* Mature Content Warning - apologies in advance for this one *
<< Wicked Game - Ursine Vulpine, Annaca >>
Waking up from a short nap, Kaius ran his fingers over the gold coins again and again, grinning from ear to ear. One hundred zehn was more money than he had ever seen in his life and he had won it fair and square, after years of toiling to slowly repair and modify his precious bike.
Every two years, Nasiru held a highly anticipated race around the desert area that encircled the city walls and Kai had won, half a lap ahead of second place.
And he already knew what he was going to do with every last coin.
First, he was going to buy a ring for Gen, they had been dating for close to five years now and he knew his mother especially would have wanted to see him settle down and start a family of his own.
And with every zehn that was left, he planned to make his father's life easier.
If he was going to marry then they would need help, a nicer home with a better kitchen, maybe even a cook or a maid.
Kai beamed at the prospects of his future and of the happiness he could give to his family and take for himself.
He scooped the coins into his pouch and threw it into the drawer of his nightstand.
These plans were for tomorrow, tonight he had a party to get to. He was meeting his family in the market square for a post-race celebration that the town threw after the biennial tournament, and Rami had asked to see him before then; no doubt for a surprise he had set up to commemorate his win.
'Ahh, I hope he bought more of that wine we used to drink in secret when we were underage.' He chuckled to himself at the memory of the overpoweringly strong and bitter sweet concoction that they'd created, the one that caused Rami's usually blank and expressionless face to crack into a disgusted sneer at every sip.
He jumped down the last two steps and approached Rami's self-contained shelter beside the garage.
But a strange noise gave him pause before he could call out for him.
He snapped his mouth shut, his hand hovering against the heavy, embroidered curtains that covered the front of his living quarters.
The city was always hot and the people were trusting. No one locked their doors and many who lived in poorer districts would have similar coverings in place of a doorway. Anybody could come and go.
But he was sure that he recognised the voice that he just heard.
Wasn't that the way that Genevieve usually moaned his name.
Cold dread crept inside of his body and he felt as though his heart had dropped into his stomach.
But no, maybe it was something else. Maybe she was in pain and Rami was helping her. Or maybe she was with someone else.
Just not him.
Not him.
With a shaking hand, he gently pushed aside the heavy curtain and peered into the softly lit space.
As soon as he did so, the sounds grew louder. Unmistakable sounds of skin against skin and heavy, shuddering breaths.
Rameses' living quarters were relatively humble and had been built in a hurry. Containing a small, closed off, bathroom area at the back, and a minimalistic kitchen area beside it with a single counter. The bed was low and pushed against the far wall, covered with various, brightly-coloured blankets and silk throws that he'd collected over the years, but it was empty as of now.
Instead, atop the wooden table that he often used as a work bench when he brought home broken parts from the airships that he worked to maintain and repair, Genevieve lay naked and sprawled out on her front, gripping the edges tightly, her face held down by his large hand.
Rameses was behind her, his chest bare and a loose pair of harem trousers slid down below his groin as though he hadn't bothered to fully undress as she had.
And his face was markedly bored.
His hand gripped her hair and her body was jolting with every thrust, eliciting the pained moans that Kai had heard from outside. Yet he wasn't making a single sound.
But then, his eyes, that had been staring, seemingly vacant and unfocused, at his hand in her long brown hair, flickered up to the entrance - and met Kai's.
Kai pressed his hand over his mouth to stifle the scream that threatened to tear its way out of his throat at the sight of his face when his gaze had landed on him.
Every trace of vacant boredom disappeared in an instant, his features lighting up and breaking into a wide smile that he had never seen before.
But Kai didn't move. He wasn't sure he could if he tried, as though his feet had been rooted to the spot as soon as the silvery blue of his irises met his.
An odd, cold laugh slipped out from Rameses' lips and his hand twisted tighter in her hair.
And then, he leant forwards and placed his other hand over her eyes as he pulled her body up from the table, flush against his chest with her head against his shoulder; not breaking eye contact with Kai for a single moment as he continued to thrust into her over and over.
"You know...Gen." He whispered into her ear, loud enough for his voice to carry to where Kai stood, shocked into immobility, "I think Kaius is going to use that money to ask you to marry him. What do you think about that?"
"Rami...please..." Genevieve whimpered, urging him on, her hand snaking behind her to grab his hip.
"Tell me, baby. What are you going to say if he asks?" Rameses pressed, keeping one hand over her eyes as his other wrapped around her breast and pulled lightly at her nipple.
Genevieve gasped loudly and pushed her hips back into him with urgency, "N-no! I'll say no!"
Kai forgot how to breathe, a sharp pain wrenching at his heart.
He wanted to believe he was still asleep in his room. Maybe he hadn't woken up and all of this was just an awful nightmare and his life was just as happy and perfect as he thought it was only moments before.
But Rameses kept talking.
"And why is that?" He asked, his husky voice thick with lust.
"You know...you know why...fuuuck...ahh!" She cried out when he pinched her skin, biting at the lobe of her ear whilst he continued to stare into Kai's eyes with a leering smirk on his handsome features.
"I'd like to hear it. Tell me again."
"I-I don't love him...you, I w-want you...Rami...I always h-have. Y-you just, never looked at - at me. You were - ahh! Y-you were always...with h-him." She choked out through needy sobs when he finally began to move faster.
He pushed her head back down onto the table with another empty, hollow laugh and raised his hand to run it through the thick dark curls on his head, pushing them out of his eyes as they shined with that cold, unnatural light.
"So you pretended to love Kai to get close to me?" He confirmed, his own voice breathless now, his movements growing more frantic and the grin fading from his face as he continued to stare into Kai's petrified, hazel eyes.
"Yes! Y-you! I w-want you!" She cried out one last time, her body shuddering underneath him.
But Rameses didn't stop and Kai didn't move.
His cold blue eyes, blazing with icy desire, were holding him in place and his hips slapped against the skin of her thighs harder and faster.
And then, a low moan slipped past his lips and his eyelids fluttered closed, the muscles in his abs flexing when, with a few long, hard strokes he collapsed forwards, breathing heavily as he emptied inside of her.
Once his eyes had closed, it was as though a strange spell had broken, releasing their hold on Kai.
He staggered back when he felt the ground tipping underneath his feet and stumbled away as far as he could.
As soon as he reached the edge of the garden he felt his stomach lurch and promptly vomited onto the floor, his legs weak and shaking, his face pale-white and coated in a thin layer of cold sweat.
But he hadn't stumbled far enough.
He could still hear it. He could still see it behind his eyes.
Kai ran back into the house and threw himself onto his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling for one long moment and gasping for air.
Closing his eyes, he pushed his palms against them hard enough to see stars bursting behind them. As though, if he pressed hard enough, he could reset his mind to the minutes before he saw it all.
But he had seen it, and he had heard it. Every poisonous word that fell from his lips and every crushing admission that came from hers.
Everything had been a lie.
His life wasn't perfect at all. She had only wanted Rameses, not him. And Rami...
With only one thought circulating through his mind, 'I have to get away. I have to get as far away as possible.' Kai pulled himself up from the bed and began to throw his meagre belongings into his pack, grabbing the pouch of gold from his nightstand as he went.
He didn't cry, or scream, or shout. There was nothing but a cold empty void in the pit of his stomach and his limbs felt as though they were moving on auto-pilot when he ran back down the stairs, pausing only to race into the kitchen and snatch his mother's photo from the table.
His father had others, he wouldn't miss it, he thought absentmindedly. His mind hazy and grey.
He just had to leave, and it had to be now. If he waited, he might change his mind. Even if he stopped to write a note, someone might find him, they might convince him to stay.
But Kaius couldn't stay. He couldn't see them again. He didn't want to be within a thousand miles of those eyes, his voice, that damned smirk on his face.
So Kai ran.
He ran from his home, from his family - from them.
Passing the crowds of people heading to the market square, he ignored the startled yelps when he shoved through them, and he raced towards the edge of the city where the shipyard lay.
'Anywhere...I'll go anywhere else...anywhere is better than here...it has to be better.'
**