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This was the last thing Truthless Recluse ever expected to happen in his life. One minute he was commanding someone to stop spreading the truth, the next he has that same someone pestering him every day and visiting his home. He doesn’t even know why he started letting someone in. Maybe he was tired of the constant lurking. Yes, that was it. The lurking. That annoying blue man visiting him every day and refusing to leave his door for hours on end.
Clack clack.
Oh, there he was now. That little chatterbox was back again. Recluse felt that he should be annoyed by the persistence yet was more annoyed at the thought of being mad at him, oddly enough. The sound of heels were getting closer. Before Recluse could think about it, he got up from his seat and made his way to the door, as if he had been doing this so long it was instinct now. He stood near the door, complete silent aside from his soft breaths.
Knock, knock knock knock knock, knock knock! There was Sage’s signature, drawn-out greeting.
Recluse narrowed his eyes and opened the door, finding a cheery Sage of Truth on the other side.
“Hello, Dove! I’m back!” Called the blue-haired man, much too bright for... what was it, 5 PM? Still too early.
“I can see that.” Recluse replied, moving to the side to let Sage inside.
Sage chuckled, strolling inside like he’d done this a million times before. At this point, he basically had with how long they’d known each other. “Always with the curt responses! I’m glad you had a good day as well, my dear.”
Recluse grumbled something incoherent and shut the door behind him, making sure the lock was in place before sitting down on his side chair. Sage was already on the sofa by the time Recluse sat down, his face shifting from a beaming smile to a pout. “You aren’t sitting with me today either? ...Fine, then!” Sage apparently decided that it was time to take things into his own hands, as he got up from the sofa and went to squeeze directly next to Recluse on the side chair.
They were directly crushing into each other, their arms smushed in a way as to where they were barely movable. It certainly didn’t help how the cushioned armrests were pushing their legs so close together there was practically no space at all between them.
“What- hey!” Recluse yelled after breaking from his momentary shock, ripping his arms up and trying to shove Sage off. “Get off! You’re too big!”
Sage stayed indignantly in place, yet it’s not like he could really move if he tried. He didn’t respond to the command, crossing his arms across his chest and sticking out his bottom lip.
Oh, now Recluse was ticked off. His brow twitched and he gritted his teeth, using all his strength to push the stubborn punk away from him. After a good minute of shoving he gave up, dropping his arms and fuming with half of his face hidden by his high collar. This was his favorite seat, so he for sure wasn’t going to leave it, but he didn’t want to be stuck this close to Sage either.
Sage stopped his pouting to peek an eye open at Recluse, watching the man slump against the chair in anger. His smile returned, though it was nervous now, akin to someone trying to soothe a child with a toy. “Hey, come on! Sitting with me can’t be so bad!”
Recluse pushed himself further into the chair in response, too angry to give him the satisfaction of words.
“Is it really that bad...?”
“Your bones are digging directly into me.”
Sage looked down at their legs, and indeed, the side of his pelvis was pushing Recluse further into the armrest. He frowned, genuinely saddened now, and got up, sitting back down where he was earlier. He stared off into the distance, trying to ignore the legitimate feeling of hurt creeping into his chest.
Recluse heaved a sigh of relief as Sage left the chair, immediately getting back into place and comfortable. He opened his eyes to glare at Sage but instead settled on watching him without any fury. Witches, he looked sad. Did he take what he said to heart again? Recluse shook the thought away, shifting in his seat in an attempt to find a comfortable position. Yet, it wouldn’t reach him. Ugh, now Sage’s emotions were his problem too? He deserved this! He shouldn’t have come to crush him in the first place! He deserved this. Yes, he... Did he deserve this? Recluse sighed and moved before he could process what he was doing, sitting beside Sage. Not touching him, but... Sitting.
Sage stared at Recluse, incredibly confused, but a smile still returned to his face. “Oh, so now you want to sit with me?”
“Be quiet while you still have this.”
“You’re saying that like it’s a heaven-send.”
“It is.”
“Hmm... Well, I won’t disagree with you on that!” Sage exclaimed, his face brightening as he returned to his usual cheeriness.
Recluse stayed sitting stiffly until he heard some distant whistling from down the hall. Standing up, he prepared to make his way to the source of the sound until Sage spoke up. “Aww, leaving so soon? I can already feel the couch growing cold with you gone!”
“Quiet.” Was his only response, glaring down at Sage who happily smiled and made a zipping motion over his mouth. He made his way towards the hallway, deciding to ignore Sage from then on. Yes, that should keep him silent. As Recluse was busy thinking of ways to make the man shut up for as long as he liked, he made it to kitchen. Inside were his whistling kettle, various bags of tea leaves, and some teacups. Interestingly, he had two different types of teas out, as if he was being indecisive or... making a different one for someone else? Bad Vanilla. Why did you decide to make him some before he even came over?! Now you have no excuse to not give him any! Recluse grumbled to himself as he placed the cups and other items on a tray.
The walk back to the room was neither long nor short. Recluse was partly dreading Sage’s inevitable pestering about him already having tea ready, yet also the teensiest, tiniest bit excited that he’ll see Sage again. Maybe. Just a tiny bit. Barely at all. Totally. Once he made it to the living room, tray in hand, he froze. There Sage was, laying on his back on the couch, lounging his feet on the back cushion like he owned the thing! The audacity! Recluse still sat down on the edge of the couch anyway. No escaping it now.
“Oh, so that’s what was making the whistling sound!” Sage laughed, staring at the steaming hot cups of tea. He sniffed the air, happily cooing at the smell of jasmine and earl grey. He sat up to pour himself a cup of the jasmine tea, barely waiting for the leaves to steep before he took a big gulp of it, heaving out a sigh of relief when he finished. “Comforting as always! Truly a shame that you prefer your earl grey.”
“I’d never found a reason not to have it.” Recluse responded, keeping his eyes shut while he gently sipped at his cup, looking as regal as ever. Oh, how Sage loved his nonchalance. Even when it hurt. That gives him an idea, actually!
“Well,” Sage said in a hushed tone, “I can give you one.” The smirk he gave afterward made Recluse shiver.
“And what is that?” Recluse asked, fighting the urge to back away from the slowly approaching man.
“I think this particular batch of jasmine tea came out particularly spectacular. Wouldn’t you want to try?”
Recluse paused, thinking about it. It couldn’t have been poisoned; he made it himself after all. Yet the way Sage said it made him worried. He thought about it for a moment, coming up with an excuse. “My cup still has the earl grey in it.”
“That’s fine! You can use mine!” Sage exclaimed cheerfully.
Recluse pulled back, clenching his teeth. He was growing more concerned by the second of what Sage would want from him, but he couldn’t deny his curiosity also rearing its ugly head... After some intense coercion that basically was only Sage staring him down with his beaming smile, Recluse relented. “Fine. Give me the tea.”
Sage pulled back immediately, grabbing his cup. “Oh no, it seems it’s all empty! Guess I’ll have to refill it for you.” He was still smiling, buoyant as ever. That made Recluse more nervous. Sage poured a full cup of tea, yet instead of giving it to Recluse, he downed it again.
“Hey, wasn’t that mi- mmph!” Recluse could barely finish his sentence before Sage grabbed him by his collar, pulling him in for a kiss. Instinctively, he shifted his head the tiniest bit to the side, leading Sage to smile further and open his mouth. The tea flooded Recluse’s mouth, the taste of jasmine and an annoying amount of blueberry overwhelming his senses.
Once most of the tea was gone, Sage pulled away, a triumphant grin on his face while he watched a now red-faced Recluse gulp down the contents forced into his mouth. “Well? Was it good?”
Recluse glared at him, desperately trying to catch his breath. It did taste good. The blueberries mixed perfectly with the jasmine. And he hated that. So, he said nothing. Instead, he frustratedly slumped against Sage’s chest, muttering incoherent curses under his breath.
Sage chuckled, and he slowly guided one of his hands to Recluse’s waist, pulling him to lay on top of him. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Recluse crushed his face into Sage’s chest, hiding how the comment only made his fluster worse. He dug his arms under Sage, squeezing his lower torso. Sage seemed to somehow find this more funny, as a few more chuckles escaped him at the action.
Sage moved his hands up to rest on Recluse’s shoulder blades, not daring to do more just yet. Recluse grumbled something angrily, yet it was muffled by his vest. “You’re such an annoying snake...”
“Yes, but I’m YOUR snake.” Sage effortlessly responded, earning him another angry groan. He ran his fingers through Recluse’s hair, gently pulling out the tiny tangles with his claws before situating his hands back on Recluse’s back. That at least seemed to calm him down.
Recluse laid there, involuntarily relaxing as Sage messed with his hair. They stayed there for a while, in the comfortable silence of each other’s arms. Eventually, once Recluse was level-headed enough, he placed a small peck just below Sage’s sternum, muttering a small “Thank you” under his breath. Sage hummed in response, deciding not to sour his mood again and comment on it. He just held Recluse tighter, showing his appreciation with unending body heat.
To think that there was actually someone who would love him, go out of their way to give him attention, laugh at him yet never deliberately making him uncomfortable... This truly was the last thing Recluse expected to happen in his long, tiring life.
