Awkward—unbearably awkward.
Shame—bone-deep, searing shame.
No words could capture how they felt right now.
None of the three dared look at one another, much less speak.
After the frenzy came only wreckage strewn everywhere and a soundless wave of mortification and silence thick enough to choke on.
Bodies under the quilt went rigid; even their breathing was careful, careful.
They let the tide of shame wash over them and drown them whole.
…
When Rei Ao returned to his residence, the living room was already lively.
Sakurajima Mai, moving with the ease of a hostess, was gracefully serving black tea and delicate pastries to two guests who'd come a long way.
Tohru circled the newcomers in fascination, dragon eyes glinting with curiosity.
Sora and Illya sat a little farther off on another couch, murmuring to each other.
On the center sofa sat three striking women, each with a very different vibe.
Emilia had shed her hero's armor for a simple off-white dress. Her long red hair flowed like sunlight. A touch of travel-weariness softened her flawless features, but her blue eyes were bright—blazing, even—fixed on the doorway with undisguised longing and expectation.
Emerada looked much steadier: a plain scholar's robe, both hands cupping a teacup, a gentle, curious smile on her face as she listened closely to Mai's quick primer on the basics of this world. Now and then her gaze slid to unfamiliar appliances and decorations, and awe slipped through her calm like light through a curtain.
Kamazuki Suzuno leaned against the armrest with her signature massive scythe, a little out of place, relaxed yet alert. Her sharp eyes swept the room like a scanner, full of a warrior's wariness and the wonder of a stranger in a strange land.
The moment Rei Ao pushed the door open, every eye in the room snapped to him.
Emilia's eyes flared like the brightest star in the night.
She practically sprang off the couch on reflex—A golden whirlwind—racing straight into Rei Ao's arms.
"Rei Ao—!"
Her call was thick with joy and homesick longing.
He opened his arms and caught the blonde hero as she flew into him. Like a weary bird finally home, she tucked her face into his broad chest and breathed in his familiar scent, holding him tight, as if she could press herself into him and never let go.
"I missed you. I missed you so, so much!"
She tipped her face up, blue eyes misting. Emotion crested and broke. She rose on her toes and kissed him—hot, direct, heady with reunion's ecstasy and months of pent-up yearning, all the frankness and warmth of a hero laid bare. Emilia took and answered without hesitation, as if to make up for every lost minute.
Mai froze with the tea tray halfway up, eyebrows shooting high as she watched the two in the center of the room act like there was no one else alive. Her red lips skewed, and her tone turned tart and teasing.
"Tsk. We're here playing host to your guests, and you—the man of the house—roll in at daybreak because you were 'busy' with other women? What a grand entrance."
She leaned on the word "busy," her gaze making a point as it slid over him: the thrown-on loungewear, the messy hair, and that stubborn haze clinging to him—an overripe mix of several women's perfume undercut by his own heavy, electric incense of testosterone. Like someone had knocked over a perfume shop. Proof enough of a long, hard "battle."
Rei Ao didn't answer her jab right away. One arm held Emilia's slim, strong waist as he kissed her back; the other flicked lazily toward Mai.
Mai felt an irresistible tug.
"Wah—!"
With a yelp she and the tray were lifted clean off the ground and drawn through the air. The tray hung there, steady as a rock, while Rei Ao's other arm hauled her, possessive and sure, against his chest.
"Mmph!"
Buried in that familiar warmth, Mai's nose filled with the layered scent of other women and the raw charge of him. She started to bristle—only for Rei Ao to dip his head and find her mouth first, a kiss that soothed even as it staked a claim.
She struggled—just enough to register the protest—and then melted, undone by the feel and smell she knew too well. Her legs went weak, color flared across her cheeks, and jealousy melted away like frost in the sun. All that escaped her were a few small, breathy sounds as her arms looped of their own accord around his neck.
When the kiss finally broke, Mai leaned against him, panting, eyes hazy, every bit of her earlier sharp tongue gone. She shot him a flustered glare, voice soft and sulky from being kissed breathless.
"Okay, okay—let me go. We've got guests watching. Go entertain them already!"
She gave him a little push. There was still a hint of complaint in her tone, but the sourness had evaporated.
Only then did Rei Ao release her, passing the suspended tray back into her hands in one smooth, unhurried motion.
And the room… went strange.
Emerada and Kamazuki Suzuno were completely petrified, teacups frozen in their hands, eyes saucer-wide, mouths slightly open—wearing matching looks of end-of-the-world shock and disbelief.
Emerada didn't even notice her cup tilting, warm tea dripping onto her plain robe and blooming into a small, dark stain.
~~~
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