“I’m sorry…”
“Hm? For what?”
“I feel like I said something unnecessary…”
“Unnecessary? It’s a perfectly understandable concern. You don’t need to apologize, Major.”
“Still…”
Iberis, visibly depressed, lowered his head. Then, a large hand enveloped his head.
“You don’t need to apologize to me for having such thoughts, Major. I understand why you thought that way. When you like someone, all sorts of worries come to mind. Sometimes you get anxious too. It’s a natural phenomenon, so don’t blame yourself.”
Lucas comforted him in a gentle voice, as if he understood everything. While doing so, he softly stroked Iberis’s head.
From what he had observed, Iberis was a person more accustomed to misfortune than happiness. As an S-class esper, he had lived a life of helping and giving to others as a major in the defense force. Whenever there was a problem, everyone turned to Iberis.
Because of this, Iberis couldn’t show weakness to anyone. In other words, even when things were tough, he had no one to lean on.
For someone who had lived like this, finally, a person appeared on whom he could rely without hesitation. For Iberis, who had rarely experienced unconditional kindness and affection, the current situation must feel very unfamiliar. At the same time, he must be more emotionally comfortable than ever.
Like a child who has tasted sweet candy for the first time and refuses to eat anything else, demanding more sweets, Iberis was currently intoxicated by the emotional satisfaction that the feeling of love brings.
That’s why negative thoughts occasionally surfaced. The more he desired not to lose the peace he was experiencing after so long, the more anxious Iberis became.
“Do you… also have times when you feel anxious?”
Encouraged by the affectionate touch, Iberis cautiously opened his mouth. He wanted to know if it was just him, or if Lucas felt the same way.
“Of course. I worry that you might be mistaking your fondness for me as love because of the physical stability and mental satisfaction that guiding provides.”
“What? Absolutely not!”
Surprised by Lucas’s answer, Iberis shouted as if screaming.
“When I first received your confession, I did have such worries as the guiding level increased, but… I, I don’t think that way now!”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
“Are you sure it’s not because I’m the most compatible guide you’ve met so far, and you’ve developed feelings for me because you’re receiving proper guiding for the first time? If we weren’t name matches, would you have felt this good?”
“That’s…”
Iberis felt his breath catch for a moment at the sharp question. Unable to find a suitable answer, he fidgeted with his lips, as if unsure what to say.
“See? You’d feel this wronged if I said you came to like me because I’m your name match.”
Lucas, who had been staring at the bewildered Iberis, soon made a deflating sound. Then he lightly pinched Iberis’s cheek.
“Because of guiding, because of the name match… if we keep worrying about reasons like this, there’s no end to it. What does it matter whether your body was attracted first rather than your heart, or if we came to like each other because of some force we don’t know about? What’s important is that you and I want and love each other now.”
“…Yes. You’re right.”
Yes, there’s no need to think about it so complicatedly. Iberis nodded in agreement with Lucas’s words. As he did so, the uncomfortable feeling in his chest cleared up as if by magic.
“Well, it’s partly my fault for not giving you enough certainty… I’ll stop nagging now.”
“What did you do wrong? I’m the one who dug myself into a hole.”
“If you hadn’t doubted my love, Major, you wouldn’t have had to agonize internally. I guess I’ll have to work hard to prove it from now on.”
Lucas muttered as if he had a long way to go. He stretched the soft cheek and then released it, this time grasping the delicate wrist. Then he pulled Iberis towards himself.
“When did I ever doubt—Ah!”
Iberis fell into Lucas’s arms, pulled by the sudden force.
“You didn’t fully trust my feelings, so it’s no different from doubting. Or should I rephrase it as ‘I made you anxious’?”
Lucas, who had seated Iberis on his thigh, gently nibbled on the tempting lips. The way he bit the soft, tender flesh hard enough to leave teeth marks seemed like a sulky complaint, or perhaps a warning of punishment.
“Ugh, Luke, it hurts.”
Iberis winced, unable to bear the sensation of his lips being bitten and the stinging pain. He couldn’t understand why even the slightest pain felt so vivid and intense when it came from Lucas, even though he had endured far worse without flinching.
“Even if we can’t go all the way, we need to cool down the heat… Will you indulge me for a bit?”
Lucas whispered in a voice thick with desire, sucking on Iberis’s now redder lips. He then grabbed the hem of Iberis’s pajamas. Today, Iberis was wearing a round-neck T-shirt style pajama top without buttons. After briefly considering whether to remove it, Lucas decided to lift the hem up instead.
“Hold it with your mouth.”
“Mmm.”
Iberis obediently bit the edge of his pajama top with his lips as Lucas wanted. This revealed his chest, marked with reddish bruises.
Like a bee drawn to a flower, Lucas buried his face in Iberis’s chest and took a petal-pink area into his mouth. He sucked on it with an audible sound.
“Ah!”
As the moist, warm breath clung to his skin, Iberis’s eyes squeezed shut. With his vision darkened, his hearing and sense of touch became even more sensitive. The sound of Lucas sucking on his chest pierced his ears, making the back of his neck flush hot.
Lucas alternated between rolling the tiny bit of flesh with his tongue, sucking it with his lips, and gently biting it. Then he took a deep breath, his chest swelling.
The familiar body scent that seeped through his nose, mixed with his own scent.
Because they had been together constantly except during meals and bathing, their scents had now completely intermingled. Lucas thought he’d like Iberis’s body to continue smelling of his scent in the future as he opened his mouth.
“Ugh!”
As Lucas bit into Iberis’s chest as if biting into fruit, Iberis’s slender waist stiffened. When Lucas then licked the newly made teeth marks with his tongue, Iberis’s hands clutching Lucas’s shoulders clenched tightly.
Feeling the body against him tremble, Lucas wrapped an arm around Iberis’s supple waist and supported his back with his hand. This pressed their lower bodies even closer together.
The hand stroking Iberis’s back moved downward, searching for its target. When a finger slipped inside Iberis’s pants and touched a sensitive area, Iberis’s hips jerked suddenly.
“Ah, why… there…?”
Lucas didn’t answer Iberis’s question and continued moving his hand.
“Mmph, hah.”
Iberis bit down harder on the shirt hem in his mouth, trying to suppress his moans. The sparks of pleasure igniting in his belly made his vision flicker and his waist twitch. The thrill running up his spine caused saliva to pool in his mouth repeatedly. Unable to swallow it all, some drool escaped between his lips, dampening the soft fabric.
“Hmm.”
Glancing at Iberis’s strained face, Lucas let out a low groan. He had intended to only do a little, but now found himself unable to stop. Feeling slightly guilty, he simultaneously stimulated Iberis’s chest and lower region.
“Ah!”
Overwhelmed by the intense pleasure, Iberis threw his head back and cried out. This caused him to release the pajama top he had been holding in his mouth.
Lucas ignored the fabric that fell over his head and skillfully continued pleasuring Iberis. Thanks to the blissful times they had shared over the past few days, he now knew exactly how to make Iberis feel good.
