Altair had been rolling around on his bed for what felt like hours, replaying Levi's cheek kiss like some broken film reel stuck in his mind. He threw a pillow into the air, caught it, hugged it, then promptly buried his face in it with a groan.
"Why did he do that?!" he muttered, kicking at the sheets. "And why is my brain stuck on it? It was just a stupid cheek kiss! Just a cheek kiss!"
But no matter how many times he told himself that, the memory of Levi leaning close, the warmth of his breath, the steady look in his eyes—it all made Altair's chest tighten strangely. He wasn't in love. He wasn't! But then why was he overheating like a boiling kettle?
Another thunk rattled his window.
Altair froze, the pillow halfway smothering his face. Slowly, he sat up, blinking at the curtains. Did something just hit my window?
The second tap-tap made him jolt to his feet. He yanked the curtains open and slid the window up—and his breath caught.
Across the narrow gap between their houses stood Cassian at his own window, half-shrouded in dim lamplight. His expression was sharper than usual, his mouth a thin line. But what made Altair's stomach twist was the invisible weight pressing into the night air—Cassian's pheromones. Strong, dark, filling his lungs even across the space.
Altair's brows furrowed instinctively. "Cassian. You're leaking everywhere. What's your deal?"
For a moment, Cassian didn't answer, his eyes locked on Altair's face. The furrow in Altair's brow—equal parts annoyance and faint worry—seemed to ground him. Slowly, Cassian exhaled. The suffocating pressure of his pheromones receded, retreating like a tide pulled back by the moon.
He sighed, voice low. "…Sorry. Didn't mean to."
Altair leaned against the sill, arms crossed, unconvinced. "You? Not mean to? You're supposed to be the poster child of self-control. What's got you acting like a burst pipe?"
Cassian's gaze didn't waver. His voice, calm yet edged, cut across the night.
"How was your date?"
Altair froze. His face flushed immediately, heat rising so fast it made him dizzy. "M-My—what—what date?!"
"With Levi." Cassian's tone was almost casual, but his eyes were darker, shadowed.
Altair's hands flew up defensively. "I-It wasn't a date! It was just—just coffee!"
Cassian's gaze flicked downward for a brief second—toward Altair's cheek, still faintly pink from earlier thoughts. His voice dropped lower. "…You're blushing."
"I am not!" Altair squeaked, horrified. He spun away from the window, pacing the room like a trapped cat, flailing his arms. "Levi's just a friend! A friend who happens to confess to me like it's his side hobby—but that doesn't mean I like him! I rejected him, over and over, thank you very much!"
"And yet you let him kiss you," Cassian said flatly.
Altair froze, his hands shooting up to cover his cheek as if the kiss were still there. "Y-you saw?!"
Cassian didn't look away. His eyes had darkened further, but his voice stayed maddeningly even. "…I did."
Altair groaned into his hands, his face blazing red. "Ughhh, it wasn't even—I didn't even—! He just did it and I bolted inside like a coward!"
The silence that followed felt heavy, but not suffocating. Cassian's shoulders eased fractionally at Altair's frantic denial, but his gaze lingered with unnerving sharpness.
Then, his next words cut through the quiet like a blade.
"…Are you lovers?"
Altair's head shot up so fast he nearly hit the window frame. "Wha—NO! No, no, no, absolutely not! Not in a million years! He's courting me, sure, but I told you—I've rejected him!"
"Rejected," Cassian repeated, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Yes! Rejected! Denied! Refused! Whatever synonym you want!" Altair rambled, his hands flailing with each word.
Cassian's expression didn't ease. His mouth was pressed into a hard line, his eyes sharp as if trying to dissect Altair's every twitch.
That look—so heavy, so focused—made Altair's heart stutter. His chest tightened, panic bubbling up in his throat.
And then, before his brain could stop his mouth, the words slipped out in a hurried, almost inaudible rush:
"…I already have someone I like!"
Cassian's eyes widened, just barely. Then narrowed. Slowly, deliberately, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, slicing across his face with smug precision.
Altair's eyes went round. "Wait—no, I didn't—! Forget I said that!"
But it was too late. Cassian leaned against his sill, arms folding, his figure shadowed and infuriatingly composed now. That smirk didn't leave his face.
"So that's why Levi doesn't stand a chance," he murmured, voice dripping with quiet satisfaction.
Altair's blush deepened until his ears burned. His entire body felt like it was on fire, not from pheromones this time but from humiliation. "Y-you—! Don't look so pleased with yourself!"
Cassian tilted his head slightly, smirk growing the faintest bit sharper. "Why not? It's amusing."
"You arrogant—conceited—overgrown wolf!" Altair snapped, his voice cracking halfway. His words, meant to be sharp, came out embarrassingly breathless.
Cassian's eyes glinted, dark and knowing. "Interesting choice of insult."
That was it. Altair couldn't take it anymore. His heart was hammering too fast, his face felt like molten lava, and the sheer arrogance radiating from Cassian's expression was unbearable.
With a strangled noise, he snapped: "Go choke on your smugness!"
And with that, he slammed the window shut so hard the glass rattled.
Inside his room, he stood frozen, breathing hard, hands still pressed against the frame. His face felt hot enough to ignite the curtains.
On the other side, Cassian remained at his window. The smirk faded into something quieter, softer, as he looked at the closed glass between them. His eyes lingered for a long while before he finally stepped back into his room, the faintest trace of satisfaction lingering at the corner of his lips.
Altair, meanwhile, collapsed back onto his bed, covering his face with both hands.
"…I'm doomed," he whispered into the pillow.