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Anaxa resisted the urge to curse out the man sleeping peacefully behind him as he looked into the full length mirror. Clad in only a pair of too-loose boxers that weren’t his, the entirety of his bare skin was on display. Dark bruises and bite marks adorned every inch of his skin, ringing around his throat and peppering their way all over his body.
He had a class to teach later today, and he did not want to show up looking like he had gotten mauled by a very pissed off animal.
He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. In, out. In, out. In…
A breath away from solidifying the facade of calm that he was trying to draw over himself like a veil, a pair of warm arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him into a body that was still heated from the sheets.
“Come back to bed,” Phainon said, tucking Anaxa’s head under his chin and nuzzling it sleepily. His eyes were barely half-open. “You don’t have a class until 10 am.”
Anaxa smacked his arm. Phainon, the careless fool, didn’t even flinch. “Phainon. Open your eyes. What on earth compelled you to leave so many marks on me when you know I’m teaching later today?”
“Oops?” Phainon said. “My bad.” It took him a few more seconds to blink awake and see the red and purple canvas of Anaxa’s skin. “Oh no. I am so sorry. I wasn’t thinking last night and—.”
He cut himself off. “I think I have some of Cyrene’s make-up here. I can probably use it to cover that up.” Phainon guided Anaxa to sit at the foot of the bed and walked over to his desk, digging around until he found the make-up container with a triumphant cry.
An expectant Anaxa was waiting for him. “Did I say anything about covering them up?” Anaxa grabbed Phainon’s hand and pulled him down. Even with his knees bent, Phainon was still almost his height. Life was truly unfair.
Frozen, Phainon could only watch as Anaxa removed the make-up from his hand and tossed it somewhere behind them. Then, he gasped as Anaxa leaned forward and bit his neck harshly. As if in apology, Anaxa suckled at the wound before licking it slightly. It had to be positioned just right, so that neither Phainon’s collar or his choker would cover the mark.
Phainon slapped a hand over his new hickey, face flushed a brilliant crimson. “I have to teach a class today too!”
Anaxa gave him a judgemental stare and settled back into bed. “Your first class isn’t until 9 am. Come back to bed,” he mocked before holding the sheets open in invitation.
Shaking his head slightly, Phainon huffed a laugh. “You’re impossible.” He crawled into bed and curled himself around Anaxa, settling into their shared warmth. His breath tickled Anaxa’s face as he whispered, “I love you so much.”
Anaxa blindly groped around for the nearest pillow and hit him in the face. “I love you too. Now go back to sleep.”
Helpless, all Phainon could do was obey. And later in the morning, if their students started gossiping over how two of their professors had matching bruises, well.
That was nobody’s business but their own.