Opening the front doors, I was lucky it was the evening, since the light didn't blind me, but unlucky at the fact that I had to see Praxis and Sephtis' bothered look. Their expressions made it seem like I had just stepped out of a portal.
"You're back, Master. Do you mind if I ask who that is and what he is doing here?" Praxis inquired, pointing at Llyr
"Yes, I would also like to know. Just who is he, and why couldn't I feel his presence before?" Sephtis asked, causing me to have to brace myself for what would happen after I answered.
"Ahem, this is Llyr de Vellamo, my…Fiancee," I said through a strained voice, curling my hands into fists.
"Um, greetings," Llyr bowed slightly before he placed himself behind me and peered over at the two, who had slowly started building up their mana.
Praxis, well, he looked not happy in the slightest. His face hardened as his eyes filled with annoyance, one of his eyebrows starting to twitch. As for Sephtis, his face was devoid of emotion, but I knew he was actually fuming.
His ears and tail stayed perfectly in place, but his jaw clenched, and he held his fists so tightly that his hands started to bleed. And to make matters worse, both of them started to build up mana, likely for a spell or to enhance one's own body to beat the shit out of Llyr.
"Now, now, you two. He is here for a second chance, so no punching or firing spells at each other, understood?" I ordered, my expression straightening as I lowered my voice, trying my hardest to be intimidating.
"Understood," The two reluctantly said, pulling back their mana and turning their heads away.
"Good, now bring the luggage in and we'll head to bed," I sighed, turning around and dragging Llyr with me. "Come with me, Llyr. We have some things we need to discuss."
"Hm? O-Okay," He replied, letting himself get dragged along, not putting up a fight or pulling away as I dragged him up the stairs.
***
"Ugh, I was seriously worried that Sephtis would try and pick a fight with you," I admitted, sighing as I plopped down on my bed, Llyr standing just to the side of me, "He knows what you did, y'know? So does Praxis."
"Ah, is that so?" Llyr sounded quite distant, looking at the floor. He was likely reflecting on his actions, realizing his mistakes.
I didn't ask him, I didn't want to. I didn't want to give him false hope, nor the thought that I actually cared (which I didn't). So, I just left it at that. Patting the seat next to me, motioning for Llyr to take a seat, I let out a large sigh.
"I suppose you are wanting to rest here?" I asked, leaning forward to see his face, "I don't have a room ready for you, and I am willing to lend you the extra space on my bed. BUT, promise me one thing. You won't try anything while we sleep, nor try to sleep, and you won't invade my space, understand?"
"I understand! Thank you for allowing me this, Lev," Llyr beamed, smiling brightly at the thought of being able to sleep in the same bed as me, "I promise that I won't do anything without your permission!"
"Hmph, good. Now, go take a shower, you smell like shit. If you need me, I'll be downstairs sorting through the luggage," I exclaimed, standing up and heading for the door.
***
"Oh, there you are, Lev! Let me help you with that," Sephtis offered, bouncing over, his tail wagging.
"Thank you, Sephtis, much appreciated," I smiled at him, my gaze softening, "I'm really just trying to find my luggage, but some of the trunks look the same, so it is hard to tell whose is whose."
"Nah, I was thinking about that as we were gathering them. But I carved little letters into them with my mana, so that we could point out which one was ours!" Sephtis announced, puffing out his chest with vigor.
'My, how cute! Ugh, I needed this refresher after dealing with Llyr. Sephtis, thank you for existing!'
"Oh, really? Good thinking!" I exclaimed, petting him on the head. Sephtis' tail started wagging like crazy, earning an even bigger smile from me, "Sephtis, you are just much too cute! Thank you for always helping me out."
"Huh? Oh, of course!... Actually, do you mind if I ask you something?" He wondered, tails and ears suddenly drooping.
"Hm? Yeah, ask away. I'll try my best to answer, so feel free to ask whatever," I nodded, my smile shrinking as I had an eerie feeling as to what he was going to ask.
"Well, uh, how to word this. Haaa, alright, I was wondering why you are letting Llyr stay with us, especially knowing everything that's happened between you two," Sephtis asked bluntly, fidgeting with his hands a little as he stood straight and stopped sorting through the luggage.
"...To be completely honest, I really don't want to let him stay here. But I know that pushing him away is only going to make the problem even bigger, whereas if I let him be and we let things simmer a bit, my relationship with Llyr will get better. So, in a way, this is my way of taking care of the problem," I admitted, chuckling at myself.
"Oh, I see," Sephtis trailed off, putting the last trunk in my pile of luggage as he watched me pick the pile up and head towards the stairs, "D-Does this mean that there is no chance at all for us?"
I paused and looked behind me at him, ever so slightly regretting doing so. Sephtis' tail and ears remained down, his frown so deep that it looked almost fake as tears gathered in his eyes.
"Sephtis, that is not the case at all," I reasoned, knowing that even if I couldn't exactly be lovers with Sephtis, we could still be something, "Llyr and I are merely engaged in name, there is nothing more than that. You will always mean more to me than he does."
"Really?! Th-Thats so relieving!" Sephtis' ears perked up as his tail began wagging again, matching the bright smile on his face, "I suppose I have nothing to worry about, I guess!"
I didn't reply verbally, but I gave him a smile and a nod, then headed up the stairs and back to my room. It was a little hard trying to get all my shit up the stairs without dropping it, but I managed…at least till I got to the hall. I didn't expect to run into Praxis till the morning, but I ended up running into him as I turned the corner and dropped all my stuff.
"Oof, are you alright, master?!" Praxis exclaimed, grabbing me by my waist as I almost fell down the staircase. He used his tail to catch a trunk that started to tip down the stairs, placing it beside us.
"Huh?! Oh, yes, thank you, Praxis!" I chuckled, brushing my clothes off as he let go of me.
"Of course. I am just glad I could stop you from getting hurt," Praxis nodded, a flicker of worry appearing in his eyes, "I don't know what I would've done had you snapped your neck or something."
'Well, even if I did snap my neck, nothing would happen. Yay for immortality this time around, I suppose."
Just as I was about to respond with a snarky comment, I noticed an ominous presence down the hall. Looking over and past Praxis's shoulder, I could just barely see a certain teal-haired man peaking out from my room's doorway.
"..." Llyr mumbled something, a bothered look on his face. I couldn't quite tell what he was saying, so I focused in on it, quickly regretting it, "heisminethatbastardbettergethisdamnhandsoffhimori'llchopthemoffmyselfhowdarehethatcockysonofabitch."
Llyr was speaking so quietly I could barely hear him, and I was glad that was the case; otherwise, who knows what Praxis might've said back. Had this been a manga panel, Llyr's face would've had shadows drawn on it, and all the words he was saying would've been bundled together.
"Thank you for catching me, Praxis. I appreciate it," I erased any trace of a smile from my face, making my expression look as blank as possible but still keeping a feel of gratitude in my voice, "It is quite late, I suggest you also go and get your luggage from downstairs."
"Hm…! Ah! Alright, I will see you tomorrow morning then," Praxis exclaimed, flinching as he looked behind him at Llyr, then bowed and rushed downstairs.
I watched Praxis go down the stairs, letting Llyr cool himself down before going over to him. Though he decided to come over to me instead, grabbing a few trunks before rushing back to the room.
I watched him come back and pick up the rest, bringing them back to my room before finally speaking to him, "Uh, Llyr, what are you doing?"
"Making myself useful!" he chimed, beaming as he looked over and smiled at me, all teeth, "I can't just be here and not do anything! As you said, I should try and prove myself while we're here, so that's what I'm doing."
"Hmmm, well, if you insist. I won't stop you," I sighed, picking up the trunk that Praxis placed next to me and walking past Llyr, and into my room.
Walking in, Llyr had placed the trunks and suitcases by the desk, making sure to stack them neatly. It seemed that Llyr had entertained himself by making the bed, tucking the sheets under the mattress like a hotel would.
I placed the trunk in my hand onto the tea table. Llyr followed behind and placed the last two in the same spot. Now that all the luggage was in and the door closed, leaving Llyr and me in an enclosed space together, the awkwardness finally sank in.
My heart started beating rapidly, not out of fear of knowing that Llyr could do anything he wanted to me and nobody would know, but at the fact that it was just him and I. I really had no reason to be scared, but knowing what happened in the past kept on screwing with my brain.
"Hey, Lev," Llyr interjected, startling me and bringing me out of my thoughts, "Sorry to startle you. I was just wondering if you wanted me to unpack a little for you while you change into pajamas."
'That is surprisingly nice of him to offer, I genuinely thought he was going to say some more awkward shit!'
"Huh? Uh, sure. I was going to unpack it all tomorrow, but if you want to start now, that would be really helpful," I answered, looking over to him as he walked to the desk.
Llyr smiled at me as he picked up a trunk and placed it on the bed, "Oh, here's your clothes! Is this pair alright, or were you wanting to wear a different pair?"
"No, these work, thanks. I'll be changing in the bathroom, so knock if you need anything," I replied dryly, grabbing the pair of pajamas from him and going into the bathroom.
***
Coming out of the bathroom, sporting a white set of pajamas, a pair I didn't know I had, I saw Llyr closing a trunk, having gotten through 2/3rds of my luggage.
"Huh, you got through that rather quickly, nicely done," I praised, walking over and sitting on my side of the bed, giving a quick glance over to the pile of empty luggage as Llyr put the trunk in his hand there.
"I wanted you to be comfortable while you slept…considering my presence already makes you uncomfortable as is, so I figured that at least having a majority of your stuff put away would contribute to your comfort." Llyr gave a guilty smile, walking over and standing in front of the bed.
"Mmm, so you noticed?" I questioned, Llyr nodding with a frown as he looked away, "Well, I appreciate the consideration, but my comfort has nothing to do with actions, just…the fact that I know the thoughts that have gone through your head, it is hard not to find you unsettling."
Llyr looked down at his feet for a moment, seeming to put his thoughts together, "Lev, I'm sorry, truly. Now that I reflect on my actions, there really is a better way I could have gone about it. I was just so, so stupid, and you don't deserve anything that I did for you."
Listening to him, he seemed to have really felt that way. I turned away from him and looked down at my feet, thinking. Just thinking.
Noticing that I seemed to be putting thought to his words, Llyr must have figured he said enough, and decided it was best just to go to sleep.
"I-I'll leave you to your thoughts. But don't stay up too late, it has been a long day for you," Llyr said with a surprisingly gentle tone, sitting on the opposite side of the bed and tucking himself in, "Goodnight."
"Mmm, yes, good night," I replied, taking my slippers off and following Llyr's suggestion, lifting the covers over me as I lay down.
'Haaa, let's just leave those complicated thoughts for tomorrow's problems.'
Closing my eyes and only seeing darkness, I drifted off to dreamland. Though I soon opened them to find myself sitting at a table, a very familiar ginger-haired man sitting in front of me, pouring himself a glass of white wine.