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“This place is… fancy,” Kaelix said hesitantly as the servers brought them menus. Seible giggles at the apprehension of Kaelix’s face, leaning in to practically nuzzle against Kaelix’s face. “Kae-chan, you’d think you’d be more used to luxury by now.” He only laughed further when Kaelix’s cheeks reddened.
Zeal chuckles lowly, “Save that for later, Seible. Don’t you see that Kaelix is hungry?” Indeed, the white-haired boy’s stomach let out a loud grumble right at that moment, making Seible giggle again.
Freodore watched from the side, expression neutral. He had brought the three out as an apology for what had happened to Kaelix at that party, a date, if you will. He knew his two lovers had never been to this restaurant, nor did they know the significance of this place to Freodore.
This was the place where Vanta, Zali and Wilson had had their first date after all the troubles they had faced. This was the place they had brought him after he officially agreed to be their son. This restaurant was quite literally a symbolism of a new beginning for Freodore. Maybe, he could have a new beginning with Kaelix?
But would Kaelix want that, though? Freodore had been nothing but cruel and harsh to the younger boy, and his actions had nearly cost Kaelix his life. And sometimes, Freodore felt that Kaelix would be far happier without him.
Just look at the scene before him now. Freodore observed with as much detachment a person with attachments could have. Seible was teasing Kaelix, with a gentle smile that Freodore had once believed was reserved only for him and Zeal, and his laughter felt lighter, more gentle, far kinder than Freodore had ever heard before. Zeal was playfully scolding Seible, his voice was soft and warm, completely unlike the cold and calculated man Freodore thought he knew. Maybe it was just Freodore that didn’t belong. Even Kaelix, who had been so skittish around Seible and Zeal, could smile so easily around them, laughing and blushing like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t nearly died and barely made it out.
Freodore felt a pang in his chest, a feeling he didn’t quite recognise but he knew it all the same. It wasn’t jealousy, it was quiet, painful longing. Longing to belong with the three that sat before him. It was funny, Seible and Zeal were his lovers, yet to any outsider, it would seem like Kaelix was their lover and he was the stranger.
Maybe this was how it should be for him. After all, the life and love of someone like Freodore rarely ever went well.
~
“Is he okay?” Kaelix asked nervously, looking at Freodore’s blank expression. It was almost concerning how dead the other looked when Kaelix could hear him breathing just fine. Zeal waved him off casually, “He’s fine, he just gets like that sometimes.”
“Yeah, whenever Furi-chan gets like this,” Seible chirps, “We just leave him be. He’s no fun when he’s in this mood anyway!” Kaelix frowns at them. That wasn’t healthy at all. He knew they probably wouldn’t get it, though. Seible and Zeal were far from emotionally stable themselves, and this was probably the only way they’ve ever been taught to handle distress. Just ignore the problem.
So he said nothing, because he was certain that even if he did, Seible and Zeal would brush him off, and Freodore would only give him that look of contempt that spoke volumes of his annoyance. He stayed quiet through dinner, only speaking to respond to Seible and Zeal’s teases, but his mind stayed fixed on Freodore. Freodore and his conflicted expression.
For the rest of their dinner, his thoughts were consumed with sunset eyes that dimmed too quickly.
~
When they returned home, Freodore quickly headed to his room, barely speaking a word, not like he had spoken at all the whole night. Not long after, Seible and Zeal retreated to their rooms too, not before they each pressed a kiss on Kaelix’s cheeks, which had been red the whole night.
“Good night, Kae-chan!” Seible waved. Kaelix waved back awkwardly as he entered his own room. He changed into some more comfortable clothes (courtesy of Klara) and lay in bed. He tried to sleep, really, he did, but his thoughts were still stuck on Freodore. How long had the other been quietly suffering alone?
“Ugh… I can’t sleep…” Kaelix mutters, flicking on the light in his room and wincing at the change in lighting. He decided to go downstairs for a glass of water, just to clear his head a bit. He crept downstairs, not wanting to disturb anyone who was sleeping.
When he entered the living room, he nearly jumped at the sight of Freodore, sitting alone in the darkness. Before he could regret it, he strode over to Freodore and sat down next to him on the couch. Almost immediately, Freodore pulled out a knife from somewhere and pointed it at Kaelix, a reflex Kaelix was sure the other had trained over years of attempted assassination attempts on him. Freodore stopped the knife just before it sliced Kaelix’s throat. “Kaelix,” Freodore said, the first words Kaelix had heard all night from the other, really, “What are you doing here? I could’ve killed you. And you just sat there. You didn’t even dodge.”
The other’s voice was monotone, but Kaelix could hear a tinge of concern, or something as close to concern that Freodore could feel. It was also anger, disappointment that Kaelix hadn’t even thought to fight back. “I knew you wouldn’t actually hurt me,” Kaelix says softly, looking into Freodore’s eyes.
Freodore tries to say something else, but Kaelix keeps talking, “You know Seible and Zeal really do love you, right? If you said a word about wanting them by your side they’d never leave in a heartbeat.”
Freodore scoffs, a sound so quiet yet it echoed in the night. “What those two feel for me isn’t love, it’s simply amusement. They’ll leave once they get bored. Love,” he spits the word like it was poison, “is a weakness. Of course you would be the one to show it to the world. Never mind the fact that it is because of ‘love’ you are even stuck with us in the first place.”
“You don’t really believe that,” Kaelix counters, his voice growing louder and bolder. Freodore blinks in surprise at the sudden surge of confidence from the other. “You don’t think love is a weakness, you just like to tell yourself that. If you really thought it was a weakness, you wouldn’t be in a relationship with those two. Heck, you wouldn’t even let them stay with you. If you thought love was a weakness, then the bridge between you, Vanta, Zali and Wilson would’ve burned a long time ago. But the fact that those relationships are still intact tells me that your heart still believes in love, even when your mind says otherwise.”
“Shut up,” Freodore whispers, voice sharp. “Shut your mouth, Kaelix.”
“No,” Kaelix replies firmly, “You deserve love. You are loved, and if you really can’t see that, then you’re stupider than I thought–”
Kaelix barely flinches when Freodore’s knife finds its way to his throat again, resting against the fragile and tender skin, even a centimeter to the left could slice him open. Kaelix could almost imagine it, how the knife would cut into him like he was nothing, how his blood would spurt out of him, dripping down while it flowed into his lungs. If he concentrated hard enough, he could practically taste the tangy liquid in his mouth, could imagine the blood filling his lungs as he choked. Freodore held his life in his hands, and Kaelix let him.
“You don’t know me. Stop talking like you know anything,” Freodore hisses, eyes narrowed with fury and, for a moment, fear. Kaelix smiled, not mocking, like Freodore would have expected, nor was it placating. It was gentle, warm and it brought the comfort that Freodore both desperately craved and vehemently detested.
“But I want to. I want to know you, Freo,” Kaelix whispers, leaning forward and letting the sharp edge of the knife dig into his skin. Freodore let out a small sound as the knife cut through the first layer of skin, a small trickle of blood staining the knife. “Call me stupid, call me naive, I don’t care. I want to know you beyond what you try to say you are, I want to see the real you, not the you that you like to pretend you are.” Kaelix says, not reacting despite the stinging pain at his neck.
“You…!” Freodore pulls the knife back, grabbing a tissue from nearby and pressing it against the cut, “Like you said, you’re an idiot. You didn’t dodge before, and now you lean into the knife? How foolish can you be?”
Kaelix simply chuckles, and for a moment, Freodore thinks that they truly have corrupted the other boy. The Kaelix from before had flinched at every sound, ran at the sight of Freodore’s glare, and certainly wouldn’t have the guts to talk so calmly to someone holding him at knifepoint. There’s a steel in Kaelix’s eyes that never would have been there had he not met Freodore. “I don’t disagree that love is a weakness, Freo. But it doesn’t mean you are weak. You don’t have to take anything I say to heart, really. You could just leave and forget I said this, hell, you could stab me right now and finish the job. But really, I’d be here no matter what. I told you, Freo, you deserve love, and I’m sorry for what… for what my parents have done–l”
Before Kaelix could continue his ramble, Freodore grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. It was rough, with Freodore biting his lips until he drew blood. But Kaelix didn’t feel the pain, or at least it didn’t register as pain. “Mmnn…” Kaelix groaned, not fighting back. He wrapped his arms around Freo’s waist, pulling the shorter male closer. The two pulled apart only for a second, Kaelix feeling very aware of how close Freodore was to him, both breathing heavily before Freodore leaned in again.
Freodore’s kisses were as sweet as they were poisonous, which is to say, very. Kaelix felt damn near overwhelmed, caught off guard by the sudden surge of affection. “Freo…” Kaelix breathed when the other finally pulled away, “You… You kiss really well…” Seriously?! Was that all he could say?! Kaelix internally freaked out.
He thought Freodore might just stab him, and maybe he did and Kaelix started hallucinating because holy guacamole was Freodore laughing? Kaelix’s eyes widened seeing Freodore, cold, stoic Freodore, chuckling, a small smile stretching across his face. It was cute, Kaelix thought, and such a smile truly suited Freodore.
“Did I manage to make you laugh? Did I melt your cold heart?” Kaelix teased, unsure of where his confidence came from but took full advantage of it nonetheless. Freodore scoffed, not like before. “Seible is rubbing off on you too much,” he mutters, but he doesn’t move away. He leaned forward, burying his face in Kaelix’s neck like a cat claiming its territory.
They stayed like that for what felt like hours, the outside world not mattering to either of them. Then, the lights flicked on. Kaelix nearly jumped, and Freodore quickly got off of him, the two of them turning to the doorway to find both Seible and Zeal standing there.
“Uh…” Kaelix stammered, unsure of what to say. On one hand, both Seible and Zeal had flirted with him, on the other, this was their lover that he was kissing. “Don’t mind us Kae-chan, we’re enjoying the show,” Seible gives him a cheshire grin, slinking forward to lean over the couch to stare. Zeal joined him not long after.
“Finally talked it out?” Zeal asked in amusement. Freodore stayed silent, whether it was from shock or he simply didn’t want to talk, Kaelix wasn’t sure. “We knew you’d be able to get through to him better than us,” Zeal reveals.
“So we let you. Glad to see it’s worked out, very well, actually,” Seible adds, eyes flickering to their swollen lips. Kaelix’s cheeks reddened for what felt like the thousandth time that night. “I–”
Zeal pulled him into a kiss, short and sweet. When he pulled away, Seible took his place, devouring Kaelix’s lips like a starving man. Then Zeal moved to Freodore, and so did Seible. “So…” Kaelix started, not even sure what he wanted to ask. What are we? Am I your partner?
“You’re ours,” Freodore said simply, not even letting him finish, “You’re ours and nothing else matters.”
Seible and Zeal nodded along, both settling themselves onto the couch. “What are you doing?” Kaelix asked in confusion. Seible looked at him like he was stupid. “Well, if my boyfriends are all here, why can’t I join?”
So somehow, Kaelix started the night nervous and confused, and he ended the night with three boyfriends, still very confused. At least the cuddles on the couch, a strange action he hadn’t expected from the three of them, especially Freodore, were comfortable.