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Despite widely-agreed upon sentiment, Seo Gio was a man, just like any other.
Sure, he might be a little different from the average person, but that didn’t mean Gio was unaware of sexual attraction and romance.
“Mr Yoo Seongwoon.”
Gio had just left his painting when Yoo Seongwoon cornered him in the corridor of the fifth floor.
Yoo Seongwoon was tense. “…Gio, do you know what lovers are?”
“Of course I do.” Giovanni answered, his long blond locks slipping out from under his cape.
“…that’s what I thought.” Confused, Giovanni tilted his head as he watched Yoo Seongwoon run his hand over his face.
“Is there something wrong, Mr Yoo Seongwoon?”
“No, nothing,” Yoo Seongwoon let out a bone-deep sigh and muttered bitterly, “there really is no other way to go about this…”
Yoo Seongwoon suddenly drew closer, barely a breath away from Giovanni.
“Do you know what I want to do?” Yoo Seongwoon asked quietly.
Giovanni studied the other man. He considered the earlier question and noted how the two were positioned. “Does Mr Yoo Seongwoon have feelings for me?”
“…If I say yes?”
Giovanni relaxed. “Then I am blessed that you hold me in such high regard.”
Having heard those words, Yoo Seongwoon didn’t relent. “And what about you? What do you think of me?”
At this close distance, Giovanni could count every eyelash and every involuntary tremble that passed through Yoo Seongwoon’s features. It was mesmerising and also, distracting.
So Giovanni leaned in and pressed his lips against Yoo Seongwoon’s cheek. “This.”
Yoo Seongwoon immediately reeled back. A red flush swept across the snowfield Gardener’s face, like a vibrant splat of colour smeared onto a white canvas.
“Y-You- G-Gio, you-”
Giovanni laughed. “Was that not the answer you were expecting?” He cradled the back of Yoo Seongwoon’s head, whispering, “otherwise you wouldn’t have called me out.”
Yoo Seongwoon opened his mouth but snapped it shut immediately. Giovanni returned a knowing smile.
Feeling embarrassed, Yoo Seongwoon’s hand fell to Giovanni’s waist. “Are you sure about this?”
"Why wouldn't I be?” Giovanni’s fingers started playing with Yoo Seongwoon’s hair, “Mr Yoo Seongwoon is a good man."
Yoo Seongwoon inevitably became distracted and grumbled. “You're driving me insane..."
“The kind of insane you like, I hope?”
Yoo Seongwoon's beautiful red grew deeper. He cleared his throat. “Gio, love is not easy. Between mortals, if we chose to love someone, we cherish and adore them regardless of our short lifespans.” Yoo Seongwoon paused. “We don’t have numerous lives like you, godly beings, so we commit to our partners wholeheartedly.”
Giovanni listened to Yoo Seongwoon attentively before he chuckled. “I’ve said it before, I’m just a normal human who has experienced a bit more than an average person would in one lifetime.”
“I have known all types of love, throughout my lives I have received and given love to many. So while this is the first time I have been in this kind of love, it doesn’t mean I am ignorant of it.” Giovanni sighed. “But I can’t stop you if you insist on believing otherwise. Since you think that I’m some type of godly being-”
The space between them closed instantly, “-then do you want to do something even more blasphemous?”
Giovanni didn’t move. Their mouths were barely a hair’s breadth away from each other. In the end, Yoo Seongwoon was the first to give in.
It took less than a thought for their lips to touch. Yoo Seongwoon immediately pulled back and after checking Giovanni’s reaction, went in for another.
A low hum of assent simmered from underneath Giovanni’s throat and that was all the both of them needed.
One kiss became two- became three- until both men stopped keeping track. After all, there would be many more in the long future ahead.
In a brief moment when they separated between kisses, Giovanni managed to utter a sentence.
“This is how I love you, Mr Yoo Seongwoon.”
Yoo Seongwoon didn’t let him finish, deepening another kiss against Giovanni’s smiling lips.
Eventually the pair broke apart, the sound of their shallow, rapid breathing crowded their already limited space.
Yoo Seongwoon’s voice was hoarse. “I know we are different and there is no way I can match you in power, experience or lifespan,” Yoo Seongwoon pursed his lips, "but I still wish to remain human. So I-”
-Yoo Seongwoon was cut off by Gio placing a biscuit in his mouth.
“Do not feel burdened by being with me.” A pair of black eyes peered into startled turquoise ones. “I don’t need Seongwoon-hyung to do something he doesn’t want to do because of me.”
Ignoring Yoo Seongwoon’s splutter, Gio continued. “Seongwoon-hyung just has to live out the life that Seongwoon-hyung wants. For me, watching you will be enough.” He smoothed out his cape.
“But if Seongwoon-hyung has the time,” Gio said, reaching out to hold Yoo Seongwoon’s hand in his, “please come and visit me in my painting more often.”
Yoo Seongwoon floundered, his fingers flexing and extending rapidly inside Gio’s grip. Finally, Yoo Seongwoon turned his head away. “As long as you don’t feed me anything too strange…” he said while eating his biscuit.
“I will keep that in mind.” With one more readily accessible stomach, Gio had already started conjuring up new recipes for Yoo Seongwoon to taste.
Still high on skepticism, Yoo Seongwoon looked heavenward. “I guess I should just be grateful that you haven’t already smote me for my impudence.”
Gio was genuinely curious. “And why would I ever do that?”
Yoo Seongwoon simply released a long suffering sigh in response.