Damon, enraged, shouted at Gum. "Get out! Now!" His voice is so loud, it echoed in Eugene's room. He let out his wings.
"What gives? Are you getting angry at me yet again because of a human soul?" Gum remembered the time Damon and her fought because of a certain human soul when they were still young.
"This time you really crossed the line!"
"And what line am I crossing? The purgatory doesn't have rules or should I say morals... so what wrong am I doing?"
Damon looked at the trembling and crying Eugene. He clenched his fists. He wanted to tell Eugene not to worry and cry. He wanted to comfort him but felt guilty. He is the one who asked Gum for help.
"Fine! I am clearly in the wrong here." Gum stood up raising both her hands. But before leaving, she leaned on Eugene and whispered. "Warning from me. My brother is a bit possesive. When he claimed someone as his. He'll never let it go."
"Gumirathyniel!" Damon shouted as a final warning.
She just shrugged and walked towards Damon.
"Eugene is a hundred percent male. I think, unless born at level 7, no soul could be an intersex. I've done my part, now do yours."
She patted Damon's shoulder and continued to leave.
Eugene pulled his pants then yanked the sheet to cover him up to his head. He turned to his side and curled.
After a few minutes, he felt another weight on his bed. He removed the cover in his head and saw Damon just laying there. Not uttering any words, just looking at him.They are laying down on their side facing each other.
"Are you ready to talk?" Damon asked.
Eugene sniffled for the last time and nodded. But, no one said a word. They both don't know how to start the conversation.
Damon brushed Eugene's stray hair strand and broke the silence first.
"I'm sorry. I asked Gum for help but I didn't expect her to do that to you."
Eugene looked him in the eye and clutched the edge of his blanket.
"What were you expecting her to do?" Eugene asked.
"I just wanted her to check. Being the more knowledgeable about level 7 between us two, I was expecting her to talk to you."
"But didn't we, you and I, already talked? Do you not trust my word?"
"It's not like I don't trust you... it's just that...."
Eugene cut him off mid sentence.
"Why are you so scared about what happened to us, Damon?
Why are you so insistent about me being pregnant?"
Damon turned and now looking at the ceiling.
"You see.... back when I was a child....." Damon shared to Eugene his story back when he was young. He's been taken care off a human soul who tells him human world stories. And emphasizes his ideology about the importance of first times and how unplanned sex could lead to unwanted pregnancy.
He has also shared the human soul's personal story about her death. She was too young when she got pregnant. It was unplanned and during childbirth, she died.
Eugene doesn't know how to respond. He kept silent and looked at Damon. He saw how Damon is deeply affected by a tradegy that didn't even happen to him. Eugene hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.
"My mother also died... while giving birth to me."
Damon's eyes widened and quickly turned his head while Eugene continues.
"I never saw her face. My father remarried immediately after. But the people around me, especially my father, always tell me that I look like her. And sometimes..... I wonder.... the reason I'm miserable at my human life is because..... I killed her. "
' He must really cared for that human soul.' Eugene thought to himself.
This old story shaped his views in intimacy and responsibility in a relationship. It amazed Eugene how despite growing up in the purgatory, Damon's beliefs made him seem more like human. All because of the very first human soul he met.
They were silent again as they're absorbing the stories they just shared.
"Now, I understand why you're so eager to know if I'm pregnant." Eugene stated. He put his hands on his stomach. "But still you don't have to be scared... besides I'm already dead."
"But in my eyes, you're still human."
"Even if I am human, a human male couldn't get pregnant."
"May I ask, I can tell you're really sure about not being pregnant...." Damon paused for a second. Unsure if it's right to ask the next part to Eugene, he still continued. "... Why did you let Gum touch you?"
Eugene blinked and took a deep breathe. His cheeks became slightly flushed and he mumbled. "Maybe... I was also hoping ...."
"Hoping what?" Damon leaned to hear Eugene better.
"That I am carrying your child. And for the first time.... I thought, I don't mind being a woman. Being pregnant, could also help me understand how my mother raised me."
After clearly hearing Eugene, Damon also became red. He felt a shiver on his wings. He covered his mouth with his hands, not knowing if he's grinning out of happiness or embarrassment. He also closed his eyes unsure where to look.
No one was talking after that but both of them can hear how loud it is. It's like their heartbeats are talking with each other. Their breathing are becoming slightly heavy and the atmosphere is becoming hot.
Damon is becoming more confused. He is stunned by Eugene's statement and what's going on. It's the first time this is happening to him.
'Was this the result of having my virginity taken away? Have we formed a bond? Or since I've tasted lust, now I'm craving for it?' Damon thought to himself. But before something could happen, he decided to break the silence.
"It's getting late. I'll go back to my room to let you rest."
Damon sat but before he could stand up, Eugene reached for his hand. With a soft voice, "Damon?".
Damon didn't look back and headed for the bathroom door. He paused. " We've already cleared the misunderstanding so you'll have tasks at the cafe again."
He left or more like escaped and abandoned Eugene.
Meanwhile, Eugene just sat there looking at the door. "It's true we've cleared the misunderstanding but.... why does it feel like... we have another one. " Eugene whispered to himself. He felt disappointed, heartbroken and rejected.
He put his hand clutched to his chest.
"Did I scare Damon by saying, I was hoping to have his child?"
Just thinking about it again, Eugene became embarrased. He lied down and his hands landed on the side where Damon was laying minutes ago. He can still feel his warmth linger on the bed.
Before, Eugene had always been afraid of being touched by others and being close to others, especially by men. It became his trauma to engage in intimacy. A trauma inflicted by his own parent. But earlier, he was hoping.
He bit his lower lip while hoping that what happened at Level 7 was not a one time thing between him and Damon. He was hoping for a more intimate moment. Not drunk with Pheros and no hazy memories. A mutual consent, not out of duty.
Eugene's cheek became bright red. He's internally screaming because of the thoughts he's having. He buried his face on the bed.
Although having a lot of internal thoughts, the emotional fatigue and the warmth of the bed is just enough to put him to sleep.
*knock knock
Eugene woke up to the sound of knocking coming from his bathroom door. The door swung open and Damon peeked in.
He sat up, still groggy. Damon walked in and closed the door behind him.
"It might not be right to ask this after leaving you earlier but..... Can I stay here for the night?"
Not waiting for Eugene's response, Damon climbed up the bed. He swiftly moved. Damon pushed Eugene back his bed and straddled on top of him. Eugene's eyes widened, shocked by how aggressive Damon is.
Damon leaned in. And with his low husky voice, he whispered. "Tell me Eugene.... Do you still hope to bear my child?"
Eugene felt his chest tightened and a tingling sensation from his ears spread to his body. His lips parted but unable to answer. Next thing he knows, Damon's hands slowly traced his body until it reached his hips.
"After what happened to us at Level 7, something awakened. My Lust. I can't stand it." Damon then looked at Eugene's pants and clutched the hem of it. "It's unfair that Gum got to see you bare down here. Don't I have the right to see it too?"
He looked at Eugene's eyes. Waiting for him to say it's okay. Eugene can feel the heat building up. In his mind, a man is on top of him, pushing him down, mirroring his trauma. He should be scared but instead .... he's anticipating what's going to happen next. He closed his eyes and nodded.
He waited..... and waited.... but nothing happened. He quickly opened his eyes and there was no Damon on top of him. It's already morning.
He quickly checked his pants. For the first time on Eugene's life, he experienced a wet dream.