromat on the corner with a basket of both his and Mikleo’s now clean clothes in his arms.  

It was normally Mikleo who did the laundry.  Not that Sorey didn’t want to help, Mikleo just got to certain chores a lot faster than Sorey would, so it became a habit.  But Mikleo had to pull a double shift the night before and today had gone back to work still thoroughly exhausted.  Sorey thought that if he could get the whole apartment sparkling clean by the end of the day, it would make Mikleo so happy he’d be able to finally relax and get some much needed rest.

He craned his head to look at his watch (the one Mikleo had given him for his birthday a few months ago) without dropping the basket.  He only had about twenty minutes left!  He hefted the basket up to give his legs more range of movement, and quickened his pace.

* * *

The clothes were folded quickly.  Sorey tossed his own into the dresser in his room without ceremony.  The chest of drawers in Mikleo’s room was carefully organized however, and he took his time to figure out which drawer was for shirts, bottoms, pajamas, socks, and underwear.

He folded the underwear the same way the rest of Mikleo’s was, even though to him it seemed like a needlessly neat thing to do.  He knew that the precise order of things around him gave Mikleo some kind of peace during these stressful times, so folded underwear he shall have ! he chuckled while thinking to himself.   

His fingers slid across something unexpected in the drawer as he smoothed out the folded items.  Something soft and silky.  He wondered if Mikleo was hiding some embarrassing gift from his mom from him again, and got a big grin on his face.  But when he pulled it out, it was definitely not a gift from Muse.

A pair of ladies’ panties.  Its fabric was black and sheer with a lace pattern woven into it. Sorey knew a few things about things like brocade and venetian textiles because of his interest in history, but he had never held and touched this kind of fabric.  It was the sort of thing he’d seen out of the corner of his eye while walking through department stores without giving any thought to.  

But now he was holding it, and his inquisitive mind went about trying to resolve its shape, more negative space than fabric, and the ribbon that dangled from it.  It failed to remind him that Mikleo was going to be home any minute.  

“Sorey, you left the door cracked, is everything--” Mikleo entered his room and Sorey looked up, freezing like a deer startled by its impending doom, panties in hand.  Mikleo looked back at him with similar shock and horror.   “What are you doing in my underwear drawer?”

“I was j-just!”  Sorey didn’t notice he was pulling at the panties nervously.  “I thought I’d do your laundry for you!”

Mikleo groaned and took three big steps across the room to snatch the undergarment away from Sorey.  “That’s none of your business!”

Then Sorey’s curious brain finally made its way around the dark corner it was stuck in and into the obvious clearing.  “Do you wear those?”

Mikleo threw the panties back into the drawer and covered them with his more mundane boxers and briefs.  “No!” he spat.  He was angry and his face was red.  “They’re not mine.”

That didn’t track at all.  It wasn’t like Mikleo had an ex girlfriend they could have belonged to.  “They have to belong to somebody .”

Mikleo forced himself to calm down with a deep exhale.  “I mean I bought them, but they aren’t for me.  They’re not even my size.  So don’t get any funny ideas in your head.”

Too late.  Sorey had never appreciated lingerie before.  He always found the concept strange since naked was the best thing ever, right?  Why would you put fancy underwear on just to get it taken off?  But now that he was thinking about it, Mikleo’s pale skin would look really beautiful against that dark black lace.  And the fabric had been so soft, he had to imagine what it would be like to touch Mikleo through that barely-there fabric.

“Sorey.”

Sorey snapped back to attention at the sound of his name.  He wondered if he needed to wipe drool away from his mouth.  “S-sorry!”    

“Like I said, it’s not any of your business.”

“But...”  Sorey knew he was already in trouble, so why not dig in.  “If you didn’t get them for you to wear, then what are they for?”  His imagination was really running wild now.  “Do you, um…”  He noticed he was frantically scratching at a spot on his cheek and made himself stop.  “Do you think about women sometimes?  I’ve always kinda wondered…  It’s okay if you do.  You can tell me about stuff like that.”

Mikleo popped the drawer shut.  “No, of course that’s not it, idiot .”  He stood over the chest of drawers at an angle that hid his face.  “I don’t think about anyone but you.”

Sorey felt himself washed over with joy at hearing something so sweet--his boyfriend only ever had thoughts for him, and only him--but at the same time, the ongoing confusion that was only getting worse.

Mikleo put his fingers against his brow as if this was all giving him a headache.  That hadn’t been the intention.  It was supposed to be a relaxing evening for Mikleo.  “It’s for you, okay?  I was thinking about asking you to wear them, but I hadn’t decided yet if I’d really do it.”

Sorey repeated that back to himself in his head, but the words didn’t make sense.  “For me to wear them.”

Mikleo sighed.  “Yes.”

“ Ohh… ” Sorey smiled and laughed.  “Well of course I’ll wear them for you!”  He opened the drawer again and Mikleo didn’t stop him.  He stood there looking mortified, which also didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but he’d soon put a smile on his face.  “Come on, I’ll put them on right now.”

“You’re sure?”  Mikleo blinked wide open eyes at him.  “I didn’t think you’d be so eager…”

“Why not?”  Sorey grabbed the panties from the drawer.  “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Mikleo watched him, his face reddening and stunned into silence.

Sorey took the panties back to his room.  Since they started going out, the distinction between “my room” and “his room” had grown progressively more ambiguous.  They usually slept in the same bed, and their possessions had found their way into each other’s spaces.  Mikleo’s laptop was sitting on top of his dresser.  Sorey’s video games were hooked up to the old tv in Mikleo’s room.  It was understood that they both had access to either room at any time.  But he could still close his own door for the sake of a surprise.

He stripped down and then looked at the panties.  They were an XXL size, which in women’s he guessed were just about right for him, who wore a men’s L.  Figuring out which holes his feet were supposed to go through and which one was the waistline was difficult too, and once he managed that he realized he still had it on backwards.  The part with the ribbon was supposed to tie in the back, to close the waist and leave a tear-shaped cut out that, he realized with some embarrassment, framed the cleft of his butt cheeks.

“It’s to make Mikleo laugh,” he reminded himself.  And then maybe once the joke item was removed, Mikleo would feel more like taking his own clothes off.  Then they’d both have some fun.

He strode out into the hall, face blushing but trying to keep up his confidence, and hopped back into Mikleo’s room wearing the panties, and making a poorly balanced karate pose.

Mikleo didn’t laugh.  He sat at the end of his bed and stared at Sorey speechlessly, with his eyes wide and face flushed.

Sorey began to feel self-conscious so he took Mikleo by the hands and pulled him up into a silly dance, which consisted mostly of pumping his arms in the air and shaking his knees.  

Mikleo finally smiled and laughed, but softly.  He looked at Sorey with tenderness that made his eyes sparkle.  “Stop dancing and let me look at you.”

“Huh?”  Sorey got lost in Mikleo’s gaze.  “I can take it off now if you don’t think it’s very funny.”

Mikleo blinked back at him.  “Funny?”

“Y-yeah, I wanted you to have a good laugh and feel better.”

“I don’t think it’s funny .”  Mikleo looked down and took on that precious coyness that Sorey had only seen in rare, intimate moments, holding his hand tight to his chest.  “I think you look beautiful in it.”

“Me?”  The who really wasn’t the confusing part, but it was the only word Sorey could articulate.

“Yes, you .”  Mikleo placed his hand against Sorey’s chest.  “Who else?”

Sorey let an awkward laugh trickle out of him.  He figured he was okay looking and pretty strong, but not beautiful .  Mikleo was the beautiful one.  The way he looked at him then could stop Sorey’s heart.  His big, shiny eyes were blown and half lidded, looking up at him with a longing need that Sorey wasn’t used to being the recipient of.  His lips had darkened to rich pink.  His perfect skin was flushed.  Sorey could die.    

Mikleo placed both hands on Sorey and leaned against him, asking for Sorey to hold him the way Sorey knew he liked to be held.  “I guess I don’t say stuff like that enough,” Mikleo said, softly against him.  Then he pushed away and grinned up at Sorey with a mischievous smirk.  “I want to see the back.”

“Ah, well!”  Sorey backed away.  “There’s nothing of interest back there, you really don’t need to--”

Mikleo’s mischief left his face and was replaced by sudden concern.  “Does it make you uncomfortable?  I’m sorry, you don’t have to.”

“No, no, I’m not uncomfortable , i just--” he looked back to Mikleo, who was still giving him that wanting gaze, but restrained with patience.  Mikleo could never make him feel uncomfortable or unsafe.  Maybe vulnerable was closer to how he felt.  He was used to looking at Mikleo, adoring Mikleo, and telling Mikleo how beautiful he was.  The magic effect of the panties was in transforming Sorey into the recipient of that admiration.  And it was not bad.  The look Mikleo gave him was intoxicating.  “Do you really think I look good?”

Mikleo nodded meekly in the affirmative.  Maybe he was a little shaken by the reversal as well.  “Better than usual.”  Soret grinned.  It sounded more like Mikleo if he wasn’t giving him a direct compliment.

“There’s a bow on the back,” Sorey said, closing the distance between them again.  

Mikleo tried to look smug, but he was too flustered to really pull it off.  “That’s why I picked it out.”

Sorey pulled Mikleo back to him and kissed his forehead, his nose, and then his lips.  “What if I lay on the bed?  Would you like that?”

Mikleo smiled.  “I would.”

Chapter Text

“Do you ever want to touch someone?”

The question came out of the comfortable silence that they often shared. They sat on a grassy hill looking at the sky overhead. Sorey turned his head to his side to look at Mikleo, whose silver hair was being toyed at by the wind.

“Where did that come from?”

Mikleo shifted his weight forward and lifted his hands to stare at them, seeming genuinely puzzled. “I’m just trying to study the differences between humans and seraphim.”

“Well, we both have hands, for one.”

Mikleo did his typical shuffle of embarrassment and looked away. “I know that.”

Sorey chuckled and smiled. He considered the original question. To touch someone? “Nah, I don’t think about that kind of stuff.” He shrugged and looked up again at the sky. “I know you don’t like to be touched.”

Mikleo’s lips pursed at that. He folded his arms across his chest. “Who says I don’t?”

He had to laugh at Mikleo’s face turning red. “Every time I touch you, you get so annoyed.”

When Mikleo got worked up about something, his voice became higher and sharp. “That’s because you’re always trying to swing me across some trench without any warning, or tickling me!” He spat words out with an energy that only made Sorey laugh more.

“You tickle me back, though.”

“But you’re the one who starts it!” He scooted back across the grass at the sight of Sorey’s hands moving. “You’re doing it right now, Sorey! Don’t even think about it!”

“Aw, okay.” He sighed and let his hands fall back to his sides. “You don’t like it, and that’s okay.” Mikleo could be so contrary sometimes, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I don’t think it has much to do with humans or seraphim.”

Mikleo settled back into his space beside Sorey. They sat silently, but that sense of comfort and ease that Sorey was so was used to didn’t return. Mikleo was still looking at his hands, sometimes flexing them, sometimes rubbing the fingers together in thought.

Sorey leaned his head back. “Do you want me to touch you?”

Mikleo stiffened like a scared animal. His eyes were wide and his face was the reddest it had ever been. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a sputtering sound came out. Sorey wondered what was going through his head.

Mikleo’s hand was resting on the grass. Sorey took his weight off his arms, and placed one of his hands over it. Mikleo’s skin was always soft and cool, even under the bright sun. He had a small palm and long fingers, pale against the deep green grass. Even his fingers seemed to blush when he got like this, a little pink on the knuckles.

“Ah.” Mikleo relaxed. The red color faded away. His eyes returned to their usual violet calm. He didn’t move his hand.

“Is that okay?”

Mikleo smiled a coy little smile, and leaned into Sorey until his shoulder was just barely brushing him. “Yeah.”

Sorey curled his fingers around the spaces between Mikleo’s. He could feel his cheeks warming from how much he was smiling. It was an ideal day. Warm sun, cool breeze, and soft grass to sit on. The clouds were fluffy as ever. He could stay like that for hours.

Mikleo shook his head in faux dismay. “If only all humans could be satisfied with such simple pleasures.”

“We’re not that different.” Sorey bumped him with his shoulder. “You like it, too.”

He expected some sort of huffy retort, but Mikleo just inhaled a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said, and nothing more. Sorey felt his fingers squeeze his hand.

Sorey still didn’t completely understand, but the strange moment between them had passed. Mikleo was no longer fixated on anything, and the ease of familiarity between them returned.

Mikleo’s hair tickled his cheek. He felt his head drop onto his shoulder, and the soft breathing that followed, Mikleo’s chest against his arm. For a seraphim, he certainly did like to sleep.

Chapter Text

Sorey bounced his knee up and down. Mikleo held his hands tightly in his lap.

The little room was designed to look as comfortable as possible. The couch where they waited was soft and had embroidered throw pillows on it. There was a bookshelf full of children’s books, with little decorative plaques that read “love” and “family” set in the empty spaces between them. The fluorescent light panels overhead made it oddly clinical. Everything was clean, sanitary, organized, and unlived in. Children's toys were neatly collected in a bin in the corner. Sorey had never seen a kid’s room looking like that.

Their case agent was a warm-natured woman who had worn brightly colored sweaters and earrings with cats on them every time they’d met her in person. She was holding the hand of a little girl with strawberry blonde hair pulled into pigtails. Her bright green eyes scanned the room.

“Okay, here are our new friends. It’s time to introduce yourself, Kana.”

The girl made claws with her small hands and pawed at the air. “Roar!”

“Ah! Sorry.” The social worker smiled apologetically. “She’s having a make believe day.”

Kana screeched and lumbered around, avoiding eye contact.

Sorey leaned his elbows onto his knees, as if studying the creature. “Wow, Mikleo. I didn’t know they had dinosaurs here!”

“Uh--” Mikleo stammered until Sorey nudged him in the side with his elbow. “Yes, Sorey, it’s not every day you see a dinosaur in real life.”

Kana looked at them delighted, and wiggled her hips as if she was swishing her tail. “Rawr!” Her arms were tucked in and she flailed her hands.

“It’s a T-Rex!” Sorey put his hand across Mikleo protectively. “Hold still. T-Rexes have bad eyesight, so maybe if we stay really still and don’t make a sound, she won’t spot us.”

Mikleo followed Sorey’s lead and froze still. Kana sniffed around the room, pretending to try to find them. After less than a minute of that, she roared and latched her hands onto Sorey’s arm. “Rawr, I'm gonna eat you!”

“She’s got me, Mikleo! Run, you have to save yourself!”

“But Sorey, we’re supposed to meet a little girl today.”

“Oh no, I hope that Kana wasn’t eaten by the T-rex!”

Kana giggled. “I’m Kana!”

“W-what?” Sorey faked surprise. “Kana was the T-rex the whole time? This is crazy!”

Mikleo nodded. “Kana, your T-rex impression was so good, we couldn’t tell it was you.”

Kana seemed nervous now that she was no longer a T-rex, and hid behind the woman’s legs. Sorey felt his anxiety come back, too. Was she scared? “I’m Sorey,” he said, as gently as he could. “And this is Mikleo.”

“Mik Lee Ohh?”

Mikleo chuckled at the way she said his name. He didn’t speak, though. Sorey hadn’t seen him so shy in years. It reminded him of when they first met. The warm memory relaxed him enough to speak for both of them.

“Yes, that’s right,” Sorey said. “Mikleo has a very pretty name, right?”

Kana didn’t respond, but kept a coy smile on her face as she watched them from behind the more familiar person’s legs.

“Actually, we heard you like dinosaurs, so we brought you this. Hope you like it.”

Sorey reached into the bag on the floor next to him and pulled out a plush stegosaurus. Mikleo had picked it out online, and he had been very particular about getting the cutest and most well-crafted one.

Kana squealed and ran up to look at the toy. She seemed fascinated by it, but hesitant to take it from Sorey’s hands. “It’s for me?”

“Of course,” Sorey said. “It’s a present for you, Kana.”

Kana took the plush and hugged it to her chest, swaying back and forth happily.

“Kana,” the social worker said. “What should you say when someone gives you a present?”

“Thank you,” Kana said in a meek little voice. Then she turned and pulled on her pants leg. “I want to show my pictures!”

“Okay, that’s a good idea,” the social worker said. She sat down in one of the chairs opposite their couch and opened a file folder with several papers in it. She laid them down on the coffee table between them.

Kana immediately sifted through them to find a particular one. It was a rough drawing of a dinosaur with a long neck, and a tree topped with purple scribbles.

“This is a brontosaurus,” she said. “I drew it.”

“Wow,” Sorey said, making sure to sound really impressed. “You did? By yourself? That’s amazing, Kana!”

“It really is good,” Mikleo said, leaning over. “What is this brontosaurus eating?”

“Brontosauruses are herbivores,” Kana said, matter-of-factly, enunciating the word as if she were teaching a class on the matter. “They have long necks so they can eat leaves from the trees.” She pointed at the tree area of her drawing. “And no one knows what trees looked like back then, so I made a tree with purple leaves.”

“That’s really creative,” Mikleo said. "You're quite an artist."

Sorey held back to watch Mikleo start to talk. He knew that once Mikleo found his ground, he could talk for hours, even to a little girl. It just took the right spark.

“And there are more dinosaurs in the background, right?” Mikleo pointed to the smaller shapes speckled around the rough horizon line.

“Yeah!” Kana’s eyes sparkled and her voice got louder. “Miss Meyers said that it’s wrong because dinosaurs aren’t that small, but I tried to tell her it’s just because those ones are farther away.”

“Right,” Mikleo said. “Well I’m sorry that she didn’t understand. Do you know what it is called when things are smaller when they get farther away?”

“What?”

“It’s called perspective.”

“Perspective…” She muddled over that for just a few seconds, until it was old news. “This one is a stegosaurus!” She slapped another drawing over the first one. “And this one is a velociraptor. I gave him feathers like in the new dinosaur book.”

“You sure do know a lot about dinosaurs.”

In response to that, she went off on a ramble. “I love dinosaurs! I wish I could see a dinosaur. But they are really big and they can chomp you in one bite, and even if they only eat leaves they can just step on you by accident. So it would be scary to see a real dinosaur. But I still want to see one, because I really really love them.”

She paused abruptly, her eyes landing on Mikleo’s rubber bracelet. “I have a bracelet just like that. I have one, too. It’s exactly like that except it’s pink instead of blue. I don’t have it with me, but it’s just like that and I got it from the breast race.”

“Breast race?” Sorey mouthed.

Their case worker intervened. “Her class went to a breast cancer benefit to see the runners, and they got armbands.”

“Oh.” Sorey grinned. He was just so happy that it seemed the girl was really interested in Mikleo.

“It’s pink, and I don’t really like pink. I like purple. But I like my bracelet because it’s stretchy. I have another bracelet that glows in the dark. I can show you next time. Are you going to come again?”

“Yeah, we’ll definitely see you again soon.” Sorey got down on the floor and knelt by the table. “It's not time to go quite yet, though. We also brought some crayons and paper. I’m not really good at drawing, but I was thinking maybe you can give me some tips.”

“Okay.”

Mikleo seemed content to lean back and quietly watch them as Sorey asked Kana for her drawing tips. "It's better if you go slow," Kana said. "Most of the time, I don't get finished. Most times. Everybody else gets finished before me and Miss Meyers takes them up before I'm done, and I don't like it."

"I wouldn't like that either," Sorey said. "Right now, you can draw for as long as you want to, until it's just right."

Coloring only lasted for a few minutes though before her interest wanes, and then they were on to reading a book together. About dinosaurs, of course. “I’ll read it,” Kana said, proud of her reading skills. “I’m the best at reading in my class.”

Afterwards, Kana was showing signs of over stimulation and she was getting a little tired. So much as he hated it, Sorey said goodbye for the day. Kana pouted and whined as she was led away, cranky and ready to take a nap after all this excitement. Even the little tantrum at the end was something he wanted to know more about--about how she expressed herself and how, as a parent, he could constructively deal with it.

Sorey took Mikleo’s hand as they left through the room's other door. On the other side, they stopped.

“She’s so smart,” Mikleo said. “It’s a little scary.”

“Yeah.” Sorey looked to Mikleo, swallowing hard. “I’m scared.”

“Why?” Sorey figured he must have been about to cry at that point, because Mikleo lifted a hand and pressed it gently against his cheek. “I thought it went well.”

Sorey cupped his hand over Mikleo’s against his face, feeling how soft and cool it was. “I already love her. What happens if we can’t have her?”

“We’ll get through it together,” Mikleo said, and sighed. “Honestly Sorey, you’re not the one I expected to be making out worst case scenarios.”

“It’s not like me, I know.” He pulled Mikleo’s hand away from his face and then kissed it before letting it go. “You’re going to be the best dad.”

“Ha.” Mikleo shook his head in dismay. “You know, we’re going to have to start a college fund right away. She’s going to end up in an ivy league school or something.”

Sorey snorted a laugh. “Don't worry, she’ll get a full ride for sure.”

Mikleo put his arm around Sorey’s waist as they began to walk through down the hall. “In that case, we’ll just take the money buy a condo in Maui or something.”

He imagined himself and Mikleo in their retirement age, sipping drinks on the beach while their genius daughter was out there becoming the first person to walk on Mars, or curing cancer, or something. He already missed her.

They walked back out through the waiting room where other people could see them, but he gave Mikleo a quick kiss anyway. “That’s a deal.”