Chapter Text
Only a floor lamp was lit in the living room. iTrapped sat on one side of the sofa, his long legs crossed, an arm propped on the armrest beside him. Strands of his golden hair fell beside his cheeks, just enough to obscure his face. He leaned back against the edge of the sofa, still clutching a wine glass in his hand, though the wine inside had long since been finished. He hadn't thought to refill it. Perhaps he was already drunk? His posture wasn't much different from usual.
You've seen drunk people in casinos; they tend to be rowdy. You rather wanted to see iTrapped be rowdy too. Especially now, since he was talking about refilling his drink. You replaced it with the juice beside him instead, and iTrapped even seemed displeased.
Your own mind was still relatively clear. You probably should have been drunk by now, too. Maybe it was because you'd been so absorbed in conversation, but he had been drinking much faster than you. For the latter half, you'd mostly just watched him drink. Now he was just slumped there on the sofa.
Occasionally, he'd sip the dregs from the bottom of his glass, then continue staring blankly at some spot. You'd been watching him for a while. The direction he was staring in seemed to be towards your knees, or maybe it was the leg of the coffee table. Who knows?
You leaned forward to reach for your glass on the coffee table. Out of the corner of your eye, that golden head moved too. You turned your head. You tried shifting your body, and his gaze followed the movement slightly. You couldn't help but let out a soft hum of amusement.
He blinked, as if just realizing you were laughing at him.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked.
"Nothing."
iTrapped didn't seem to find his own behavior strange at all. The earbob on his earlobe swayed with his movements. You sank back into the sofa, your focus returning to that earbob you'd been looking at earlier.
Partially obscured by strands of golden hair, the earbob was long and thin. It seemed like he'd always worn it, ever since you'd known him.
Now you were looking at him the way he had been looking at you just moments ago. iTrapped squinted slightly in your direction, as if finally noticing your gaze. He began to push himself up from the edge of the sofa, shifting his weight to move closer to you.
"Oh," he said, his voice slow. "You were calling me."
"What?" You were sure you hadn't made a sound.
"Your eyes were calling me, my dear." His voice was syrupy, thick. His hand found its way to your waist, pulling you gently but insistently closer until he was leaning against you, his chin resting on your shoulder, his hair brushing against your cheek, tickling.
"You have a unique scent. I really like it." His voice was muffled against your shoulder.
"I'm wearing perfume."
He let out a soft laugh. "Hehe, that's different." He played with a stray lock of your hair, winding it around his finger. "Simply put," he murmured slowly, his attention fully on the strand of hair, bringing it to his lips for a kiss, "it's a scent only I can smell."
iTrapped was radiating heat after drinking. You wanted to move away; being pressed against him like this was getting uncomfortably warm. But his arm around your waist immediately tightened, holding you firmly in place. You looked into his eyes, and just then he lifted his head. Those blue eyes were so close, roaming over your face, from the tip of your nose to your lips, then back to your eyes, never quite able to focus.
You decided to focus on what had caught your attention from the beginning. Consider it your way of teasing him back.
You raised your hand, your finger sliding into his hair, pushing the strands aside. Your fingertips traced the small patch of skin behind his ear, tucking the hair back. Your breath fanned across his face. It must have tickled him slightly; he tilted his head just a little, as if accommodating your touch. You caressed his earlobe, rubbing it gently. He didn't seem bothered, just murmured for you to be gentle as you held the earbob, turning it over in your fingers.
"Oh, you like this?" Those blue eyes were inches away, the same color as the gemstone in your hand.
The same color as the ice crown atop his head. He seemed to really love this shade of blue. The necklace he'd given you was this blue, the bracelet too. It matched the clothes he often wore.
You loved this earbob. You'd harbored this thought for a long time.
You'd see it when you kissed; when he lowered his head, that earbob would sway, sometimes cool against your cheek. You'd see it when you walked side-by-side, swinging by his face, visible even from a distance. It swayed whenever he did anything. You loved how its refracted light matched the color of his eyes, like a part of him, yet not entirely. Sometimes, after doing something mischievous, catching that flash of blue always made you feel like you were being watched, even though you knew he wasn't even looking your way.
Sometimes you wondered, if he ever stopped wearing this earbob, or replaced it, would you feel strange? Probably, yes.
That's why you liked it.
You nodded.
He blinked, then raised his hand to his own earlobe. His fingers fumbled a bit, pinching several times before he managed to grasp the top. He tried to pull it down, to take it off. After fumbling for a while with no success, he frowned slightly and tried again, just tugging at his earlobe like that.
The sight was rather endearing. You felt vindicated in your decision to get him drunk for no particular reason. When was he ever this clumsy when sober?
"Don't take it off," you said.
"It's nothing."
"No. I like it on your ear."
The fingers resting on your waist slid up to your collarbone, tracing light circles there. He looked down at the necklace you wore, the one he'd put on you just this morning. His fingers wound around the chain, giving it a gentle tug.
"Do you know why... I gave you those things?" His fingers continued their tracing on your collarbone, studying the necklace just as you had studied his earbob.
His other hand pointed towards the ice crown on his head. "When you see this, who's the first person you think of?"
Ah, that ice crown. It was a valuable collectible. Most of the old ornaments in the house seemed to have been acquired through some kind of loophole. You didn't know the origin of that ice crown; anyway, it was his now, always on his head.
Was that question even necessary?
"You," you said.
The corners of his mouth curved up. "You're very clever, my dear." His fingers were still tangled in your necklace, giving it another slight tug, as if to reinforce his presence. "That's why I wanted you to wear it." You felt a warm, moist kiss press against your shoulder.
"Help me take it off." He released you, shifting aside to make it easier for you.
You sighed. Even if you said no, he'd probably try to do it himself anyway. Besides, you were curious to see his reaction tomorrow when he woke up and found his earring with you.
You pinched the top of the earbob, your fingers feeling for the clasp behind his ear. With a gentle press, you carefully pulled the earbob out, until it was completely removed from its original owner, leaving only the tiny hole behind. You could feel the lingering warmth against your skin from being worn so long. You placed the earbob in his palm.
"Now it's yours," iTrapped said, waving his hand dismissively. He took a small sip from the juice beside him. "Refill?" he asked.
"No..."
He rummaged in a drawer and found a pack of disinfectant wipes. Then, like before, Trapped squeezed himself back onto the sofa next to you. The sofa was plenty big, yet he managed to make it feel like a single-seater.
"You're crowding me," you said.
He ignored you, even leaning a little closer.
He held the earbob between his fingers, staring at it intently as he reached out to touch your earlobe. After carefully wiping the hook of the earbob clean, he began the process of putting it on you for you.
His fingers pressed against your cheek, cupping your ear. First, he had to remove your current earring. His breath, tinged with alcohol, fanned across your cheek as his fingers fumbled around your earlobe, ticklish. Finally, your own earring was removed and tucked away into his palm.
Although you were used to putting on earrings yourself, having someone else do it made you hyper-aware. Especially since this one, in his current state, couldn't seem to get it in properly. The thin post kept poking and scratching around your earhole, getting quite irritating.
"Let me do it," you said.
iTrapped ignored you, persisting in his own efforts. Honestly, he seemed to be enjoying the process himself—taking something he'd worn for so long and adorning his partner with it, leaving his mark, like a identification band on a homing pigeon's leg. The thrill was far greater than with any store-bought accessory.
Finally, he managed to get it through the hole and fasten it. He gently let go of the dangling ornament, his thumb tracing down its length before releasing it completely. His earbob now swayed from your ear. Anyone who knew him, or even your friends who'd seen him, would surely recognize it instantly. Those blue eyes were fixed on the swaying blue gem, utterly captivated.
His hand slid from your ear to your cheek, cupping your face, and he kissed you without hesitation.
Just a brief, pressed kiss.
"You should make sure everyone knows you're my partner, right?" He leaned in again, kissing the corner of your mouth. "You have to wear it from now on."
"What about my earring box, iTrapped? It'll gather dust."
"I think you have more than enough of those already," he emphasized. "This one is one of a kind."
Then he straightened up, taking your original earring from his palm and fumbling to put it into his own earhole. "This way... yours becomes mine."
He should be satisfied now, right? You thought.