Theo's guttural groan rattled against Yu's spine as he began to empty himself deep inside, hot and thick. He came with a broken, animal sound, hips slammed flush to Yu's ass as his cock jerked again and again, pumping thick, scalding ropes of come so deep inside Yu that it immediately started leaking out around the seal of his shaft, running in slow, obscene rivulets down Yu's trembling thighs and dripping onto the carpet.
"Fuuuck—!"
Theo's voice cracked with the force of release, his hips jerking, slowing—but not stopping—breath hot and ragged.
"Take it, take every fucking drop."
Theo rasped, voice shredded raw, forehead pressed between Yu's sweat-slick shoulder blades while his hips kept twitching, grinding, refusing to stop even as he began to soften.
For a beat, Yu thought maybe it was over—maybe he'd finally be granted a reprieve.
But Theo wasn't nearly done. Theo's cock was still half-buried in that sloppy, cum-slick hole when it twitched, thickened, and surged back to full, aching hardness in the space of a heartbeat. Theo groaned like it hurt, like the overstimulation was flaying him alive, but he only pulled out halfway and slammed back in, churning his own cum deeper.
His jaw clenched as he ground his hips, he refused to pull out, rolling and grinding until, with a shiver, he continued his frenzied rhythm inside Yu's slick, clenching heat.
"Again…"
He snarled against Yu's skin, teeth scraping over the faded bruises left by the other two men.
"Not done. Not even fucking close."
Theo hissed through his teeth, dragging his teeth over the old marks he'd left before, biting down and sucking hard until the skin bloomed red again. He bit down hard on the curve of Yu's neck, sucking until the skin went dark, angry red, then moved lower, painting a fresh constellation of bruises across Yu's shoulders, ribs, the small of his back, anywhere his mouth could reach while his hips never stopped that slow, filthy grind.
"Mine… all mine."
His lips trailed lower, searing fresh bruises into untouched porcelain skin, staking claim with every mark.
Yu moaned, body pliant, head thrown back as his Incubus instincts drank deeply of Theo's vitality—rich, intoxicating, far sweeter than Callen or Adrian had been. Too sweet. His nails scratched desperate red lines down Theo's back, torn between resisting and surrendering completely.
Yu's head fell back with a wrecked moan, nails raking bloody furrows down Theo's back, legs shaking so hard he would have collapsed if Theo weren't holding him up. Every lazy roll of Theo's hips forced another gush of cum out around his cock, the wet squelch of it loud in the quiet room, the scent of sex thick enough to taste.
The next round couldn't take place on the table with how wobbly their legs became.
Theo dragged Yu down to the carpet, shirts stripped away, pants kicked somewhere across the room. Skin on skin, slick with seed, and sweat with spit. Theo flipped him onto his back, shoved Yu's thighs up to his chest, and sank back in with one brutal thrust that punched a scream out of Yu's throat.
"Look at me!"
Theo growled, eyes wild, pupils blown.
"Watch me fuck my cum back into you."
Yu couldn't have looked away if he'd wanted to; his eyes rolled back as Theo started pounding again, relentless, the slap of hips on ass deafening. Every thrust sent a fresh trickle of semen running out of Yu's puffy, abused hole, only for Theo to shove it right back in with the next stroke.
The golden afternoon light turned bronze, then bruised purple. They rolled across the carpet like animals, Yu on his stomach, on his side, on his knees again, Theo behind him, over him, inside him, always inside him, cock never softening, cum never stopping.
Theo's hand wrapped around Yu's throat from behind, squeezing just enough to make Yu's vision spark.
"You feel that?"
He panted against Yu's ear, hips snapping hard enough to jolt Yu forward with every thrust.
"That's me marking you inside. Every inch of this greedy little hole is gonna remember who it belongs to."
Yu could only sob, cock trapped against the carpet, cumming dry now, body shaking through orgasm after orgasm with nothing left to give but shudders and broken noises. Theo followed him over every time, flooding him again, again, again, until Yu's belly felt swollen with it, until every breath smelled like sex and Theo and the carpet burn.
They lay tangled on the ruined floor, Theo's cock still buried deep, twitching out lazy pulses even now. Cum leaked steadily from Yu's gaping, flushed hole, pooling beneath them in a sticky mess that soaked into the carpet.
Theo pressed an exhausted, possessive kiss to the newest bruise blooming on Yu's throat and muttered, voice hoarse.
"Mine. All fucking mine."
Yu's eyes fluttered, pupils blown wide, lips parted on silent, overwhelmed gasps.
He didn't have the strength left to tell Theo that if he didn't stop soon, there might not be anything left of Theo to claim him back.
Time blurred. Their hips crashed together, wet and obscene.
Slap, slap, slap—
Theo lost himself to the rhythm, rutting with a single-minded ferocity, voice gone hoarse from his curses and groans. Yu's cries rose in pitch, every clench of his body drawing more out of Theo, every squeeze an anchor pulling them deeper into ruinous hunger.
Hours bled into hours. The sun outside sank lower, shadows stretching across the room until only the amber haze of dusk lit their frenzy. Their abdomens were painted in seed, dripping, staining the carpet beneath them.
Theo's cum was still dripping out of Yu in thick, pearly ropes when his cock jerked again, impossibly hard, impossibly hot, like he'd never come at all.
Yu felt it happen.
A pulse, deep in his bloodstream, flared outward like liquid starlight. Yu tasted it on the back of his tongue before he felt it in his body: raw, molten vitality that didn't fade after release. It doubled, tripled, kept climbing, feeding the muscle and tendon and cock that was still buried inside him. Theo's hips snapped forward on pure reflex, driving another guttural groan from both of them.
"Fuck… why am I still—"
Theo broke off, confused, exhilarated, pupils blown so wide his blue irises were only a thin ring. He should have been spent, shaking, finished. Instead his heart thundered like a war drum and his cock felt thicker than ever, veins pulsing against Yu's oversensitive walls.
DK01 knew why.
Yu was doing it without meaning to.
[Host—stop—you—nature—force—get—]
But Yu couldn't hear its static warnings. Every clench of his Incubus body, every greedy flutter around Theo's shaft, was siphoning just enough life-force to keep Theo hard, keep him flooding, keep him fucking like a machine forged for one purpose. A feedback loop:
The more Theo poured into him, the more Yu's hunger refined that energy and fed it straight back into Theo's body as pure, addictive stamina.
Theo had no idea. He only knew he needed more.
He hauled Yu up by the hips, flipped him onto his stomach again, and drove back in so hard the air left Yu's lungs in a ragged scream. The carpet burned Yu's knees; he didn't care. Theo's pace was inhuman now, hips pistoning with piston-perfect force, balls slapping wetly against Yu's taint on every thrust.
"Still so fucking tight!"
Theo snarled, voice slurred with exhaustion that never quite arrived.
"How are you still, fuck, milking me like that?"
Yu couldn't answer. His own cock, spent and soft, leaked steadily against the carpet anyway, every brutal stroke forcing another helpless spurt from his prostate. Theo's come had long since turned the channel into a slick, frothy mess; each thrust sent wet squelches echoing through the room and flung droplets across Yu's back and thighs.
Minutes became hours. Hours became a haze of skin and sweat and obscene sounds.
Theo came again and again, roaring each time, hips locked flush as he pumped another impossible load deep. Yu felt his belly distend slightly from the sheer volume, warm and heavy, sloshing every time Theo moved. And still Theo didn't soften. Still the almost supernatural current surged between them, Yu drinking, Theo's life-force, Theo's body converting it instantly into endless, ferocious need.
They fucked across the floor until the carpet was soaked. They fucked against the glass wall, Yu's cheek smeared to the cold pane, city lights blurring through his tears while Theo railed him from behind. They fucked on the conference table again, Yu on his back, ankles over Theo's shoulders, Theo's hand around his throat hard enough to leave another round of fingerprints while he snarled with every thrust.
"Mine, mine, mine!"
By the time the moon hung silver outside the windows, Theo's voice was gone, nothing but gravel and animal growls. His body was covered in bites and scratches overlapping as Yu made them. His cock, flushed dark red, slick with layers of spend, never flagged.
Yu was beyond words, beyond thought. His hole gaped open every time Theo pulled out, puffy and ruined, fluttering hungrily for more. Cum leaked from him in a constant stream now, pooling beneath his hips, painting his thighs, dripping from his chin where Theo had kissed him filthy and deep.
And still the loop tightened.
Theo's stamina was limitless because Yu was making it limitless, drinking just enough to keep him on the edge of death and dragging him back with pleasure instead. One more thrust, one more flood of come, one more surge of life-force, and Yu felt the warning flicker at the edge of his mind like a dying neon sign:
If he didn't stop soon, Theo's heart would simply give out mid-orgasm, still hard, still spurting, still trying to give Yu everything he had left.
Yu's nails dug into Theo's back, half trying to pull him closer, half trying to push him away.
Theo only growled, bit down on Yu's collarbone until blood welled, and fucked him harder.
"Mine!"
He rasped, voice shredded, hips never slowing.
"All mine. All fucking mine."
Yu's eyes rolled back, crimson glowing bright enough to light the sweat on Theo's shoulder.
He wasn't sure either of them would survive sunrise.
And he wasn't sure he cared.
Theo's thrusts had lost rhythm, staggering but unrelenting. His eyes glazed, his grip on Yu bruising as he panted against his man's neck. Yu's head lolled back, lips parted, feeling Theo's vitality pulse into him with every deep slam of his length.
[Warning!]
DK01's voice blared sharp and cold in Yu's head.
[Host is approaching critical threshold. Tragic Target's life signs unstable. Any further drain risks irreversible death.]
Yu gasped, nails digging hard into Theo's sweat-slick shoulders. His Incubus hunger screamed—
More, more, don't stop! Take, take, keep going!
—yet DK01's alarm rang, shrill, insistent, the line between ecstasy and danger razor-thin.
Theo groaned, still thrusting, barely coherent.
"Yu… can't stop… I can't—"
Yu's whole body shuddered—on the edge of not just climax, but catastrophe.
Theo's body was burning itself out, muscles trembling and jerking as he rutted without rhythm, nothing but primal instinct driving him. His mind was gone, consumed by the taste of Yu, by the addictive heat of him clenching around him.
"Yu—"
Theo's voice was a guttural rasp, more groan than word, his hips slamming forward despite the way his chest heaved like a man running out of air.
Yu's own body betrayed him, climax tearing through him again, red-tinged eyes rolling back as pleasure ripped out of his throat in a strangled moan. But even as he shook, writhing, his Incubus instincts screaming for more—his mind, barely tethered, caught the truth.
Theo's life force was dipping into dangerous territory.
[Stop!]
DK01's voice hammered, alarms shrieking in Yu's skull.
[Stop draining him. Host, you're seconds away from permanent fatality of Tragic Target.]
"I—I'm trying!"
Yu gasped, his nails digging at the carpet as he tried to wriggle, to shove at Theo's shoulders, to slip free. His hips shifted, desperate to break contact, but Theo's weight bore down like iron.
Theo's arms locked tighter around Yu's waist, pressing him flush to the floor, every weak thrust still driving him deeper. He was shaking, collapsing, but his primal need was feral, unstoppable.
"More… more… can't stop… Yu…"
Yu panicked, shoving harder, twisting his body.
"Theo! You're going to kill yourself!"
But Theo's only response was another broken thrust, another guttural groan, his teeth sinking clumsily into Yu's shoulder.
[Critical threshold breached!]
DK01 announced, its once-monotone voice now sharp, like steel cutting glass.
[Defensive Protocol: Initiated.]
Yu's world snapped white as DK01's command pulsed outward.
Theo stiffened mid-thrust—then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. His entire body slumped against Yu, heavy, sweat-slick, his cock softening as it slipped free with a wet—
Shhhlick
—sending one last shiver darting through Yu's trembling body.
"Ahh—!"
Yu hissed, torn between aftershocks of pleasure and a jolt of fear. He shoved at Theo's dead weight until the man rolled heavily onto the carpet beside him, unconscious, his chest still rising in uneven, shallow breaths.
Yu lay there for a moment, dazed, trembling, sweat cooling sticky against his skin. The carpet beneath them was damp, marked with hours of rutting, the air heavy with musk.
Finally, he sat up, clutching his abdomen with shaking fingers. His heart was racing—not just from exhaustion, but from the brutal realization of how close he'd come to draining Theo dry.
DK01's voice rang low and absolute in his head.
[Warning! This level of risk is unsustainable. Next time, Host, my intervention may not arrive soon enough.]
Yu sat there on the carpet, slick thighs trembling, breath still dragging ragged in his chest. Theo's body was sprawled beside him, still damp with sweat, chest heaving unevenly, lips parted as if he were still whispering Yu's name in his unconsciousness.
And yet—he hadn't gone out sooner.
Yu pressed a shaking hand against his forehead, his hair loose and damp where it clung to his shoulder.
"Why didn't he pass out like Callen? Even Adrian, for all his stamina, collapsed eventually. Theo just… kept going."
His voice was hollow, weak with exhaustion, but beneath it ran a thread of sharp, rising unease.
[Analysis complete!]
DK01 replied, its voice cool and implacable.
[The determining factor is ego. The larger the ego, the more resistant the body is to surrender. High self-worth, inflated pride, or an unyielding will can prevent loss of consciousness even when the physical vessel is failing. In the case of the Tragic Target, Theo Kingsley, his ego far surpasses that of ordinary humans.]
Yu's fingers dug into the carpet, knuckles blanching.
"…So he nearly killed himself because of his pride."
[Correct.]
DK01 said without hesitation.
[The same principle extends to the female and male protagonists of this world. Joy Kingsley and Izan Markel also possess unusually elevated egos. They will not break easily. And in circumstances such as this, Host, the result is dangerous. The body collapses long after it should, because the ego refuses to yield. When the body cannot keep pace with the mind and primal instinct, catastrophic failure becomes inevitable.]
Yu shivered, his lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line. The air still stank of sweat and seed, but the silence that followed DK01's words was clinical, cold—like being left naked in the aftermath of an interrogation. It scrubbed away the haze of lust, overwrote the obscene hours of rutting with something far harsher.
"…And it's up to me to stop it before it gets that far."
Yu's voice was bitter, low. He stared at Theo's limp form, the sweat beading across his temple.
[Most Incubi and Succubi know instinctively when to pull back from a food source to prolong it. That is a survival instinct, honed and absolute…]
DK01 paused, its next words cutting closer.
[So why, Host, does the King of Incubi lack such a simple, ingrained safeguard?]
Yu flinched. His hand curled protectively against his abdomen, as though shielding the small, unseen life there.
"…I don't know either."
The silence that followed was suffocating, pressing in from the walls, from the carpet, from the very air. The only sound was the faint rasp of Theo's shallow breathing and Yu's pulse thrumming in his ears. For the first time in hours, the room no longer belonged to frantic pleasure—it belonged to unease, to consequences.
[I…will make a note of this and run a background analysis. Perhaps I will find something that will explain these lapses of your original memories. In the meantime, continue to exercise restraint and go about your mission as normal.]
Yu swallowed hard, fighting the sick churn of his stomach. He couldn't look at Theo anymore.
Quickly, Yu got up and began searching the meeting room. He managed to find some tissues, wiping himself, he soon started to redress.
His clothes had some rips and tears but they went unnoticed under his jacket. Combing down his messy hair with his fingers, he winced for a moment when he felt how sore his scalp was from all of Theo's hair tugging.
With a deep breath, Yu—now presentable enough—stood at the door, hand on the knob, his chest still heaving. His body screamed to leave—leave Theo sprawled in his own ruin, leave the suffocating air heavy with sweat and sex behind. But guilt crept in like a tide.
His eyes flicked back over his shoulder. Theo lay fully naked, legs askew, chest damp and exposed, his handsome face slack in unconsciousness. Vulnerable. And Yu's palm drifted to his own abdomen, tracing the faint swell only he knew was there.
'You're carrying his child.'
The truth struck like a lash. Could he really abandon the father of that child, leaving him bare and sprawled across a carpet like discarded prey?
Yu's answer came on a bitter swallow.
"…No."
With a long exhale, he let go of the door and padded back across the ruined room. Digging into his bag, his fingers closed on a packet of wet wipes.
'Thank Fumiko for making me carry them everywhere. Now it's practically habit along with… No, focus.'
He knelt beside Theo's body, forcing himself to look. To see. To tend.
Wiping the sheen from Theo's chest, from the long planes of his arms, down over the flat stretch of his abdomen—it was grueling, humiliating, not for Theo but for himself. For what it forced him to remember of every frantic hour spent entwined.
Still, with the vast energy he'd stolen, Yu's body didn't tire. His small frame moved with steady, patient efficiency, cleaning what he could until Theo's skin no longer gleamed with filth. When he was finished, he pulled Theo's clothes back piece by piece—fumbling with buttons, dragging fabric over limp arms, pulling his trousers back up over heavy, useless legs.
The hardest part was moving him. Yu tried. His arms hooked beneath Theo's shoulders, his legs braced against the carpet—but he was too small, too slight. Lifting him onto a chair was impossible. At last, with a defeated exhale, Yu settled on propping Theo against the wall instead, tilting him upright so his chest would rise and fall more easily.
He draped Theo's own coat across him, a small dignity, the least he could give. For one long second, Yu just stood there, staring at the shadowed line of Theo's jaw.
Then he turned, his hair clinging to the sweat at his nape, and slipped out the door. Darting down the hallway, out into the late evening air, he didn't look back again.
---
Yu's steps were uneven as he cut through the quiet streets toward home, the night air cool against skin still hot with memory. His bag hung loose from his shoulder, and his hand wouldn't leave the spot low on his abdomen.
'Carrying his child…'
The thought gnawed and swelled, colliding with another:
Assignments. Projects. Deadlines. His Rome project with Izan still demanded attention, and now, with the professor's sudden curveball, the runway assignment loomed like a guillotine. France had been his escape, his fragile plan to vanish before anyone noticed his body changing. Now the path was narrow—two weeks to prove himself.
His cravings hummed beneath his skin, deeper than hunger. Hormones, instincts, need—they clouded his head until he could barely sort one thought from another. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to focus. Finish the Rome project. Guide Izan and Joy. Nail the runway assignment. Get out before this pregnancy shows.
But as his shoes scuffed against the pavement, DK01's warning whispered in his skull.
[The cravings will worsen. Your hormones are altering your judgment. Each choice will be heavier now, Host.]
Yu squeezed his eyes shut, rolling them in irritation.
"Yeah, I noticed."
He hissed under his breath, before quickening his pace.
---
The next morning sunlight spilled through drawn blinds, stabbing Theo's eyes awake. His first sensation was warmth—strange, lingering warmth, like someone had cared for him in the aftermath. His shirt was buttoned. His coat draped across his chest. A faint scent clung to him—Yu's.
Theo's heart swelled, so full it ached. He almost smiled.
'He didn't abandon me. He—he stayed.'
But then he moved. Or tried to.
Agony stabbed every muscle, every joint, like knives twisting. He gritted his teeth, a strangled sound breaking free as his body refused to rise. Not even a second attempt. With a frustrated sigh, he sagged back against the wall.
Shakily, he dug into his coat pocket and fumbled his phone free. The screen blurred, his fingers stiff, but he managed to press Rin's number.
It rang once. Twice. Then a bright young voice picked up.
"Good morning, sir? What do you—"
Theo cut him off, his tone raw but sharp.
"Come get me. Now."
"Huh? Why? Are you—"
Theo's voice dropped to a dangerous growl.
"Ask again, and you'll be unemployed."
The line went silent. Then a stammered rushed voice echoed through.
"N-no, no, sir! I—I'll be right there. Please send your location!"
Theo thumbed the button, shot him the pin, and hung up without another word.
The phone slid from his grip to the floor, his hand trembling as it fell against his thigh. His thoughts drifted immediately, inevitably, to Yu. To the night. To the sound of his voice, the way his body had clung and yielded.
Theo shut his eyes, his lips curving faintly despite the throbbing ache in every limb.
'No matter what it takes, I'll never let you slip away again.'
The Love-o-meter ticked up:
40 - 45
---
Rin sprinted through the polished halls inside the donated Kingsley building of the college campus, hair slightly askew from the rush, his tie crooked. He had barely read the location pin before bolting, the dread of losing his job clawing at his throat.
When he opened the door to the private meeting room, he froze.
Theo Kingsley—the man who never faltered, who carried himself with a lion's presence—was slumped against the wall. His shirt hung loose, his skin a paler tan beneath the thin streaks of dried sweat. His usually impeccable hair clung damp to his forehead. His eyes, though open, burned like embers hollowed by exhaustion.
Rin's mouth went dry.
"…M-Mr. Kingsley?"
Theo tilted his head, a shadow of a smile on his lips.
"Took you long enough."
His voice was hoarse, ragged, as if pulled from the bottom of his lungs.
Rin dropped his briefcase and hurried over, crouching low to help steady him.
"What happened to you? You look—sir, you look like you've been through hell."
His words faltered as his gaze flicked to the shirt hastily buttoned, the faint bite marks at his collarbone, the scent in the air that was not perfume but something more primal. Rin swallowed hard. He didn't ask. He didn't dare.
Theo's lips twitched.
"Help me up. And don't say a word about this to anyone."
Rin nodded furiously, looping Theo's heavy arm over his shoulder. The weight nearly toppled him, but the fear of Theo's wrath and the strangeness of his condition kept him moving.
'What… what on earth did he do last night?'
---
Meanwhile, Yu's morning began like any other—or at least, he tried to make it so.
He hummed under his breath as he tidied the kitchen, wiping the counters until they shone. His reflection in the surface flickered at him: brighter skin, steadier hands, but his stomach clenched with memory. Last night's heat still clung to him. The way Theo had refused to stop. The way he himself had nearly given in to his instincts entirely.
Yu shoved it aside, forcing his thoughts into a neat box in the back of his head. Normalcy. Routine. That's what he needed.
He reached for his phone.
'This runway assignment… I can't do this alone.'
His thumbs typed fast.
Yuvin: Joy, I need help. For an assignment.
The reply came within seconds, bubbly as always.
Joy: Of course!! Come over!! Izan's here too 🥰💞✨ and big brother hasn't been home all night 🙄😒💁♀️💕
Yu froze, his chest tightening. He knew exactly why Theo hadn't come home. He typed back something vague—only for his fingers to betray him.
Yuvin: Because we slept together again.
Yu's eyes widened. His whole body went cold.
"No—no, no, no—"
He nearly hurled the phone at the wall.
The screen lit up again, vibrating violently.
Joy: ASDFGHJKL 🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️💥💫 ARE YOU SERIOUS?! AGAIN!! 😳😳🔥 AND WITH MY BROTHER?? 😭💖💀 KYAA I'M GONNA DIE 😵💫💓💞💘
The flood of hearts, fire emojis, and gibberish text poured in nonstop. Yu groaned, dragging a hand down his face, his ears burning crimson.
"…I regret everything."
He sighed, sinking into the couch, the phone buzzing relentlessly beside him. If he couldn't keep that one secret, there was no way he'd manage the bigger ones:
His plan to leave for France. The pregnancy. The fact that Joy's crazy brother had already gotten him pregnant with his child.
If Joy knew, she would shout it from the rooftops—or worse, run straight to Theo. And Theo would force the chains of marriage onto him without hesitation.
Yu hugged his knees to his chest, the webs tangling tighter in his head, each strand pulling him closer to the inevitable.
Another sigh escaped him.
"…I'm doomed."
---
Yu walked the familiar path to the Kingsley estate, his steps light but his heart heavy. His body still hummed with the unnatural vitality Theo had poured into him the night before—Incubus instincts made him glow almost unfairly, his skin smooth and radiant, his stride springy despite his dread. Every polished window of the estate loomed like a mirror, catching him in fleeting glimpses that whispered:
You look alive, but inside you're unraveling.
He drew in a slow breath as the estate gates opened for him, the guard recognizing him without question. Joy's texts hadn't stopped—strings of emojis, demands to "tell her everything," and little hearts stacked like towers. Yu tucked the phone into his pocket and pasted on his practiced smile, though his jaw felt tight. He muttered under his breath.
"This better be worth it, DK."
---
At the same time, Rin all but staggered through Theo's private residence with the man's arm slung over his shoulder.
Theo's weight was immense, not just physically but in presence—Rin felt crushed beneath it, even when the silence stretched between them. Every wince Theo made, every low grunt of pain as his muscles seized, only sharpened Rin's unease.
The moment he managed to deposit Theo on the edge of his massive bed, Rin nearly collapsed himself.
"Sir, should I—call a doctor?"
Theo's sharp glare snapped like a whip. His voice was ragged, but his pride intact.
"No."
Rin swallowed and backed off. He had seen Kingsley angry before, but this was something else—a man worn raw and still radiating dominance, the heat of some unseen battlefield clinging to his skin.
Theo leaned back against the carved headboard, his shirt half undone, his hair disheveled. The phantom sensation of Yu's body—tight, burning, utterly consuming—still coiled around him. Every blink of his eyes replayed the way Yu had gasped, the way his lithe body had writhed under his hands.
Theo's chest heaved, half from exhaustion, half from want. He could still taste Yu on his lips, still smell his skin. His pride ached at being forced unconscious by sheer depletion, but his hunger drowned the shame.
"…Yuvin…"
He muttered, his voice cracked but fierce.
"You won't run from me. You can't."
Rin's spine stiffened at the sound, but he kept his eyes down. He had no idea what had happened between Theo and Yuvin—but judging by the man's state, he didn't dare ask.
---
Yu stepped into the Kingsley estate, the marble floor gleaming beneath his shoes, and the sound of Joy's excited voice practically bowled him over before he even reached the parlor.
"There you are!!"
Joy's sparkling eyes found him instantly, her phone clutched in one hand as though she'd been texting him right up until the moment he crossed the threshold. Izan sat nearby on the sofa, his notebook open across his lap, but the way his shoulders tensed at Yu's arrival betrayed his nerves.
Yu inhaled softly, bracing himself.
'Keep it simple. Keep it focused.'
"I…"
His voice came steadier than he expected.
"Need your help, Joy."
Her whole face lit up, stars practically shining in her eyes.
"Of course!!"
Yu forced himself to continue before she ran away with assumptions.
"I've got this runway assignment. It's… kind of sprung up suddenly, and with classes and the Rome project, I'm swamped."
He gave a faint, sheepish smile, letting his bangs shield his eyes as he added.
"If you could help me gather materials, and if you'd agree to be my model, I'm sure I'll pass."
Joy clasped her hands under her chin like she'd just been handed a proposal.
"You want me as your model?!"
"Yes."
Yu's tone was clipped but polite—praying she wouldn't press for the why.
"You've got the right look. And you're Joy Kingsley. If anyone can own a runway, it's you."
Across the room, Izan shifted uncomfortably, his pencil tapping against his notebook. His eyes flicked between Yu and Joy, a mixture of admiration and something more complicated twisting through him.
Joy, meanwhile, squealed, springing up from the sofa and nearly knocking Izan's notes aside as she bounced on her toes.
"YES!! A thousand times yes!! I'll be your model, your muse, your everything—"
She stopped herself mid-ramble only to beam even brighter.
"We're going to make you win this, Yu!"
Her enthusiasm filled the room like a storm, and Yu had to steel himself again, forcing a small chuckle to soften her fire. Inside, though, his chest tightened.
'Please don't ask why. Please don't dig too deep.'
Joy had already twirled twice in place, tugging at her skirt as though she were already walking the imagined runway.
"We'll need fabric—oh, something with a flow! Silk? No, maybe chiffon. Oh, and shoes, I have to pick the perfect shoes—Izannnn, you'll help too, right? You can be our design assistant!"
Izan blinked, startled, then gave a small nod. His pencil hovered over his notes, but his gaze never left Yu.
'If Yu's trusting her with this, then… I'll help as much as I can too. I owe him that much.'
Quiet determination sharpened the line of his jaw.
Yu allowed himself a small exhale.
'Maybe this could work. Joy was swept up enough that she—'
"Wait a minute…"
She said suddenly, her voice slicing through the laughter and sparkle. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing with curiosity.
"Why do you need to pass this assignment so badly? You've never asked me for help like this before."
Yu's chest seized. He opened his mouth to deflect—only to feel the tightening snap of Yuvin's control threading through his body, dragging the words up and out.
"…Because this assignment will get me a spot to study abroad in France for the next semester."
The words hung there like a blade cutting the air.
The room went still.
Joy's hands fell from her skirt. Izan froze mid-tap of his pencil. Even the faint tick of the grandfather clock in the hall seemed to pause.
Silent. Cold.
Yu's pulse roared in his ears. He hadn't wanted to say it. He hadn't wanted either of them to know yet. And yet—he had.
Joy's wide eyes searched Yu's face, disbelief flickering into something rawer. Izan's fingers clenched around his pencil until it snapped in two.
Time itself felt frozen.