[ Ratha Guild - Guide Wing, Floor 3 ]
Simon sat on the narrow, wooden bench outside her office, shoulders hunched slightly forward, elbows resting on his knees. His thumbs rubbed together in a nervous loop while his left leg jittered restlessly beneath him.
The waiting hall played gentle piano music, sunlight and blue sky streaming through the wide hallway windows. It was a balmy spring day. The building's air circulation stirred the leaves of a tall green ficus standing like a decorative guard dog beside the clinic door.
Simon's gaze drifted back to the white sliding door across from him. A simple nameplate was affixed to its surface:
Room 310
C-Rank Guide
Sera Yun
He dragged a hand through his blonde hair, a faint blush creeping into his cheeks. His bright green eyes lingered on the door, betraying his anticipation.
He was looking forward to seeing her.
Their first meeting had been procedural: mandatory cross-grade exposure.
Every unpaired esper and guide within one rank difference were required to meet at least once so the guild's match System could calculate their compatibility sync rate. She had been new then, freshly registered with the guild, rotating through probationary sessions with D- to B-rank espers.
When he'd first skimmed her profile on his watch, he'd thought nothing of it.
C-rank guide, B-rank esper. A mismatch.
Low expected pollution clearance. Probably around a sixty-percent sync rate. Most likely. Inefficient. B-rank espers were usually assigned B-rank guides for a reason.
But work was work. The meeting had been mandatory.
He remembered sitting across from her that first appointment, mildly irritated, figuring it would be the first and last time they'd meet. After all, there wasn't really a purpose in maintaining a relationship with a guide if the results weren't going to be good. Of course, he would still be polite and professional, but a waste of his time was still a waste.
She was pretty to look at, sure - in a cute, understated way - but not stunning. She was quite shorter than him, only coming up to his chest. Her long black hair was neatly braided into two plaits that rested against her shoulders. She wore a white blouse, black pencil skirt, and black tights; standard office wear.
What had caught him off guard were her red eyes - strangely perceptive - and, embarrassingly for him, her figure. He'd caught himself staring at her rather large bosom. And she'd noticed.
She hadn't said a word. Just smiled.
Simon covered his face with his hand, mortified at the memory. I made a terrible first impression, he thought. Standoffish and obvious. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
That first time… when she had begun guiding him - starting with holding his hands, then a gentle kiss to his cheek, then moving to his lips… heat crept up his neck again at the memory.
It hadn't been particularly intense at first. No overwhelming surge in pollution clearance. No significant sign of efficacy. Just… oddly, it felt really good.
A strange, disarming softness settled into him before he'd realized his shoulders had dropped, his breathing slowing without instruction, and he was leaning into her kisses wanting more. Her voice, gentle and murmuring against his lips, had brushed the edges of his awareness, not quite words, more like reassurance shaped into sound.
When she leaned close, the warmth of her body grounded him in a way he hadn't felt in years. He found himself pushing against her, hands slipping to her waist, teasing her lips with his tongue, begging them to open.
It felt like she was taking all the fatigue away from him, leaving him with only pleasure and peace. Almost like something heavy inside him had been gently pulled away and something restorative placed in the gap. He felt like he would do anything she wanted him to, just for more of that soft, cloud-like feeling.
But the session hadn't been statistically productive. The guiding summary had made that clear. Their sync rate hovered in the low sixties, and a single session with her cleared barely half the pollution a same-rank guide could have managed in the same time.
One grade apart meant diminished compatibility, after all. On paper, there were several guides in the guild who would have been far more efficient for him.
But none of them felt like… that. Of course, naturally, it felt good when guides purified espers, the higher the match rate the better, but sessions with her made him feel almost… possessed.
Simon swallowed and shifted on the bench.
He'd requested her again the following cycle.
Then again.
Then again after that, quietly, almost guiltily, knowingly asking for something indulgent rather than necessary. By the fifth session, the tension had eased into something like familiarity. She remembered how he took his tea. He learned the cadence of her breathing when she concentrated. And every session, he left feeling breathless, wanting a little more.
She was a morale hire, the rumors were somewhat true. Not the most performant guide, but definitely one that he wanted to see just a little longer. Enough that he requested her every week for the past two months - the maximum frequency unpaired espers and guides could request of each other if they were of rank difference.
The data on his watch didn't lie. His mood and temperament (subjective figures, admittedly) had improved considerably since he started requesting her. It showed in his behavior at work.
Was it because she was a good kisser? Was it her friendly demeanor? He wasn't sure. She definitely was charming but it felt like that wasn't the whole of it.
He just felt… weirdly… tamed in her presence.
A small clack rippled through the air and the sliding door opened. Her gaze met his and she smiled, red eyes glinting with a mischievous delight. The sun was streaming behind her, dowsing her in a soft daylight glow and Simon unconsciously held his breath.
"Hey Simon, good to see you," she murmured, her voice soft and gentle, a small curve on her lips.
Simon's heart thumped hard in his chest.