He was mortified. He buried his face into his palms before peeking out in between his fingers. He wanted to deny it so badly, but he couldn't when it was right in front of him. Morgan and him were both topless, with red marks spread across their entire upper bodies. He hesitantly lifted the covers, only to let out a sigh of relief when he saw that both of their pants were still on.
Tiptoeing out of the bed, he made a break for it, running out of the house without bothering to grab a shirt. He needed to get as far away as possible.
"Master..?"
His breath hitched as he stiffly turned toward the voice belonging to his student… but most importantly, his sister.
Looking down and seeing the condition of his body in proper lighting, well…
"Look, I can ex—"
"I'll just go now.."
"W-wait! Let me—"
She was already walking back into his house by the time he called out. He sighed before jumping into the shadows, popping back up in a forest not too far away from his house.
It was peaceful here. Nobody would be able to find him. He could clear his mind before preparing what to do now.
He couldn't bring himself to go back to his house for some time, so taking out his phone, he started to call Kai.
It only took a few rings before he picked up.
"Hey Sunny! Wha—"
"Kaiiiii! Did you get the mail!"
Since when were they living together? It's only been around two months since he set them up.
"Y-Yes I did!"
As soon as he was about to speak, Aiko's voice came through the phone once more.
"What?! Say it properly!"
"B-But Sunny is on the ph—"
"I don't care!"
He felt like he shouldn't be hearing this.
"P-Please Aik—"
"Say it."
He should probably hang up.
"Y-Yes I did.. Mommy.."
The phone crushed in his hands and crumbled onto the ground. He stomped it into the dirt before controlling the shadows around the forest to form into a tentacle and crush it once more until nothing but fine dust remained.
No matter how bad his situation was right now… Kai's was worse.
He let his presence fade before entering the dream realm and heading to see Cassie once more.
---
"So you've come.. I've been expecting you."
She turned around on a random chair sitting in the middle of the grass to face him, resting her cheek on her fist.
"Tell me, what is it that you wish to kn—"
"How bored are you..?"
She paused for a second.
"Very."
He sighed. Should he really be telling her this? It was quite embarrassing to say, but it would eat him alive if he didn't.
"Don't worry, I already know."
Huh?
"Wait what? How? Also, fix your posture."
She raised her slouched shoulders before tilting her head toward him.
"First of all, I'm sure your posture will be worse when I send Quiet Dancer to pierce your groin, and secondly, I know because I used my ascended ability on you and was looking through your eyes the whole time. Weak tongue game, by the way."
He glared at her while simultaneously covering his lower regions.
"First of all, I'd like to see you try. Secondly, you're weird, and a creep, and you're basically that thing Effie kept saying she wanted for a future husband… what was it again, a cuck? And thirdly, you wouldn't know anything about that since you'll be lonely your whole life!"
She smiled before standing up and folding the chair.
"I can accept the first two, but the third is wrong. After all, I'll have you by my side, right?"
Those words made him pause for a second. After all, he knew what she was saying was true, even if he hated the fact that it was true deep down.
He and Cassie had a special relationship—one he couldn't exactly put into words. It wasn't romantic, but it wasn't platonic either. It was a relationship no label could be put on… and yet, if a label had to be used, he would say soulmates fit well.
He remembered back in the outskirts when he had asked his mom about soulmates. They were something he thought existed only in a romantic sense, but in truth, it was much more than that. It could even describe his and Cassie's relationship, whatever that may be.
"I guess you're right, but that's besides the point. The main reason I came here is to ask."
He could feel his face heating up. He tried to bury the heat down to his core, but that only gave him butterflies.
"Why… why am I not in love with Morgan?"
Everything should point to him being in love—last night being the biggest indicator of that. But perhaps that was just a drunk mistake that should have never happened in the first place.
"And why do you think you aren't in love?"
It was quite simple, really.
"My heart just… it just doesn't beat fast whenever things happen with her! And by things, I mean us—"
"No need to say anymore."
She sighed before her head jolted up as if she had an amazing idea.
"Think of a naked Mordret!"
"What the fuck?"
An awkward silence lasted for a couple of minutes, but eventually—begrudgingly and sadly—he obeyed.
"Gods, I think I'm going to throw up.."
Her hand shot out, pointing at his chest.
"Now feel your heartbeat!"
He had no clue what she was getting at, but he obeyed—
"Why is it so slow?! Am I dying? Did that mental image cause corruption?!"
A baffled look appeared on her face before she turned around, though he could hear suppressed laughter.
Eventually, she turned back around, coughing before speaking once more.
"Sunny, when were the times you felt your heartbeat before this Morgan thing?"
He had to think about it. He couldn't really recall a time at all. Actually… there was one.
"Back when I got gutted by the cathedral knight, I made sure my heart was beating."
Why was she looking at him like he was crazy?
"That's sad, but alright… and how do you think your heart was beating? Fast, slow, or regular?"
"Can you just get to the point."
She walked up to him before sending a punch into his gut. It didn't really hurt, since he'd grown used to having shadows wrapped around him at all times due to a certain theory he had.
"Fine then. The only time you checked your heartbeat was when you were gutted. Therefore, you used that as your base reference for a normal heartbeat because you're a stupid, no-good idiot. But due to the pain, your heartbeat must have been racing, which means whenever you checked your heartbeat with Morgan and assumed it was regular, the truth was it was beating just as fast as when you were gutted. And therefore, that means…"
---
I'm in love with Morgan.
He opened the door to the house, walking to the shower and turning it on.
I'm in love with Morgan.
He stepped into the shower but just stood there under the water for an entire hour, not washing his body at all.
I'm in love with Morgan.
He took his toothbrush and brushed his teeth, but he put no toothpaste on and was holding it backward.
I'm in love with Morgan.
He walked out of the bathroom and saw Morgan on the couch. For some reason, she seemed…
He was in love with Morgan.
"Sup."
…
"Uh… you just gonna stand there?"
He was in love with Morgan.
"Well, I had something to tell you anyway. I got a call from Valor. They want me to deal with Mordret, as he made unexpected moves, so I'll be leaving for an indefinite amount of time."
He was in love with—wait, what?