Chapter Text
Lately, something has felt really off about Robin; According to what he's heard from other teachers, the demon hasn't been in the dorms for the most part whenever he had free time.
Obviously, it didn't bother Kalego that he was spending his time without him - that'd be ridiculous, he knows Robin isn't the kind of demon to go out of his way and cheat, especially when he was the one who constantly clung to him at every chance given - what did bother him is that he just never told him what he was doing outside that took so much of his time.
Again, Kalego isn't paranoid or anything, it just really comes off as strange since Robin always overdetailed every experience he had that Kalego wasn't nearby to see, hence the suspicion. He tried asking in several occasions, but be kept dodging his questions or just straight up avoiding him.
And he was offended.
It wasn't until February 12th that he finally came to a realization; His birthday was coming.
"So that's it…"
He mumbled as he flipped through work files; Of course, what else would it be? Especially since this would be the first birthday he'd have while in a relationship with Robin. Knowing the demon, he totally wanted to do something special for it… But just what exactly could he be doing that included so much time and effort?! Sure, he wouldn't mind if it were a couple of hours sometimes, but it was every day for his entire unoccupied periods!
Kalego hated to admit it, he really did…
He started to miss his presence.
Never in a million years would he ever think he'd come to feel that way. For the past couple of months, he'd grown used to Robin's constant company whether he wanted to or not - yet once he wasn't there as much anymore - he began to feel odd about it. Just great.
"Oi, newbie."
Taking the chance that they were at work, Kalego tried to approach Robin again;
"Heya, Kalego-sensei! What is it?"
"Don't play dumb."
"Huh?"
"…You've been avoiding me."
"Hm? I'm not trying to avoid you - I'm just busy!"
Putting both his hands behind his back, he leaned closer to Kalego with a smile;
"Kalego-sensei misses me, doesn't he?~"
"I don't. Never in a million years."
"Awwh, don't be shy! You wouldn't be asking those things if you didn't miss me!"
"Well I don't. I'm simply…. Curious."
"So you want to know what I'm up to?"
"Yes."
"…Because you care about me and wonder where I was?"
"…This conversation is heading nowhere. Goodbye."
The hound clicked his tongue, turning around with a spin on his heel and storming off with shame, biting on his tongue as he heard a faint giggle come from Robin regarding his reaction to such a simple question.
Yes, Kalego Naberius was too prideful to admit he wanted his boyfriend to keep him company, especially in public like this.
"Tch…"
When did he let himself have his actions so driven by his emotions? Never has he felt so personally attacked by a question this badly he chose to run away, so what made him even feel the need to run away? Besides, it's not like it's the first time Robin has made questions that provoked him - he could've just gripped his head and squished it - but this time, he just… Didn't.
Truly, his greatest enemy was the aggravating feeling that is love. It broke his character and had him behaving unusual, with no true logic other than his own gut and palpitations in his throat.
It ticked him off.
Although the next day, which was the 13th, seemed to differ from the rest as Robin would actually spend more of his time orbiting him - another subtle bother emerged to haunt Kalego;
Not only had Robin's scent minimally changed, but there were also smaller and superficial scratches scattered on the shorter demon's hands. To the average demon, the scent 'issue' wouldn't even matter compared to the latter, alas, for someone with a sensitive sense of smell like Kalego, this was a little bit of a deal.
How was he supposed to associate other scents around him with his partner and get comfort out of it when he suddenly changes his own?!
Ahem… But of course, he was mostly worried about the scratches.
"What the hell have you been doing?"
He lifted up Robin's wrist to have a closer look at his lightly injured hands, and he pouted in reaction.
"Nothing…"
"Don't lie to me."
"I can't tell you!"
"Why?"
"…Are you actually asking?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm doing something for your birthday, silly!"
"First of all, don't call me 'silly'; Second of all, I don't want you to do something that hurts you for me."
"These barely scratched! Kalego-sensei, are you really that worried?"
"…"
Looking both ways, Kalego clicked his tongue and tightened his grip around Robin's wrist. What was this feeling? Shame? That wasn't like him at all. Why was he so persistent on not saying these kinds of things aloud, in the first place? He's meant to be the ever so prideful Guard Dog of Babyls - Kalego Naberius - himself! He shouldn't be holding back so much for something so small.
Why should he feel shame in loving; In having feelings of his own?
Letting out a sigh, he still couldn't make himself look in Bars' eyes, obviously blushing;
"…I am, okay? So what? I worry about you all the time because you're an idiot who always gets himself in trouble!"
He surprised Robin with his honest response - especially since he was used to Kalego turning away and trying to play off the way he felt - it's not like he minded it in the first place - in fact, he found it endearing. It's just that hearing that from the man himself… made him feel a certain way.
Gritted teeth and an annoyed expression failed to hide the soft blush tint that slowly took over Kalego's face as he looked at Robin again;
"You're a pain!"
"…"
Robin's eyes seemed to soften for a second before he wore a big grin on his face, placing his free hand over the one Kalego used to hold him.
"You're too soft, Kalego-sensei."
"HEY!—"
"I love you."
Like a scared dog in front of a threat, Kalego flinched and widened his eyes while paralyzed.
That damned phrase. That devi-forbidden phrase.
His heart seemed to tighten as if roots surrounded and squeezed it hard; Yet they also bloomed beautiful flowers from the inside at the same time in a pleasant, warm sensation — it was like Robin had him under a spell.
"…Hehe~, that's an unfittingly stupid look on your face."
The archer took his hand back.
"I'll be fine! I know you wouldn't like me doing anything too risky for your sake."
Lifting himself up by standing on the tip of his toes, he gave Kalego a boop on his nose.
"I'm not as stupid as you make me out to be!"
"…It doesn't feel like that."
"Heeey!!!"
Kalego returned to his senses with immediate sass, letting out a chuckle.
"You are a little more competent than you seem, I'll give you that."
But now that he was out of his trance, he took a closer look at Robin - noticing something sticking out in his hair.
"…Wait. Stay still."
"Eh?"
Kalego ran his fingers through Robin's hair like he wanted to aggressively pet him, watching as a couple of petals would fall to the ground.
"Oh?"
"Ah!"
That seemed to startle Robin and he hopped away from Kalego's hands;
"That's spoilers!!"
"What?"
"I gotta go now, bye bye!!"
"Huh?"
Before he knew it, Robin already sprinted out of the room in a hurry.
"…"
Kalego picked up one of the petals from the ground, those were probably the cause of Robin's unusual floral scent. Just to be sure of his conclusion, he sniffed them.
They were quite nice, which was a little strange since Kalego did not find himself enjoying the scent of flowers very often. Unlike the sweetness commonly associated with most Netherworld flowers, these had a softer bittersweet smell.
…He wouldn’t mind if this is what Robin started to smell like, but now he was curious on what could this have to do with the gift Robin was likely preparing;
Making a good flower bouquet could not be this challenging, right?
"Happy birthday!!!"
Robin enthusiastically wrapped his arms around Kalego's waist, probably squeezing out some of that edge that lived inside of mister emperor doom and gloom by how he grunted in reaction. He didn’t mind being all touchy since he specifically waited until both were all alone, so there wasn’t any risk of getting spotted returning Bars' affection.
"Thanks."
Holding the archer by pressing his head down like a button, he gave him one single pat - the equivalent of winning the lottery when it came to affection with this guy.
"Hehe~, I worked super hard for your gift!"
"I could tell — By the amount of time you were away it made me wonder what kind of quest you've gotten yourself into."
"A very important one! Wait right here!"
He quickly let go and walked out of the room with a hop in his step, coming back with something big in hand;
Something Kalego actually didn't expect.
Robin put down a big lilac flower pot, decorated with a dark purple ribbon tied around itself. Inside, a cacti arrangement with several kinds of shapes and sizes. Despite their differences, they were still thematically matching.
Though, something had caught his eye from first glance: There was a big magenta flower that bloomed above the largest cactus of the bunch… It had the same petals he found in his hair the other day.
So that's why it had a unique scent he was fond of - it was a cactus flower.
"…So this is why you had all those scratches on you, huh? You were arranging cacti."
"That's right! So, so, so?! What do you think?!"
Kalego stared at his gift in silence. He absolutely loved it, but couldn't figure the words that could express his likeness without sounding either too excited or too ignorant. He'd switch from looking at the gift to staring into the sparkly eyes full of anticipation from his newfound partner and let out a long sigh; He needs to word this right otherwise he'll make him upset or make him brag about this for the rest of the year.
"Sooooo?!"
"…."
"Soooooooooo?????"
"Groan…"
Credit where credit is due, he did do a good job and Kalego didn't want to make any kind of unfair judgment. Besides, this is a gift made with a big amount of care behind — it's also something he knows Robin has never done before and decided to do it now just for Kalego's sake.
"….It's lovely."
"YAYYY!!!"
He figured even the slightest compliment would hype him up more than he wished to… But he deserves it, just for today. It's not like he doesn't like seeing Robin happy… Although he wishes he wasn't so touchy.
"I'm super duper happy!!!~"
Robin would hug at Kalego's side and nuzzle into him, and the latter would just sigh and let him have it this time.
"Do allow me to ask: Why did you decide you wanted to go with this?"
"Because you like cacti! Plus, I'm also a little interested in plants myself!… I'm just no specialist in it. I also took this as an opportunity to travel to some places I never seen before!"
"I see— Wait. What was that last part about traveling?"
"Oh, right! The reason why I was away is because I was out researching cacti! Suzy-sensei said I'd get a better grasp of them if I studied them in their natural habitat; Just like how I study magical beasts!"
The part about asking Suzy for help was already expected, though that kind of advice sounds a little extreme if it's just about making an arrangement of cacti — could she have teased Robin and he didn't take the joke? That sounds very unfortunately plausible.
"You didn't need all of that just for this, idiot! Why would you go through the trouble of researching things you probably wouldn't need to know?"
"Because it's something that you like a lot! And I wanted to know more about one of your favorite interests!"
"Ah…"
And he did it again - Kalego was stunned once more.
"I do most of the talking between us so I figured if I knew a little more about what you liked, you'd feel more inclined to talk about it since I wouldn't be so lost all the time!"
". . ."
"GWAH!!"
Kalego grabbed his face tightly - not out of rage - he was just so incredibly flustered and didn't know how to properly reply to one of the sweetest things he's ever heard come from that gremlin's mouth. He ensured his palm would cover Robin's entire point of view so not even a slim chance of getting to see his face light up in red would be given.
"…Idiot! I wouldn't mind explaining it to you whenever you had a question about what I was saying!!! You stupid green freak…!!"
He gritted his teeth while trying to cover up his shameful voice crack, simply deciding to grab Robin and carry him over his shoulder while holding the gift with his other arm.
"WAH! Kalego-sensei?! Put me down!!!"
"No! We're going home!"
"Eeeh?! You're gonna take me to your home?! Why?! It's also 5 minutes until we can leave and you're always so punctual when—"
"SILENCE!!! This is your punishment for being away for so long and for worrying me! Get ready to tell me everything in detail of all your trips and studies — you better make it as in-depth as you can, as well!!"
"What the hell?! I would've told you either way!"
"Good, then that means you don't need any preparation."
"Kalego-senseeeiii!!!"
The whines of Robin Bars would fill up the hallways as he tried to squirm his way out of Kalego's grasp, but the man just wouldn't budge. This was obviously just a very badly done excuse so he could take up all of the time Robin didn't spend with him for the week with the pro of getting to hear about his first hand experience with wild cacti, to which he was tooootally not excited to know about deep inside.
Putting that aside, the smell of the flower that laid itself above the cactus took his attention again as he walked back home, especially since he was now carrying it so close to himself.
…It could make for good perfume, he thinks. He'll likely interrogate Robin on it later along with everything else and all of his decisions when it came to preparing his gift.
It's not like there was a need to rush; He'd have the whole remaining weekend to catch Kalego up on his little adventures.
And Robin wouldn't dare complain about this kind of punishment.