A few days later, a calm afternoon enveloped the West Pavilion. Soft sunlight filtered through the tall windows, bathing the central room in a warm golden hue. Calian was sitting on his favorite red sofa, relaxed with his legs crossed. His beloved journal lay open wide on his lap, the goose-feather quill dancing quickly across the paper, recording everything he wanted to note.
He was so focused. His brows slightly furrowed, lips pursed a little as he pondered something, strands of purple hair falling softly to cover part of his forehead. He paid no attention to anything around him, not even the sound of approaching footsteps.
Wolvin entered the room with quiet steps, but his heart pounded like a war drum. He had been hiding his feelings extremely well these past few days. His gaze no longer lingered too long, his tail no longer wagged wildly when Calian passed by, his breathing carefully controlled to stay steady. From the outside, everything seemed normal. But inside, he was like a bomb ready to explode.
He approached directly and sat right next to Calian, so close that their arms nearly touched. Calian kept writing, the quill never stopping.
"Partner…" Wolvin greeted softly, his voice trembling slightly despite trying to sound casual.
Only then did Calian lift his face. His sharp purple eyes met Wolvin's golden ones with innocent curiosity, not a hint of suspicion. "What is it, Wolvin?"
Wolvin took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Aren't you attending your father's birthday celebration, even secretly?"
Calian shook his head calmly, his expression as flat as ever. "Didn't the soldiers sent here already instruct me not to appear? It's better if I just stay here or continue training with you."
Wolvin nodded in understanding, but his eyes couldn't tear away from Calian's face as it returned to the journal. The purple hair gleaming in the sunlight, the pale neck visible when he bent slightly to read old notes, the long elegant hands holding the quill with perfect precision… Everything felt like deliberate temptation, even though Wolvin knew Calian was completely unaware.
He's always like this. A genius in magic, but absolutely clueless when it comes to matters of the heart. If I don't act now, I'll keep torturing myself with these feelings.
The intention he had bottled up finally exploded. With a swift motion like an assassin ambushing a target, Wolvin snatched the journal from Calian's hands. The quill fell to the carpet with a soft sound.
"Wolvin!" Calian shouted immediately, his voice rarely that loud, filled with annoyance. "What are you doing? Give me back my journal right now!"
Wolvin didn't answer. He deliberately dropped the journal to the floor with a plop, making Calian even more irritated. As Calian bent down to retrieve his precious journal, Wolvin moved faster. He pinned Calian's body with both hands, pushing him until Calian's back pressed firmly against the red sofa's backrest. In an instant, Wolvin was straddling his thighs, sitting on Calian's lap, pressing down so he couldn't move.
Their gazes locked. They were so close that Wolvin could feel Calian's warm breath becoming irregular, could see the long lashes trembling slightly.
"What are you doing, Wolvin?" Calian asked, his voice a mix of confusion and mild anger, brows raised high.
"If I don't do this, you'll never notice!" Wolvin replied seriously, his golden eyes blazing with determination he could no longer hold back.
Not understanding the meaning, Calian spontaneously asked, "What do you want to do? Why are you pinning me like this?"
Wolvin leaned his face close to Calian's ear, his hot breath brushing against the pale skin of his neck. "I want to devour you! Can you make me full, partner?" he whispered, his voice low and trembling with overflowing desire.
Calian's eyes widened in shock, his mind jumping to the same old conclusion. "W-wait! Are you still hungry?"
"It's not 'still hungry'!" Wolvin answered firmly, his voice almost a small growl. "I'm starving!"
"Then I'll make you some—"
Before the sentence finished, Wolvin could no longer restrain himself. Mwah! His lips pressed against Calian's. A deep, urgent kiss filled with all the feelings he had kept bottled up for too long. Calian was completely shocked, eyes wide open, body tensing instantly. He tried to pull away, hands pushing against Wolvin's chest, but Wolvin only hugged his neck tighter, fingers slipping between the soft purple strands.
Why is he suddenly kissing me like this? What's going through his head? Is he in such heat because the beastfolk mating season has started? Calian thought in panic, his face flushing intensely without control.
Wolvin finally released the kiss, pulling back slightly to see Calian's face now filled with shock, confusion, bewilderment, yet his cheeks were burning red.
"If I don't do this, you'll never realize what's around you! Right now, I'm starving! Can you satisfy me, partner?" Wolvin asked again, his golden eyes staring intensely into Calian's purple ones without blinking.
"W-what do you want me to do?" Calian asked softly, voice almost a whisper from lingering shock.
Wolvin didn't answer with words. His slender hand moved downward, slipping into Calian's pants, grasping the shaft that had already begun to harden from the kiss. When his fingers touched it, Wolvin grinned slightly, a naughty smile full of triumph. Without thinking twice, he pulled Calian's pants down until the shaft was fully exposed.
Calian's eyes widened even further.
"I've been holding it in for days." Wolvin said while playfully stroking Calian's shaft, his movements gentle but deliberately arousing. "I've been giving you signals, but you never notice!"
"Huh? What do you mea—"
Wolvin kissed Calian's lips again, this time deeper, while stroking the shaft with a soft, steady rhythm, hoping Calian's desire would fully awaken.
"Hmmp…" A small involuntary moan escaped Calian's mouth, signaling to Wolvin that the man's body was starting to respond.
While still kissing Calian's lips, Wolvin undid his own pants. His own hardened shaft now pressed directly against Calian's, and he stroked them both together with slow, sensual movements. The heat of skin against skin making both of them gasp.
What? Why? Why is he doing this? What's happening to him? Calian thought, his mind in complete chaos.
Calian finally managed to forcefully break the kiss, breathing heavily. "Wolvin! What are you doing? Why are you acting like this toward me? Don't you know the effect you're having on me?"
Wolvin momentarily regained his senses and fell silent. He lowered his head while still sitting on Calian's lap. "S-sorry. I really couldn't hold back anymore. I'm tired of your obliviousness!"
Calian grew confused by the word "obliviousness".
"Obliviousness? What kind of obliviousness do you mean, Wolvin? Tell me!" he pressed, gripping Wolvin's shoulders with both hands.
Wolvin looked at Calian's handsome face radiating anger yet curiosity, and his courage finally exploded completely. "I… I…" Wolvin stammered, voice pausing briefly.
"I what? Go on!" Calian urged, gently shaking Wolvin's shoulders.
"I LIKE YOU, YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU GET IT? AREN'T YOU AWARE? ARE YOU REALLY SUCH AN OBLIVIOUS MAN WHO NEVER NOTICES OTHER PEOPLE'S FEELINGS, HUH?" Wolvin shouted loudly, nearly yelling. The sound echoed through the empty pavilion, bouncing off the marble walls.
Calian fell silent after hearing the confession. His eyes drifted down to their still-exposed lower bodies, then back to Wolvin's face flushed with embarrassment and emotion.
"You… you like me? Just because of your feelings for me, you went so far as to strip me like this?"
Wolvin lowered his head, unable to answer, his tail curling tightly behind him in shame.
Calian let out a long sigh, then gently cupped Wolvin's cheeks and lifted his bowed face. Their eyes met, analytical purple against teary golden.
"Answer me honestly! If you can't speak, just nod!"
Wolvin nodded without a word.
"Are you serious about liking me?"
Wolvin nodded.
"Do you realize that I'm a man, just like you?"
Wolvin nodded again.
"Do you want me to be your husband that badly?"
Wolvin nodded once more, deeper this time, his cheeks growing hotter.
"Very well…"
Wolvin felt joy surge through him. His heart leaped, hope blooming in his chest.
"But…"
Wolvin immediately spoke up. "But what? Tell me!"
"Statis!"
In that instant, time stopped. Wolvin's body floated in the air, only from his shoulders to his feet frozen, while his head could still move.
"Why are you stopping time? If you're rejecting me, just say it!" Wolvin demanded, voice mixed with anger and despair.
Calian, still naked from the waist down, stood up from the sofa and walked away from the floating Wolvin, heading calmly toward the stairs leading to the second floor of the pavilion.
"Where are you going? Release your time magic! Calian! Caliaaaannnn!!!!!"
His shouts echoed through the room, but Calian paid no attention, continuing up the stairs until he disappeared from sight.