Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

There was once a mighty Sea God. He was the king of Lumeria, a nation that reside in the deepest water of the ocean. He has the power of the Eternal Flame of Lumeria, and the Blessing of the Sea, making Him the most powerful God that walk on Earth. He was undefeatable, unbreakable.

 Until He wasn't.

In every timeline, He met new people. He met a prince of a dying planet, He met a vessel of a cruel God, He met the sole surviving Dragon, He met a weapon of destruction, He met the Unholy Child of Fate.

 In each timeline, the Sea God slowly fell in love with the other. He admire them for their uniqueness. He admire the prince for his determination to save his people, He admire the vessel for maintaining his heart, He admire the dragon for his will to survive, He admire the weapon for keeping his humanity, He admire the Goddess for Her kindness and innocence. He admire all of them in a different yet same way.

 That small admiration turned into a feeling the God never felt before. It was not the kind of feeling that He felt around His parent, it's not the type of feelings His people felt for him, it's not the type of feelings He have for the Sea. This feeling is something deeper, sacred even. It is not a simple feeling He can feel to just anyone.

 It's the feeling of when His father look at His mother. Their eyes soften in a way He would always see when they are alone with each other, body pressed, hand intertwined, hearts open. It's like they were the only one left on the world, uncaring of anything beside the warmth of their soul.

 Rafayel was jealous of His parents for having someone they can lean their weight to. He wants to have that type of person too in His life. He wants to have someone to share His deepest desire with, someone to smile for, someone to hear His thoughts and feelings, someone who could understand Him in and out, someone He could trust for life, someone to live the rest of His eternity with. To have that someone in His life, the Sea God would truly be the happiest and luckiest Lumerian on Earth.

 Who knew that He would find the love he has been searching for in not just one, but five wonderful and beautiful creatures He had laid eyes upon. The Sea God got 5 time the amount of love than He thought and He wouldn't trade anything for the feeling. He swore to always cherish the love and protect it at all cost.

 But of course, Fate has never been on His side.

 "Take my heart, Prince of Philios. Use it to survive your people's undying hunger for power"

 "I give you my heart, vessel of Fate. Use it to break its cruel bind from your gentle soul"

 "I curse you to take my heart, Dragon. You will use it to live the life you always deserve"

"Let me save you with my heart. That way, you can finally be free from your fate"

"With my heart, you will never feel empty anymore"

  Five souls, tied by one heart.

Chapter Text

"Yes, Thomas I know I have many exhibitions I need to attend and you know me well enough that I will not go to any of them"

  "Just one! I ask you just one exhibition!"

  "And just one will take up all evening to escape"

  "Then you can stop trying to escape! There are people who travel far and wide just to have a chance to speak with you"

  "Tell them that I'm not interested to any of their offers. I only paint what I want to paint and nothing more. So if you're done with wasting my time on telling me to do something I will never do, I'mma hang up and enjoy a nice bath"

  "Don't you dare-" too late, Rafayel already push the end button and throw his phone to his bed.

  "Same old Thomas" the lilac hair man said as he slowly dip his naked body into the warm waiting bathtub. He sighs once he's fully submerge into the water, leaving only his head peaking out of the surface. It always feels like heaven whenever he was in the water, like being wrapped in a blanket as a little child by your mother, coaxing you to fall into the sweet realm of sleep within seconds.

  In seconds, he was on his way to the dream realm. He can feel his body slowly falling into the world of sleep but a hard shake of the ground break his path to the sleep realm. The rough shake was followed by another rough shake and a long, screeching roar. He sighs and run hand through his hair as he already know what rude and ugly creature is currently flying over his studio. And just when he thought he'll have a peaceful afternoon with none but himself, of course a Wanderer have to ruin it. Those creatures have not a single brain cell in their head to know not to mess with him.

  The artist sink further under the water as he senses the Wanderer's power getting closer. Judging by its power, its not more than a year older and have probably just learned how to fly and cause chaos. He can effortlessly deal with it with a few slash and swings of his daggers but that would be too bothersome. He have to put his clothes back on, walk outside his studio, summon his dagger, kill it, then burn its body. Not to mention if the hunters comes running him and ask him what happened to the Wanderer, he'll have to answer their question and that will take forever. So, dealing with the Wanderer is a big no. He'll only kill it when its damaging his studio. Now, he just have to sit back and relax, and wait for the hunters to deal with the Wanderer. Nothing to worry about.

  "Rafayel"

  Ugh, who's calling him at this hour? Can't they see he's trying to enjoy his afternoon uninterrupted?

  "Rafayel"

  He heard them the first time, he's not deaf. But no, he will not acknowledge them. He will have a relaxing afternoon.

  "Rafayel"

  He swears if they call him one more time, they'll regret to ever open their mouth again.

  "Remember us"

  He pauses. Remember them? Who the heck ask someone to remember them out of the blue like this? Is someone playing a prank on him in his own studio? Did Thomas finally snap and decided to play him? His manager really is bold to be pulling this on him. Just he wait until he gets his hands on his buckets of paint and dump it all on his house.

  "Remember us"

  Okay, maybe it's not Thomas, the voice is too deep and so unlike him and he knows him for years. Whoever is whispering in his head- wait his head?

  Rafayel open his eyes and adjust his sight to his surrounding and sure enough, he is not in his studio anymore. He's laying on his back on a grass field under the blue sky. he sits up and look around, surprise to find how peaceful he feels in this completely unknown place. The field stretches on the horizon, grass gently swaying right and left with the wind. There's no one in here beside him, and that realization hurt him a little for a reason. Strange.

  He has always been alone for as long as he remembers. His childhood memories are just bits and blurs at this point, he can't seem to recall a single day of the past. He has no connection with his family, doubts he even have one in the first place. There was no relatives looking for him too, not that he expects anyone to want a child like him. He can be quite a handful for a child, maybe that's why none wanted him.

  Rafayel shake his head. That can't be help now. That's all in the past. Right now, he is a famous artist that is adored by all from across the globe. He has people that looks up to him, that see him. He's not alone anymore. But yet...he still is.

  "Eek!" he yelps as he feels something soft brushing on his leg, almost making him jump in surprise. He looks down to find a white, very fluffy looking bunny rubbing its nose on his ankle. He blinks, feeling a small warmth swirling around his heart looking at the bunny. He awkwardly picks it up from its middle, never one to hold a bunny before, especially a bunny this small, he can even fit it in one palm and he's hand still will look bigger. He brings it up to his face, eyes widen when the bunny look at him with half-lidded eyes. But what capture his attention more is the unnatural color of its eyes. They're deep blue, not blue like the ocean or the sky he commonly looks at, but blue like...space? Yeah, totally space. He's not a bunny expert but he's pretty sure a bunny isn't supposed to have this type of eye color.

  "You're an odd bunny, aren't you?" he chuckles and tickle the bunny nose which the bunny responded with a small and very adorable sneeze. "You're an adorable bunny I give you one" he huff and pats the bunny's head, right between its ears and the bunny slightly lean against the touch, nuzzling into his finger. He continue to pats the little fluff ball, trying out different places to pet to find the little creature's favorite place.

  He doesn't know how long he's been sitting there and patted the bunny, he really doesn't mind nor care, not when the bunny looks like its having the best patting in its entire life. And not to mention the way the bunny keep on nuzzling to his touch like its the only thing its interested in. Rafayel can't help but keep smiling at the bunny. He probably looks like an idiot in love like now.

  Just when he thinks this will his life, his head and body suddenly feel lightweight as if he is fading from the inside. He fights to keep his eyes open to look at the bunny a little longer, already missing his little friend despite not being apart just yet. The little fluff ball looks at him with its deep blue eyes, looking as if he's sad that he's leaving it so soon, its ears flat on either side of its head. Its sad expression makes something in his heart break and want him to take the little bunny to his studio.

  His eyes fall close before he could even say goodbye.

  Rafayel groans and slowly open his eyes, seeing the familiar white ceiling of his studio. He can hear loud noises from outside his studio, probably the Wanderer fighting the hunters. At least they don't seem close to his studio, about 20 blocks away from his studio. But damn are they loud even with that distance. What's so hard on taking care of a baby Wanderer? Don't tell him the Association sent out new hunters. Ugh, they'll take forever to finish the job. And just as much as he wants to finish it, which is not really much considering he just woke up, he doesn't want to deal with the hunters seeing a famous artist with daggers. That will surely make a news, and more work for Thomas. Tempting, but still a no.

So, the artist continue to enjoy his entire afternoon in his bathtub and ignore the world outside. It's only him, his paintings, and an aching feeling in his heart.

Chapter Text

Rafayel should've known better to trust his instincts. Like seriously, whenever he ignored his instincts to do something not a day later he'll be stuck in a situation far worse than he originally thought. Like the situation he's having now. Turns out the baby Wanderer isn't a baby Wanderer but a modified Wanderer with more power and stronger armor than most Wanderer that is ordered to blow down his poor studio to ashes. His fucking studio for god sake!

They could've targeted any other more important buildings in the city but no, they decided to target his studio out of all the places they could target. A good plan actually considering how many enemies he has itching to take him down day and night, but still! His poor studio! He didn't even have to take any of his paintings with him when the Wanderer decided to self-destruct right above his studio. All his years of painting gone in a second, what a life.

The Hunters were quickly able to put out any spreading fire before escorting him to a safe place and away from the scene. Thomas was soon on his side when the news spread and fusses over him about evacuating when there's a Wanderer nearby even if its a few distance away. But he catches the slight tremor of his voice when he was speaking to him and the not so subtle glances to him whenever he thought he wasn't looking. Such a tsundere manager he has.

"You will be staying in my place until the studio is being rebuild" Thomas told him once they were in his car. "It's mostly that whoever targeted your studio will continue to target you until they get what they want"

"Relax, Thomas. You worry too much" Rafayel casually lean on the seat and put his foot up. "I'm sure this was just a test run. Why would they target me out of all people? I'm just an artist who loves paints" that's a lie but he can't tell his poor manager that. He has a feeling that someone is trying to catch a big fish out of the ocean.

"We can't take any risks. You will be staying at my place whether you like it or not"

Rafayel sigh but make no further comment. It's not that he doesn't want to stay at Thomas's house. He has visited that place more than a few times for different reasons and those times were...happy. His manager's daughter was basically glued to him all the time, always asking him to paint with her, playing with his hair when she got the chance, and showering him with praises for his beautiful eyes, earning him the title of Pretty-gege. His wife is also kind and sweet to him. She always makes him all sort of seafoods and listen to his rambling just about everything he says, never once complaining and even give him her own opinion. Both her and her daughter has become his favorite listeners of all time, making him feel loved despite not being in the family. Maybe that's why he's secretly looking forward on staying with the family.

.

.

.

.

.

It took about an hour and half before Rafayel can see the familiar white house in the distance. Thomas parked the car on the garage and get out of the car. The artist follow after his manager in, didn't bother to hide the way his eyes shine in anticipation. He didn't have the chance to get in the house before loud footsteps stomps towards him and soon enough, Thomas's daughter, Eli, charged at him in full force, almost tackling him to the ground.

"Pretty-gege! I miss you so much!"

He chuckles and patted the girl's head. "I miss you too, little princess" he crouches to her height and lifted the girl in his arms. "How are you lately? Did your father gossip about me when I'm not here?"

"Nope! Daddy always passed out right after he comes home. He wouldn't even play with me!"

"He didn't play with you?!" he dramatically gasps. "How dare he not play with the little princess! His action should be punish!"

"Don't give my daughter any ideas, Rafayel. I don't want her to be influence by you"

"Excuse you Thomas. I'm a great model for the little princess, ain't that right, little princess?"

"Yep! Pretty-gege is my favorite role model!" Eli exclaim as she hugs Rafayel's neck. Rafayel give Thomas his smuggest smile before proudly make his way towards the kitchen like he owns the place. The manager can only sigh and follow the pair from behind, face utterly tired just from watching that. His lovely daughter will turn into another Rafayel he has to deal with. Oh lord, please give him mercy.

In the kitchen, Thomas's wife, Kaira, is cooking dinner when she heard Rafayel and Eli's laughter across the room. She turns around and saw the duo laughing about something with her daughter being carried by the shoulders. A smile bloom on her face as she watches her little's girl smile so happily with her pretty-gege.

"Mom! Mom! Pretty-gege is here to stay for a few days!" Eli tells her mom with an excited tone.

"Oh, is that so? Well good thing I cooked lobster soup for dinner today"

"Lobster soup!" Eli and Rafayel's eyes instantly brighten at the mention food and rushes to take a seat at the dining room, looking ready to eat dinner.

Kaira chuckles at their childish behaviour. No matter how often the artist came to visit, she can never get enough of seeing him acting like a child. It warms her heart to see him be himself to her family.

The mother went up to her husband and give him a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Welcome home, dear". Thomas look at his wife and mimic her smile, returning the kiss on her cheek too. "I'm home, honey"

Then the couple join the duo on the dining table and the family happily start eating their meal. The table was filled with chatter and laughter. Rafayel's voice is the loudest one followed by Eli. The artist tells her about his amazing art works, and all the sea shells he found. The little girl tells him about her recent art competition and her latest drawings.

"And I got first place! The judges even said my art is the most prettiest art they see!"

"Well of course. You got the best artist as your mentor and gege so of course your art is second to mine, little princess"

Thomas roll hie eyes every time his friend open his mouth, but he can't hide the smile on his face when he looks at his expression. Sure the artist can be the most annoying artist known to man but he's also the best artist he can ever work with. If someone were to offer his a change of role, he would refuses. Not only because he doubts there's anyone out there who can tolerant the artist's behavior, but also because he could not think of a better role for himself than be Rafayel's manager.

He glances to his wife and saw the same fond gaze as him. Her eyes met his for a second and he's certain she's thinking of the same thing he's thinking.

'This is family, our family'

Once dinner was done, Rafayel helped cleaned the table and quickly pick Eli up to head to her room. Thomas watch them go, already guessing that the duo will probably stay up all night to paint and scheme. Good thing tomorrow is the weekends so he'll let them go this time. Plus, more uninterrupted time with his wife for him. It's a win-win for both of them.

"Look, Pretty-gege!" Eli lift up a huge trophy from her shelf. "I got this huge trophy from the competition!"

Rafayel observe the trophy close up. "Good job on winning, little princess" he patted the girl's head.

The little girl beams at his praise. "Thank you, Pretty-gege. I worked really hard on the competition so I can show you my improvement"

"Well, since you worked really hard. How about a gift?"

"A gift! What kind of gift, Pretty-gege?"

"A very special gift" Rafayel bring his clenched hand close to their face and kiss it. A bright glow lit up from inside his fist for a few seconds before dimming the next second. He looks at her excited expression and slowly unclench his fist, revealing a beautiful shell neckless with a white pearl in the middle. "just for you"

Eli squeal in delight and gently take the neckless from his hand, bringing it close to her eyes to take a closer look. "It's so pretty, just like you!" she said as she looks between the neckless and him. "Can I really have this, Pretty-gege?"

"Of course, you can, little princess. I made it especially for you. This neckless will be there when I'm not there with you, so you won't feel lonely whenever I'm not there"

Eli stare at him with a slightly open mouth. Her eyes are blown wide and starts to get glassy. Of course he knows about that. Eli is a good liar for her age but she can only hide so much from him. He knows what it likes to have to on a smile in front of people to make them happy. She is similiar to him in some ways, but unlike him, she is only a little girl in a cruel world.

With one big leap, the little girl thrown herself to him and tackle him down with a big hug. She burries her face on his shoulder and he can feel his shirt get stain by her tears as she silently cries on his shoulder. He place his hand on her back and gently patted her, smoothing her to let it all out.

"It's okay, Eli. Let it all out. You'll feel better after"

The little girl sobs, sobs, and sobs, clinging to his shirt for dear life. Though her cries are muffled, Rafayel understands her anyways. Her pain, her loneliness, her fear, all of it. He hears her, and will hold her until her soul calmed, until the storm inside her has pass. He's here for her, he's here for his little sister.

.

.

.

.

.

Eli eventually stop crying and has fallen asleep right afterwards. Rafayel carried her to her bed and slowly tucked the little girl to bed, creating a little fishie with his Evol to accompany her as she sleeps. He looks at her one more time before exiting the room silently, whispering her a good night before shutting the door close.

"Is she asleep?" Thomas ask him once the door close. Rafayel isn't surprise to see his manager standing in front of him. Looks like he caught on to his daughter's problem like he did. What a good father he is.

"Yep, just tucked the little princess to bed. She must've worked hard on that competition-she has bags under her eyes at her age. Talk about dedication"

Thomas let out a breath of relief at that but there's still the worried expression on his face. Rafayel sigh and slightly shake his head. God, he's such a worrywart.

"I'm in the mood for a nice drink. Drive me to a bar, will you? My treat"

The manager looks at him with a 'are you kidding?' expression but he shrug it off and made his way downstairs to the garage. If he's going to be a worrywart then he'll just shove him with a drink or two until his mind goes blank.

Thomas quickly follows him to the garage and starts the car. He drove to the buzzling city of Linkon. Even at this hour, the city is sure loud and alive. Well, it is Linkon. The city will not sleep at the dead of the night.

They eventually stop at a famous bar and Rafayel hurriedly drag Thomas inside. The place is nice and comfy. There aren't many people in it, and he can't detach any threat for now. He sees many possible escape routes spread out the bar if he ever need an escape. And best of all, the huge variant of drinks in display! The whole wall is filled with just bottle of drinks! Oh he will definitely knock Thomas out with every single one of them.

The artist drag his manager to one of the empty seats and waste no time to order every combination of drinks they have in store.

"Why the hell are you ordering so many drinks?"

"Why not, dear Thomas? I have the money for them and I have you to help me finish every single of them"

Thomas face-palm himself and shake his head in disbelief. Seriously, he wonders where a man like him came from.

"Enjoy your drinks, sirs" the waiter said as she placed out all the drinks just like how Rafayel requested. The artist takes one of the drinks and watch the drink swirl on the glass, taking a slow sip of the drink after a few swirls. Thomas, still hesitate, but ultimately gives up and take the closest drink to him and jug it down.

From there, both artist and manager begin to compete on drinking, after Rafayel rage-baited Thomas saying he has low tolerance than him of course. One by one, the countless of drinks begin to emptied and shatter on the ground. The artist made sure to slow down his drink when he notice the manager's face beginning to flush a rather pink color. Mission complete.

"Feeling better, Thomas?" the artist lean his head on one hand, looking at Thomas as he takes another sip of his current drink.

"Hmm...I guess. The drinks helped. Thanks" he whispered the last one, barely audible but the other of course heard him and fuel his growing pride even more. "Of course, dearest Thomas! Anything for my lovely manager". The manager roll his eyes and try to shove the other's face away from his, but there's no real strength into his push. "Shut up, Rafayel"

"Nope, I will never shut up and not take the chance to annoy you till the day I die"

And they continue to bicker back and back, like two normal brothers bickering about who gets to eat the last slice of pizza. It's relaxing and nice to have someone like him by his side. He can't imagine anyone else other than Thomas to be his manager. He doubts there's anyone out there that can ever replace his place by his side. He have to thank his past self for accepting him as his manager.

Thomas notice him staring at him with a new expression on his face and raise his brow at him. "What's with that look? Do I have something on my face?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking of a way to paint your face when you sleep"

"You-"

Then suddenly, Rafayel felt a sting on his wrist. He hisses and lift his right wrist to look at his skin and his eyes instantly widen at the thin burning cut. That could only mean one thing.

"Rafayel, what happen-" he didn't get to finish his question when the artist suddenly get up and ran out of the bar, leaving the confuse manager on his seat. "Rafayel- Wait damn it! We haven't paid yet!"

But he didn't hear him, his ears deaf to the world. The only sound he can hear right now is the fast beating of his heart as he drives the car back to his home. He ignores the honking of other cars, maneuvering the car in high speed and sharp turns through the busy city of Linkon. He'll probably get chase by the police for breaking the speed limit and endangering other cars but he doesn't care. The only thought in his brain is-

'Eli, please be safe'

The neckless he gave Eli is not any other neckless he made. He made the neckless to let him know whenever Eli is in danger so he can help her when she needs him. He didn't know if the neckless would really work or not but now he knows. Because right now, the thin burning cut on his wrist is not healing. Eli needs him.

As he gets near the house, he hears the roar of multiple Wanderers above his head. He focuses his vision on one of the Wanderers and sure enough, it's the same type of Wanderers that attacked him just hours ago. One of them spot the moving car and dive in towards him. Rafayel hit the gas and drive the car to avoid the Wanderer's plasma blast. Another Wanderer join on attacking, sending strong wind tornados at him. He jumps out of the car and gracefully land n his feet just in time before the tornado lift the car up the ground and throw it off somewhere.

"I don't have fucking time with you weaklings" Rafayel growls and summon his daggers in his hands. The Wanderers roars and launch themselves towards him. He bend his legs and leap up to step on one of the Wanderer's head. He maneuver and swirl his body around, cutting the Wanderer's head from his body. Using the momentum, he struck the other Wanderer's soft spot under its jaw that made the creature howl in pain. He snaps his finger and a burst of pink flames erupt from his blade, devouring it whole.

He lands on his feet and recall his dagger into his hand, swinging the dagger to get the blood off the dagger. He looks up to the house and instantly start running towards it, praying that the little girl and her mother are somehow safe. As he runs the sound of Wanderers become louder and louder, and he can hear the sound of burning.

And just as he thought, the house is burning down. Rafayel move on instincts, running into the fire without a care of his safety.

"Eli! Kaira! Are you there!" he shouts his lungs out as he searches for both females in the crumbling house. "Eli! Kaira!" he shouts again as he went up the stairs. The fire is bigger on the second floor and there's more smoke. He needs to find them fast before they inhale too much smoke or get burn in the fire.

"Pretty-gege!"

Rafayel whip his head towards the voice and spotted Eli on the far corner of the hall and an unconscious Kaira beside her. "Eli!" the artist wasted no time and was by their side in a few long steps, crouching to the child's height to examine her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he looks over her body to find no major injuries on the child which relief his heart a bit.

"Pretty-gege, mommy is"

"Shh, it's okay, Eli. You'll be okay. I'm going to get us out of here okay?"

The little girl nod and hold onto his shirt, moving closer to him. The artist patted the girl one more time before lifting Kaira onto his back, being careful as to not move her too much. It'll be bad if she lose more blood. Once he secure her on his back, he gives a nod to Eli and the two begin to move towards the exit with him at front. The smoke and fire is spreading by the minute, making it harder for him to navigate through the fire while keeping Eli and Kaira safe. With his hands used, he can't block an attack if there's any lingering Wanderer nearby. He hopes that the Association already sent out their hunters to assist with the Wanderers.

When they made it downstairs, with a lot of struggle on the stairs considering they were falling apart, a screeching roar vibrate through the air and shook the house slightly. Rafayel silently curse as he pushes Eli away from the falling ceiling and caught himself from falling. He hisses when his thigh graze a sharp metal and open a pretty big wound on his thigh. Damn it, he should've been more careful.

"Pretty-gege!"

"Don't come here, Eli! Get out and call for help!"

"But Pretty-gege, you're hurt-"

"I'll be okay, Eli. Can you trust your Pretty-gege on this?"

"...O-okay. I'll trust Pretty-gege"

"Thank you, Eli. Now, you need to go out and call for help. Pretty-gege will follow you in a minute"

Eli look at him one more time before nodding and walk towards the exit. Poor little girl, she has to experience something like this at a young age. He'll have to give her another gift after this for being a brave girl.

Speaking of getting out, Rafayel honestly doesn't know how he'll get out of this situation. If he was alone he'll be out of here in a matter of second, but he is not alone and is carrying an injured woman on his back. And by the looks of it, he can't waste anymore time in here for the sake of her lungs. She probably already breath in a ton of smoke while she's out. Thomas will be so worried. And just when he finally got him to relax. Fuck you Wanderers.

As he was searching for an escape route, from the corner of his eyes he saw someone standing in one of the corner of the house. He turns towards the person, confuse of the person's sudden appearance. The person seems to be a girl with white hair and silver eyes. She's wearing a black clock and is standing in the fire as if the fire isn't even there.

For a moment, they just stare at each other. Rafayel feels like he's frozen is place as he stares at the girl. There's something about the girl that makes his heart ache in a strange way.

"Hey, are you okay-" he didn't get to finish his question when a sudden Wanderer's head pop out from above him and nearly reach him with his jaw. He stumbles back in surprise and steady himself back up on his good leg. The Wanderer growls and launch its head towards him, mouth open and ready to snap his jaw close around him. He side-steps to the right, dodging the Wanderer's jaw by a hair, and immedietly regrets his decision as his wound throb and more blood comes out of it. He didn't have time to ready himself when the Wanderer open its mouth and charge in its fire breath. He ducks his head as the fire blasted out of the Wanderer's mouth and created a huge hole on the house, which is a very bad thing because now the house will definitely collapse.

The house gives off an awful creak noise as cracks spread from the hole and to the entire room. One more move from the Wanderer and he will be buried by the house. And of course the big stupid Wanderer doesn't know that as it charge in another fire breath. Rafayel turn to run and stupidly forget about his injured leg and fall forward when he steps on his right leg. He curses his stupid brain for forgetting such a simple thing and look back at the Wanderer who is done charging its fire and ready to blast him to death. But if there's one thing about him that the Wanderer should know is, Rafayel is a stubborn man and he will not go down that easily.

He summons a dagger in one hand and throw it at the Wanderer, successfully hitting its eye. The creature wail in pain as it shakes its head to get rid of the dagger stuck in its eye, allowing Rafayel to leap with one leg and close the distance between them. He summons his other dagger on his other hand and burry it deep into the soft spot just below its horn and use his Evol to cleanly cut the Wanderer's head from its neck.

The Wanderer's head fall to the floor with a thud, the head dissolving to tiny particles and fading to nothing. The artist sighs and recalls his daggers, his leg slightly shaking from moving. He coughs and cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve, breathing too much smoke that his lungs feels like burning inside. He limps to the laying Kaira and tried to get her back on his back to carry her out, but the world is tilting and his poor leg can't keep him up much longer. Oh, just great! Lady luck is really not on his side today. And to make it all worse, the ceiling above them is one second away from collapsing on them.

One second the ceiling was cracking, one second the ceiling gave out, one second he closed his eyes and await for the pain, and the next second he was lifted by strong hands.

Rafayel didn't dare to open his eyes until the taste of smoke is no longer in his tongue and the burning fire is no longer near his skin. He slowly opens his eyes, his vision taking a few moments to focus. He looks up and saw a pair of blue eyes looking down on him, the same blue eyes he saw somewhere before.

"Are you okay, Mr.Qi?"

Chapter Text

The Hunters arrived and quickly finished off the last of the Wanderers. Kaira and Eli were then driven to the hospital by an ambulance with Rafayel who Eli refuses to let go. The little girl hugged his neck with her trembling hands, occasionally tightening her hold on him as if he'll disappear if she lets go. The artist tried to smoothen her cries by patting her back and telling her that he's okay and he's here. But the silent cries continue through the way to the hospital. Looks like she's really shaken by the incident.

Once they were at the hospital, Kaira was taken to a room to be treated. Eli and Rafayel were led to a room too to get their injuries patched up. The little girl obediently followed the doctor's instructions and let the doctor treat her bruises. The artist was by her side the entire time, smiling at her when she glanced at him while his wound was being patched up. It only took about 10 minutes or so for the doctor to finish patching them up and dismiss him. The little girl tried to go with him but the doctor told her she needed to stay for a while since she inhaled a lot of smoke. She visibly tense and looks at him with a torn expression, eyes already watering and ready for another round of cry. He quickly assured her and told her to be a good girl and listen to the doctor, promising her another gift if she behaves. She nods after a few more coaxing and lets him go.

Outside the room, Thomas was sitting on one of the seats with his back hunched and feet tapping on the ground. He's in deep thought he didn't even hear him approaching. Rafayel looked at his manager for a moment, not really sure how to approach him in this state. He almost lost his family because of those Wanderers, and not just any normal Wanderers, Wanderers that are surely targeting him. It's because of him his family has to suffer like this.

"Hey Thomas, you doing okay, buddy?" He knows he is in fact not doing okay, but he doesn't know what else he is supposed to say to him.

That seems to snap the other man out of his thoughts and return to reality. He looks up at Rafayel, a little surprise at his sudden appearance. "Rafayel? Are you okay? How's your leg? It looks pretty bad before"

The artist huffed out a small laugh at the concern. The manager has many other things to worry about yet he chooses to worry about him first. "I'm fine, Thomas. The cut wasn't that deep and the doctor patched it up right away". The manager doesn't look convinced by his words and look at his right thigh where the wound is. "If you don't believe me, here, see for yourself" he lifts his pants up until the stitched wound is. "See, all good to go"

Though he still looks uncertain about his words, Thomas eventually sighs and slump to the chair, massaging his forehead. "Fine, I'll believe you. But you will not run into a fire ever again, okay"

"Hmmm, no promises"

"Rafayel"

"Woah, chill out Thomas. I promise"

"You promise what?"

"I promise not to run into a fire again. There, happy?"

"No, but it'll do for now"

"How stingy. Do you not trust my words, Thomas?"

"Most of what you say are either sarcasm and lies, so, yes, I don't trust your words"

Rafayel then proceeds to whine and annoy Thomas about how the manager is a meany and threaten to cut down his salary if he continues to be mean to him, to which the other reply with an eye roll and completely ignore the whining artist. Eventually a nurse came up to them and told them to keep quiet or not continue their argument in the cafeteria with a not so kind smile. The duo gulp and quickly leave the hall to head to the cafeteria, the manager getting dragged when he wasn't even making a noise.

But instead of going to the cafeteria, they ended up in the hospital's back garden because a certain artist didn't want to be in a crowded place with the excuse that people might recognize him, which is a possibility but he knows the artist doesn't want to be in the hospital any longer. He doesn't know what made a hospital so scary to him but everyone has a trauma and maybe he has a trauma in the hospital or something. Either way, it's not his place to ask him about his personal life before meeting him unless it's necessary.

The duo settle down on one of the benches with a drink on their hand they bought by the vending machine on their way. Rafayel is enjoying his sparkling fruit soda while basking in the afternoon light and the soft breeze. His jumbled mind eased a bit at the smell of nature hitting his nose, the sound of bird chirping, and the feeling of the sun's warmth. Something as simple as this can really lift his mood even if it's just a moment. Sometimes he wishes he could stop time and just stay in one moment to enjoy it to his heart's content. But that is not how life goes and it would not be fair for everyone. Besides, he's pretty sure Fate hates him to grant him any of his selfish wishes.

Beside him, Thomas seems to calm down a bit. His face is not as tense as before and his body has relaxed. He still hasn't opened his coffee though, still a little caught up in his head.

"Hey, um Thomas. Sorry about your house" he starts, scratching the back of his neck. "Because of me you got a burned house"

Thomas looked up to him with a confused face. "What do you mean by that, Rafayel? The Wanderers burned my house down"

"I know, but those Wanderers were after me," he said. "The person who wants me dead must've tracked me down to your house and sent those Wanderers to kill me. I will pay for Kaira and Eli's bill and hire a team to build your house just like new. Then once Kaira and Eli are better, you guys will be together and happy in your house" he smiles at the thought of the family being together and happy again. They'll be better off without him in the picture.

"Then what about you, Rafayel?" the manager asked with a stern tone. "Where will you go? Your studio is still being rebuilt and it won't be done for at least a month"

The artist gulp. He will not like the answer he will give him. "You don't need to worry about me, Thomas," he smiles at him. "I'll just stay in a hotel or a villa somewhere near the border and stay there until my studio is done. Simple". Well, it's not actually that simple. He still needs to think about where to lay low and plan his counter attack but he doesn't need to know that.

There was a moment of silence for a moment. Thomas's expression isn't getting any more convincing and he can tell the gear in his head working to piece the truth. "...You can't be serious right now, Rafayel"

Oh no, this will get ugly. "I am very serious, Thomas. This way, your family won't get involved with me again" he tried again. Please don't push more, Thomas. He just wants the best for him and his family.

"No!" the manager rejects "I will not let you live alone after what happened yesterday!"

"Thomas, I just want the best for you and your family. If I stick with you any longer, more will come"

"No, Rafayel. You are not living on your own"

"Don't you get it, Thomas! Your family got hurt because of me! Those Wanderers were after me!". Who would want to shelter someone who'll bring harm to their family? Can't he see that he'll only bring more harm to his family?

"So?" the manager challenge. "Wanderers are unpredictable and evil by nature! How can you tell those Wanderers were targeting you?"

"Because I know a targeted attack when I see one, and last night's attack was a targeted attack meant for me, Thomas. But instead of me, the Wanderers harmed your family because they are close to me"

"Even if that was the case I will not let you be left alone to fend for yourself! Not when I can do something about it". Oh, he is being so stubborn right now. He doesn't know what he'll get into if he keeps being stubborn.

"There are Wanderers, Thomas!" Rafayel snaps and stands up to tower over the other man. "Modified Wanderers that are twice as strong as normal Wanderers! You can die if you get close to me!"

"I don't care! I will not let you be alone!" the other man snapped back and also stood up, keeping his glare locked on him.

"Why are you so stubborn!" the artist almost yells, taking a step forward. "I can live by myself just fine!"

"That is not my point, you bastard!" the manager takes a step forward in the challenge and grabs his collar. "I know you can live by yourself just fine but you don't have to be alone anymore!"

Huh? What is he saying? Of course he will always be alone. He has been alone for most of his life. Being alone is nothing new to him. Sure it was scary at first but he's gotten used to being alone. It doesn't bother him anymore. Being alone doesn't hurt, yet why does his heart hurt when he is?

"You don't have to be alone anymore because you have me, you idiot! You have me! You have Kaira! You have Eli!"

"You have a family!"

"You are my family!"

Family? Does he have a family? There's no way, right? No one wants him. He doesn't have a family. He is destined to be alone until his dying breath. There's no way that anyone wants him in their family. He's annoying, lazy, and stubborn. He won't follow orders and do whatever he wants. He's only good at painting. He can't cook, can't do laundry, heck he can't even clean up his own mess. He'll only be a burden, a chaos magnet and bring nothing but suffering to anyone close to him. He can't have a family, he mustn't. They will suffer and die aga-

"Rafayel? Hey! Rafayel! Breath!"

No, no, no. He can't breathe. He doesn't feel like he's breathing. The air escapes his lungs as if there's a hole in his lungs. His chest feels tight, too tight. It feels like his skin is too tight on his body. His head feels fuzzy and the world is tilting. Is he falling? He must be falling. Or not drowning. Must be drowning. Because he can't hear Thomas's voice anymore, only muffled noise at the back of his mind. There's no light, no colors, only a blinding light in his vision. He feels light and cold, as if he can faint anytime soon. Maybe he already did by how light his mind and body feel.

"Breath, Rafayel. I got you, I got you, okay? I'm here, and I'm not leaving you"

Two warm hands hold his hands and squeeze them. The warmth from the hands slowly calmed his body down, gently pulling him from his mind. His brain started to settle and the buzzing faded into the background. He doesn't feel cold anymore, his Evol helping to normalize his body temperature. His vision cleared and Thomas's gentle face greeted his sight. "There you are, you idiot. You gave me another scare"

Rafayel gives him a tired laugh, inhaling deeply through his nose. "Guess I'm a master of scare now"

"Scaring me two times doesn't make you a master"

"Then I'll be sure to scare you more in the future"

"Please don't. I don't want my poor heart to stop because of you"

That made both of them laugh. Oh, sweet, old Thomas. What would he do without him?

"It's getting late. We should go inside. You look like you're ready to hit the bed"

"Yep. I'm beat!"

With that, both men headed inside, and hit the bed.

.

.

.

.

.

.

That night, Rafayel dreamt of waking up in the same flower field as he woke up before. He quickly got up and looked around the field to search for that little fluff ball. He walks around for a bit before spotting a white ball of fluff below a tree. He gets closer to it and sure enough, the little bunny is fast asleep curled up as a ball. How cute.

Gently, he picks up the little creature and puts it in his arms, watching it as it adjusts to a more comfortable position in his arms before falling right back to sleep. Double cute. Looks like the little bunny is a heavy sleeper, an ability he wishes to have in some nights. He lost count on how many nights he stayed awake, doing nothing but stare into his ceiling, desperately trying to go to sleep to rest his tired mind and body. What a blessed ability the little bunny has.

Speaking of a little bunny, he should probably think of a name for it. He can't keep calling it little bunny forever, that would be boring. Something tells him that he will continue to meet this little creature in his dream more often. So, he needs to think of a good name to call it.

"Let's see here. You have a white and fluffy fur, rare galaxy blue eyes, and are a heavy sleeper. So, your name will be..." he leans closer to the bunny and rubs his cheek to it. "Seiya"

Seiya's ears twitch when it hears its names and lazily rub itself to his cheek, as if it agrees with the given name. "You like that name?". The bunny gives a small noise. "Then from now on you will be called Seiya"

.

.

.

.

.

.

When morning came and the sun was out, Rafayel was practically beaming with a smile. Last night's dream was so nice and relaxing. Though he only lay down on the grass with Seiya on top of his chest, still sleeping like a rock, doing nothing but looking at the blue sky and enjoying the moment. It felt like his mind was wiped clean of any negative thoughts he previously had and left empty. He doesn't remember when was the last time his mind felt so light and empty no thoughts can disturb his peace. It's so nice, it felt good, and he misses the feeling already. At this point, he doesn't mind staying in that dream with Seiya for the whole day. Doing and thinking of absolutely nothing is so great. He can't wait to hit the bed again.

"I hired you a bodyguard"

"WHAT?!"

"Don't try to talk me through this. I already told the Hunter Association to send him over to your new house"

"Thomas! You can't just be serious"

"I'm very much serious, Rafayel. I will not allow you to live alone after all that shit that happened to you. Either accept this bodyguard or I will tell Eli to ask you to stay with us"

"But Thomas-"

"No buts, and that's final"

Rafayel face-palms his forehead and groans. Okay, he knows Thomas is an overly protective person when it comes to his family but he didn’t know he was this proactive! He’s not even part of their family (officially yet) and he’s fussing over him like he’s his dad! Well, his manager is older than him, so it does make sense of his behaviour and the fact that the internet often calls managers as parental figures…

“Okay, fine! I’ll take that bodyguard. But don’t expect much from them. They probably won’t last a day with me”

“Don’t worry about that. I made sure I choose a hunter that could tolerant you in best and worse condition”

“As if that person exists”

“Tell you what, if he can’t last for at least a week with you then I won’t bother you with any commission or event for over a month. If he can last until a week then you will finish all those pending paintings”

“You’re challenging me now, huh Thomas? What makes you soooo confident you’ll win?”

“Just a hunch”

“Then prepare to lose. Because I will do whatever it takes to make the hunter’s job miserable”

“Do your worst”

“Oh, I’ll make sure I will”

The two men stare at each other before being interrupted by the sound of tiny footsteps and a sudden weight on Rafayel’s leg.

“Eli! You scared me for a moment there, little  princess” he crouches down to her height and pats her head. “What’s wrong? Did the nurse scare you?”

She shakes her  head, whispering, “Miss pretty-gege”

“Oh, is the little princess missing her pretty-gege already?” he chuckles and lifts the girl to his arms. “You must’ve been lonely without me”

The girl nodded against his shoulder, clinging to his neck. He let her be and turn to her father with a smug smile that said ‘she loves me more than you’. 

Thomas gives him a deadpan face and rubs his eyes, unimpressed.

Later that day, the trio went to Kaira’s room to visit her. She has been awake for a while and demands to see her family. The woman was as strong as ever, already up and running. The doctors have given up on calming her down and tell Thomas to take extra care of his wife in case she decides she doesn’t need her stitches anymore in which the man replied with “I’ll try my best but I can not control my wife”.

Rafayel let out a huff of laughter at the united family, leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed. He’s glad the family is okay. He kinda feels a little regretful for moving away from them despite only staying one night with them. Well, there’s nothing he can do about that. It’s either the family gets hurt again because of him or his loneliness, and the answer is obvious. 

After the family reunion, Thomas said his goodbyes to his wife and daughter before driving Rafayel to his temporary house. The artist told him so many times he can drive alone to the house but he is having none of it and drag him to his car, put him in the passenger seat, and drive before the other can even complain.

“Come on, Thomas. You know I can drive”

“I know”

“Then why are you driving?”

“You’re injured”

“It’s healed”

“Doctors said you need to rest”

“I already rested”

“Still not enough rest”

“I slept 10 hours, Thomas! That’s more than enough rest”

“You still need to rest”

“Ugh, you what, fine! If you’re being stubborn on this then don’t blame me for making a few stops here and there. I need to stock my fridge and snacks, buy some clothes, order a few canvas, and get supplies for our dear bodyguard”

“That’s fine, as long as I don’t carry your bags”

“Oh dear Thomas, you already know the answer to that”

True to his own words, Rafayel did, in fact, not carry any of the stuff he bought and uncaringly threw them all to Thomas who looks more like a walking mountain of bags than a human.

By the time Rafayel finishes shopping, the car is full with different shopping bags and boxes. Some of the things can’t even fit the car so Thomas has to have them delivered by trucks. What a way to spend money.

They reached the house a little past dusk, the sun already dipping in the horizon. The house is similar to his studio but a bit smaller. Though that won’t be a problem since the reason he picked this particular house is not because of its size, but because of its location, far away from the city and close to the beach. That way, no one could be hurt when the Wanderers decided to attack him again.

Rafayel breathes in the fresh air through his nose, enjoying the smell of the ocean in the distance. He doesn’t know why but being near the ocean relieves something in him, like he’s near a place close to home, which makes sense. 

He knows he doesn’t quite fit in the city life. Sure he likes the vibe and colors, not to mention the cool sports cars speeding through the city. He likes being in the city, but sometimes, the quiet life near nature just makes him feel…free. Like he can finally spread his wings as large as possible without anyone to complain about the size. A quiet life where he can be as loud and annoying as he wants. A life of freedom.

A life of loneliness.

“You sure picked a nice place to live” Thomas commented from behind, unloading some of his stuff from the car. “I wouldn’t mind living here for a day or two”

Rafayel lips quirk up as he puts his hands on his hips. “Of course I picked a good house. Only the best for myself”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever the great and mighty Rafayel say”

He laughed at the remark, deciding to go help his manager out with the boxes in the back.

He has a good feeling about tonight.

After about an hour of unloading the boxes inside, Thomas excused himself to go back to the hospital, adding the contact of his new bodyguard to his phone.

“He’ll be here in a few minutes. Try to get along with him on your first meeting”

“Oh, don’t worry Thomas, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine”

Thomas gave him one look that said ‘I’m not dealing with this shit’ and left the house. Rafayel watched him go with a chuckle.

He looks at the mostly empty house, already thinking of what decoration to put where. Good thing he has many decorations he bought. Now, all he needs right now is to wait for his new bodyguard.

He hums to himself as he begins to open the boxes to see the decoration. He moves from boxes to boxes, pulling out the decorations and already making a mess of the room. He was so into what he’s doing he didn’t realize there was someone in his room.

He turns around, looking at the pretty fish ornament in his hand and bumped into something hard, making him stumble backwards. But before he could fall, a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back up.

In that moment, Rafayel looks up at his savior and his eyes slightly widen.

Standing before him, is the same hunter that saved him before. He didn’t get to look at the hunter before, there was too much going on back then, but looking at him now, he realized something about him. He has beautiful blue eyes.

“Are you okay, Mr.Qi?” the person asked him as he steady the artist with his hand, his grip gentle yet firm around his wrist.

Rafayel cleared his throat to compose himself and straighten his posture. “I’m alright. Thanks for the catch”. He looks at the hunter again, eyeing him from the top to bottom. He looks like a model, straight back, lean build, pale skin, and pale blonde hair. And, he’s slightly taller than him by an inch or so. Figures. He is a hunter afterall.

“Let me guess, you’re the new bodyguard Thomas hired?” he asked as he put his hand below his chin. “You’re quite a looker. Guess Thomas know to at least someone with looks”

“Thank you?”  the hunter tilted his head slightly, as if confused by his obvious compliment.

The artist chuckles and leans in closer to the hunter, eyes not leaving his face. He looks at him with a teasing gaze, drinking in every tiny reaction from the hunter’s face.

The hunter gave no visible reaction, only the slight change of his heartbeats and body temperature. He has control, that’s a rare quality.

“I like you. You and I will get along just fine” he smiles. “You probably already know my name but for the sake of our new beginning together, I’ll introduce myself” he extends his hand to the hunter. “Hello mysterious yet handsome hunter, my name is Rafayel Qi Yu, your new boss and master. You’ll be in my care from now on. Oh, and drop the formality, would you. I’m not that old”

“Alright”. The hunter looks between the extended hand and the artist, taking a little longer staring at his face. Then, he takes the offer hand and gives it a light squeeze. “Hello Rafayel, my name is Xavier Shen Xinghui, I’ll be in your care from now”

Chapter Text

“And he is so handsome! Like, can you believe it, Seiya! There’s someone that looks so pure and innocent as he. I might even think he’s an angel in disguise sent by heaven to rival me” Rafayel rants while patting the sleeping Seiya on his laps, leaning on the tree. “Oh but of course, no one can beat me when it comes to beauty. I mean, just look at me” he brings the bunny close to his face. “Have you ever seen someone as beautiful as me, Seiya?”

The bunny slowly opens his eyes, staring into his face for a moment and giving a little nod, falling back to sleep seconds later.

“You have good taste, Seiya. Who wouldn’t fall in love with me? I’m a perfect partner. I have everything a person needs in a partner. I have godly looks, a wonderful voice, a huge load of money, and a great personality! Anyone who dates me should consider themselves the luckiest person known to man!”.

Seiya makes a little noise of agreement in his sleep, earning him a cheek rub by the artist. “Even you agree with me, Seiya. If you were a human, I would definitely consider you as my partner. I can picture you to be a very handsome human with a soft and cute personality. And of course, your iconic blue eyes, you aren’t you without them”

Seiya looks at him with a tiny sparkle of hope in his eyes, nodding his head at the opinion.

Rafayel grins and pats the bunny head. “You’re so adorable, Seiya. I wish I can bring you out of this dream to play with you in the real world. I want to show you my paintings, bet you’ll love them”. He looks at the bunny, his gaze slightly softened. “Eli will definitely love you too, that girl really loves bunnies the most”

Seiya’s ears twitched, wiggling out of his hold and hopping to his shoulder. The bunny gives tiny licks on the edge of Rafayel’s jaw, seemingly determined to cheer him up even though he’s not sad at all.

“I’m not sad, Seiya. I have you with me, and you are a great company”

The bunny’s ears twitch at the compliment, and if he squirts his eyes a bit, he can see a pink blush on the tip of his ears. Oh, he didn't know a bunny could blush. That’s adorable.

Rafayel can feel himself waking up. It's a shame he can't stay longer in this paradise. He gives the bunny one last kiss on the head before he lets himself be pulled from the dream.

.

.

.

.

.

Rafayel must admit having a bodyguard isn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He always has a habit for leaving his mess and never  the energy or thought to clean them, often resulting in him tripping on his own paint brush.

That's where his bodyguard came in useful. The hunter never let him fall, catching his body before hitting the ground.

Some people might find that embarrassing but for him, he finds it endearing. From that angle, he can take a closer look at the hunter’s handsome face. 

Most of the hunters he met were mediocre at most. He admits he has a high standard for looks since he's the most beautiful person that ever existed, based on the internet's vote for 5 years, an achievement that he's always proud to boast to Thomas.

But if the internet ever finds out about his handsome bodyguard then maybe he'll have a run for that first spot.

Currently, it's a normal Tuesday for him. He is repainting a painting from ancient times in his studio. The client has asked him personally to do it since they heard about his outstanding skills and gave him a huge load of cash for half of the payment. He's not short on cash but the painting is interesting enough for him to accept.

It took him a week of repainting until he finally finished it, adding just a bit of details to it today.

He smiles and leans back to examine the painting. It looks right and brand new, like nothing ever happened to it. He can't help but feel proud of himself for finishing it without any distraction.

He leans further back, not noticing the leader creaking until gravity pulls him and his body begins to fall. He closes his eyes, bracing for impact but instead of the hard floor, he falls into strong arms.

“Nice save as always, Mr.Bodyguard” he says as he looks at Xavier, giving him a back pat. “Always there whenever the beautiful artist is in danger”

The hunter didn't comment on the nickname, having used to being called such by the artist. He puts the artist down, lingering his hand on the artist back longer than necessary before stepping back.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I have an exhibition tomorrow night. And since this is your first exhibition together, I will spare some of my time to get you well dressed! Can't having you walking around beside me in a hoodie when you’re my bodyguard”

And true to his words, Rafayel did spend almost an hour and a half of his time getting Xavier dressed in a formal attire fitted of a bodyguard.

Though the process would’ve lasted a lot longer if the hunter did not stop him from shoving every suit he has in his wardrobe for him to try on, and his wardrobe is huge, almost half the size of his apartment.

In the end, Xavier had to pick from one of the suits to stop Rafayel from continuing.

“Wait! Before we go to the exhibition, we need to take a selfie!”

“A selfie?” Xavier repeats the word with uncertainty.

“Yeah, a selfie. Don’t tell me you don’t want to take a selfie with the most beautiful human on Earth”

The hunter opens his mouth but closes it back again seeing that it is hopeless to reason with the artist.

“We'll take a selfie then”

“That’s the spirit. Now come here! Don’t be so distant with me”

Rafayel pulled his bodyguard close to him by the arm until their cheeks were touching and pressed the photo button, capturing Xavier’s funny yet still flawless expression.

“Sweet! This will definitely blow up” the artist chuckles and posts the photo to his social media with a caption ‘Meet my new super duper handsome bodyguard’.

The blonde can only let out a low sigh as he watches the other, his heart beating slightly faster from the momentarily close contact. He clears his throat, gaining his attention. “We should get going to the exhibition. Thomas is already waiting”

“Fine~” the artist groans and makes his way to the car. “Guess we wasted too much time”

Xavier opened the back door for Rafayel, making sure the artist was seated securely before closing the door and getting into the driver’s seat.

The drive won’t take long, it’ll only take about half an hour to reach the place on normal days and an hour max on traffic days. From what the news says, today there was no traffic on any road so the drive will go smoothly without a problem.

Except there is a problem which is not related to the traffic or the road.

The problem is…Xavier never drove before.

Rafayel watched from the back seat as Xavier awkwardly tried to start the engine and looked back and forth to the buttons on the steering wheel. It’s clear as day that his hired bodyguard has no experience whatsoever in driving a car as advanced as his, maybe never even drive a car before from the way his hands are hovering over the air, not knowing where to put them.

The sight is endearing for the artist. Who knew that a strong and reliable hunter like him doesn’t know how to drive a car. Well, he guesses a hunter like him is too used to teleporting to anywhere anytime they want to learn something as simple as driving. Though he could partially do some-sort of teleporting himself he doesn’t want to waste his energy on going to an exhibition. It’s a total waste of energy and effort.

But, he made a promise to Eli that he wouldn’t raise his poor dad’s blood pressure too much so he guess he can use a bit of effort on not to be late.

Rafayel pushes the ‘auto-drive’ button on his side and the screen in front of Xavier lights up, the map and direction loading in. The screen gives a ping sound and the car slowly starts moving on its own, following the path on the screen.

Xavier looks back and forth to the screen and Rafayel, a confused but also impressed expression on his face. “Is this…”

“An automatic car, yes. It’s one of the limited edition series that came out last year. There were only 3 cars sold and I just so happened to get one”. That’s a total lie. He was the one who paid the car in full price months before it was even released.

“How much was it?”

“Not much, just around…50 Million”

“That’s…more than I expected”

“Well, I have too much money to spare so I thought ‘why not add more to my already full collection of cars with another one’. Trust me, when you have so much money in your wallet that can afford almost everything in this world, you’ll eventually get bored of basically everything!”

“I see…I never thought of that”

“Don’t worry, Mr.Bodyguard. As long as you stay by my side and protect me from all the horrible things in this world, you’ll never feel poor again!”

The next few minutes of the ride was filled with Rafayel rambling about all sorts of things he bought with his money, bragging about his endless collection of cars to his trips around the world every single weekend.

Xavier listened, face softened while he admired the artist behind him. There’s something about the hunter’s gaze, a feeling buried beneath layers upon layers of feelings, that makes him pause a moment to look at those blue eyes.

In that split moment where their eyes met, the world suddenly went silent. There’s a gentle tug on his soul, a tiny little tug that makes him feel…longing? Is it longing? He never felt longing before, well, never this strong at least.

If he’s being honest, he always felt like there’s something missing from himself. It’s like his soul is missing a part of itself and it's been trying to call for them. On normal days, the longing will only be a small calm wave at the back of his mind, always present but never a bother.

But ever since this mysterious hunter came into his life, it’s getting harder to ignore the feeling.

Does that mean Xavier is related to his missing soul? That can’t be right…He never met him before the blonde became his bodyguard, heck he didn’t even know a man like him existed in this world! Looks like there’s more things he has yet to discover. The thought of that makes his little scholar’s heart pulse.

“Rafayel?” A hand waves in front of him, and instantly snaps the artist out of his thoughts.

He blinks and is immediately greeted by a close up  of Xavier’s handsome face, only inches away from his. Oh no, he can feel all the blood rushing up to his face. He leans back his head quickly to create a distance between them, the back of his head hitting the roof of the car with a low thud.

“Are you alright?” the blonde asked and reached his hand out towards him. “You were spacing out for a while”

“I’m alright!” the artist answered quickly, covering his lower face with the back of his hand. “It’s just getting hot in here! I forgot to turn on the AC”

“But it’s 20 degrees in here” the blond points at the screen where it shows the temperature of the car.

“It’s still too hot! I feel like I’m melting in here!” the artist’s hand reaches out to grab the remote AC and increase the temperature.

The hunter looks at the artist with a cute confused expression on his face, but nods his head and eventually looks ahead to the road.

The rest of the ride is filled with utter silence, only the sound of the distant machines and the outside cars can be heard. 

Rafayel can’t seem to stop thinking about the feeling in his heart. No matter how many times he tries to distract himself with anything, it keeps coming back the next second, like his mind refuses to think of any other thing beside the color of blue eyes. 

This is bad, he can’t just fall in love with someone because of his looks! He’s not that type of man. Appearance is nothing compared to personality! Yeah, there’s no way he's already in love with his bodyguard, that’s an expired love troupe. Love needs time and care. 

They’ve only known each other for a few weeks, not even a full month yet. They don’t talk much about their life, only some common information about where they live, what’s their favorite food, and stuff. They never talk about deep things like their past, both not prying into each other’s space and keep a safe distance. Now that he thinks about it, he can count in two hands how many times the hunter talks about himself, which is not a bad thing but not a good thing either. He needs to work on some scenarios to make the hunter talk about himself in the future. For professional purposes of course, totally not because of love.

After a few minutes, they finally arrive at the exhibition site. The car stopped at the front of the building, allowing them to get out of the vehicle before it drove off to park itself on an empty spot.

Thomas was waiting for them inside the building, scrolling through his tablet with extreme focus before he looked up to the two of them. “Wow, this is the first time you arrive on time. Is the world ending yet?”

“Don’t get used to it, Thomas. I must keep the father of my darling Eli sane for at least a week. I am a man of words so of course I need to keep my promise”

“Remind me again why I’m working for you”

“You love me too much to leave”

The two continue to bicker while they walk further inside the building, Xavier trailing a few steps behind them. The hunter’s eyes are scanning the surrounding area with caution. There are many possible enemies lurking around the building preparing for an attack. From his previous research on the artist, he can tell from one glance that the artist is a danger magnet. Many want him for different things, wealth, fame, and something more…ancient.

“And please behave yourself for once. There’s a very important guest today coming”

“Thomas, you should know by now that I don’t follow the rules like normal people do”

“I know but at least don’t try to run away mid-event, please”

“No promises”

The manager gave up and left the duo in the resting room to take care of the incoming guests.

Rafayel instantly flopped down on the provided sofa in the room, swinging his legs over the armrest. “Same old Thomas. He never seems to give up. He’s always been like that from the first time we worked together, always nagging me to behave and stuff like a mother hen”

“Maybe because he cares about you” the words flow out of Xavier’s mouth before he can stop it.

The artist looks up at him, taken back by his sudden words. “Well, can’t say that’s not true. He’s always been the noisy type when it comes to work”. That’s not entirely the truth. He knows how much his manager cares and worries about him more like a family than a manager when he’s been nothing but a burden to the older man even though he’s the boss.

‘Life is so confusing’

Before the awkwardness becomes too unsettling, the door of the room slid open revealing one of the staff holding a tablet.

“Mr.Qi, you are needed for the opening speech”

“So soon? Here I thought I could have a little nap before the chaos” the artist complains but got up and straightened his suit out before following the staff to the opening area.

As soon as Rafayel steps into the main building, all eyes are on him in an instant.

“That’s Mr.Qi!”

“He’s so handsome”

“Do you think I can talk to him today?”

“He’s such a dream”

“We need to get him to paint us!”

“I want to be his wife so bad!”

Rafayel internally sighs as he continues to pretend he didn’t just hear all of those words. It hasn't even started yet but he feels like he’s already drained. People are just so loud and disgusting, they can't even control themselves from desire. They’re lucky he can’t kill them in the open, no, that’s too much chaos for his life. He’ll just kill them when they cross the line.

He glances to his back, checking if his bodyguard is bothered by the center of attention but instead, he’s taken back by the terrifying glare Xavier is giving to every single person talking about him. The people who were talking about him instantly shrink under the hunter’s glare and lower their gaze or look somewhere else.

Oh, looks like his bodyguard is the protective type. How useful.

The artist walks up to the small stage, adjusts the mic a bit to his height and begins his opening speech. His eyes occasionally drift to his right where his bodyguard hasn’t stopped glaring at the audience for the smallest comment, sending a full body shiver down his spine from the vibe alone.

‘Note to self, never get on his bodyguard’s bad side’

Once his speech is done, he walks down from the stage and is free to walk around the building until the end of the exhibition. Well, there’s no harm in staying put this one time. Plus, he wants to show Xavier some of his art pieces he hasn’t shown him in his studio.

Rafayel hooks his arm around Xavier’s arm, catching the hunter off ground. “Come now, Mr.Bodyguard. Let me show you my favorite art pieces”. And before he can reply, the artist is already pulling him along the hall where the art is displayed.

The artist would stop at one art piece, explaining the context and meaning behind it before moving to the next one, lingering on some painting when the blonde asked a question.

And  since it is Rafayel’s art exhibition, people will of course approach him left and right to get a chance to talk to the famous artist.

Though the artist would love to simply ignore them and walk away, he maintains his professional smile and tone as people praise and compliment him about his creation. 

This is the most draining part about an exhibition, maintaining his image in front of thousands of people. This world is not the slightest bit merciful. One wrong move could make him and his close ones a target of a hundred. He’s already a main target of the most annoying group that has ever existed in the world, he can’t afford to be a target to another big shot. Even if he has the ability to survive each of their traps, he can’t say the same to his close ones, especially Thomas’s family.

Ugh, he’s starting to have a headache from all the crowds surrounding him. Why can’t they just admire his art pieces and leave him alone? Is it too much to ask from him? Humans are so greedy.

“Mr.Qi! Can I have a–”

“I’m sorry, but Mr.Qi is currently behind schedule. He must return to his studio to finish his work” Xavier quickly grabs Rafayel’s wrist and starts to lead him away from the crowd.

The artist looks at his bodyguard’s face, finding a hint of shadow in his blue eyes. From the looks of it, he dares himself to believe that his bodyguard might be slightly jealous from all the attention he’s getting. Oh, now that’s something far more interesting than that nonsense talk.

As the duo was rounding a corner, a blade suddenly flew towards them with blinding speed. Xavier quickly summons his sword and deflect the blade, keeping the artist behind him as his eyes scan over the hallway for any incoming danger.

Two daggers appeared and launched themselves towards them, also being deflected by the hunter in an instant.

The pattern continued as soon as the previous daggers got deflected. New daggers appeared seemingly out of nowhere, sometimes coming in pairs of two and sometimes of four. There’s no delay or hesitation in their attack, always aiming towards them even as they move.

Xavier made sure to keep Rafayel from being in the line of target, pulling the artist closer to him until their chests were pressed together, not that the hunter is fully aware of his own action because he’s too focused on deflecting the attacks.

And for Rafayel’s part, let’s just say he’s hanging to the hunter’s front, arms around the neck and legs around the middle, like his life depends on it, Because unsurprisingly, Xavier is very fast and he feels like riding a roller coaster from how much their spinning around the place! Looks like he needs to do some training if this is going to happen next time they go to an exhibition.

After what felt like an hour, the world finally stopped moving and stilled. Rafayel opens his eyes he doesn’t remember closing and looks around the hallway full of daggers. Yikes, that’s like around a thousand daggers on the floor.

“Are you okay, Rafayel?” Xavier asks as his hand on the artist’s back strengthens for support.

“I’m good just a little dizzy from all that spinning around the place”

“I’m sorry about that. I couldn’t risk letting you go unprotected with all the attacks coming”

“Don’t worry, Mr.Bodyguard. I trust you to do your job of protecting me. Look, even after the danger is gone, you’re still carrying me like a princess”

Xavier’s face immediately flushed as the realization settled in his mind that he is, in fact, still carrying Rafayel in his arms.

“I…” the hunter is at a loss of words, his eyes shying away from Rafayel. “Sorry, I didn’t ask for your permission when I carried you”

The artist chuckled at his words and couldn't resist the urge to ruffle his hand through the blonde’s hair. “Chill out, Mr.Bodyguard. I don’t mind this method of protection. Just give me a warning next time you want to carry me around while dodging some attacks. Gotta make sure my heart is prepared for the adrenaline”

The blonde only nodded in reply, his head slightly tilting to his touch like a cat leaning forward for more pats. Ah, his bodyguard is just so cute and adorable! Where did Thomas even find this type of bodyguard?

As he was busy admiring his bodyguard’s cuteness, he noticed something in the corner of his eyes. He turns his head to the floor, confusing Xavier from the stopped head pats, and finds a sort of letter tied to one of the daggers.

“Mr.Bodyguard, can you pick that dagger up? I think there’s a letter tied to it”

Xavier nods and uses his Evol to create a light-string attached to the dagger then pulls it towards them.

The artist caught it with ease and began to untie the letter from the dagger, throwing the weapon aimlessly behind him after. He leans closer to the hunter’s head to let him read the letter alongside him, placing his head on top of the blonde hair in which the hunter doesn’t mind.

.

.

.

.

.

Dear Rafayel, 

If you are reading this, then that means my apprentice has successfully delivered my letter to you.

For someone as famous as you it sure is hard to get in contact with you. All the emails I’ve sent to you have been deleted and blocked not even minutes after I sent them. It may seem that bodyguard of yours is quite skilled in detecting danger even on the internet, I would suggest taking care of him with utmost care. You won’t find a better bodyguard than him.

Anyways, the reason I’ve written this letter to you is to warn you of a certain danger.

You see, my apprentice has been in my care for a very long time. But recently, there is an organization that has been manipulating my apprentice to do their evil bidding. All the memories of me have been slowly altered by them, making me unable to reach out to my apprentice from where I am further.

If you value those around you, Rafayel, then I would suggest being prepared for anything. My apprentice can be very unpredictable at times and with that organization manipulating my apprentice, I can’t imagine what else my apprentice is capable of.

I hope you take my warning as a serious matter. I can only do so much to keep my apprentice from harming both of you.

With love, Heart.

.

.

.

.

.

“Okay, this is a very weird letter. What kind of person gives their target a warning letter? Is the world ending or what?”

“I don’t trust it”

“You and me both”

The two stare at the letter for a moment, their brain thinking of different meaning behind the letter, but was suddenly interrupted by a high pitched scream from the main building.

“Fire! There’s a fire!”

Without thinking anything, Xavier moves towards the scream, arms move to hold Rafayel more securely in his arms as he runs, leaving the artist no choice but to cling to him closer to stay put.

When they arrive at the scene, people are screaming and running around from the scene in panic. The hunter easily dodge the people coming their way so they don’t bump into the artist in his arms.

Rafayel clings to his bodyguard while straining his eyes to get a look at what caught on fire. Because from what he can remember, the place that is currently on fire is the same place…

At the same time, he can see Thomas appear out of the grey smoke covered in ashes, coughing a few times to get the smoke out of his lungs.

“Thomas! What the hell is happening!?”

“I have no fucking clue! I was just talking to some client when a fire suddenly appeared out of nowhere from your painting!”

“WHAT?!!!”

The artist quickly gets out of Xavier’s arms and runs towards the fire (again), ignoring his manager’s shout.

He runs his way through the fire, eyes searching for one painting that he is hoping did not start the whole fire. Because if it did, then Rafayel may or may not just discover a forbidden and ancient way to bring his paintings to life.

And knowing his luck, he won’t even be surprised if it actually did come from that one painting he painted right after Thomas’s house got burned down.

Eventually, the artist found the center of the fire which, to no surprise, was in fact  the painting he mentioned before. But the shocking thing is, while the fire is literally burning everything it touches, his paintings remain untouched on the wall, as if the fire knows how hard he worked on those paintings and decided to not burn it! What a life he’s living right now.

Chapter Text

“What did I say about running to a fire!!”

“Thomas, chill down, will you?”

“No! I will not chill down! You broke your promise to never run into a fire!”

“No one got hurt. I’m okay, you’re okay, everyone is okay, everything is okay”

“EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY!!!”

Rafayel awkwardly raises his hands in surrender in hopes his manager would drop the topic and move on to another pressing topic like the budget for fixing the building, or what to tell the news, or anything at this point. He can feel how all the people around them have turned their heads towards them from all the yelling and arguing.

“Thomas, buddy, can we drop this topic and move on? The whole street will hear you if you continue to scream like that. It’ll be bad for your throat”

“You are the whole reason why I’m screaming! Do I have to take you to kindergarten class so that you know we don’t straight up into a fire?”

“Now that’s going to be bad for my image”

“Good, that would teach you a lesson in a way you understand” Thomas turns around and looks at his phone to see multiple notifications from the media asking about an interview of the incident. “Lucky for you, I am a merciful and busy man. I will tell Xavier to take you home and make you finish all those pending paintings until you learned your lesson” and with that the manager stomps out the room, leaving the artist alone with Xavier.

Rafayel slump back down to the couch behind him, swinging his arm over his eyes. “Good thing he’s a busy man or else I would never get to hear the end of his nagging. That man can nag for a day if no one interrupt him”

The artist sighs and flips to his stomach, glancing at the hunter who has been silent after things calmed down.

“Mr.Bodyguard, you’ve been silent this whole time. Don’t tell me you’re also mad at me for running into the fire?”

Xavier didn’t reply which can only mean one thing.

“Just say you’re mad, Xavier. No need to give me the silent treatment, it’ll only worsen the feelings for both of us” which is true. Giving him the silent treatment is the worst treatment he can ever endure after a fight. It’s better if someone he cares about loudly explodes their feelings in front of him about all the horrible things he has done than give him the cold shoulders for days.

Xavier stayed silent for a few seconds, his blue eyes looking directly at sunset eyes with intense emotion. “I am mad,” he starts. “But not at you”

Rafayel blinks. “What do you mean by that? Who else is there to blame other than me?”

“Me,” Xavier answered without hesitation. “I am mad at myself for not being able to keeping you safe”

The artist snapped his head towards his bodyguard, eyes wide and expression shocked. Is his bodyguard being serious right now? He is clearly to blame in this situation, he literally ran into a fire! Though he knows he can get out of it without any difficulty his bodyguard and manager don’t know that so of course their worries are valid. But they can’t blame him for not considering their feelings, it’s the first time he had people who genuinely care about him, okay/ He’s not used to this type of thing.

Rafayel looks away from those blue eyes, feeling his face heat up by the mere thought of someone worrying about him. “You’re ridiculous, you know that. Getting mad at yourself for something as trivial as that”

“Your life is nothing trivial, Rafayel” the hunter said, voice more softer around the edge. He moves closer to him, now standing right behind him. “Don’t think so lowly of yourself. Your life is as valuable as anyone else so don’t throw it away carelessly as if it worth nothing”

The artist opened his mouth to say something–anything to shoot back at the hunter about how his life is nothing valuable but the words never made it to his mouth when he locked eyes with galaxy blue eyes.

He admits that his bodyguard’s eyes are a very beautiful shade of blue, one he has never seen before, but right now, those eyes seem to be ten times more beautiful with how soft and gentle they look. And the fact that those same eyes are looking straight at him makes it harder for him to not get lost in them.

Xavier is also not far off from him. The hunter is also getting lost in those sunset eyes. The pull in his soul is getting hard to resist with each second he stared into them. He just wants to give in and lean in, close the distance between them and devour those pink and plump lips until they turn red with bi–

“RAFAYEL! BAD NEWS!”

Both men quickly put distance between them and tried to put on their most professional face. Keyword tried. Because both of their faces have a faint blush on their cheeks that is undoubtedly can be seen by Thomas based on how he’s looking at both of them with a suspicious look.

Rafayel cleared his throat to bring his manager’s attention to him and calmly fixed his posture. “What kind of bad news, Thomas? Did one of the guests request a same day painting again? Or are they asking me to give another boring speech?”

“It’s neither of them actually. The bad news is…one of your paintings got stolen!”

“...” Rafayel let out a not-so-friendly laugh at the news, leaning his head back to his hand. “Thomas, don’t joke around about this type of shit. You know how I’ll get when someone dared to touch any of my paintings”

“I’m not joking, Rafayel. If you don’t believe me then see it for yourself” the manager said as he shoves a tablet to Rafayel’s face.

The artist took the tablet from him and pressed the play button. Footage from one of the CCTV facing his most prize painting began to play. At first nothing had happened, except for the fact that a fire, barely as big as a tennisball, literally appeared out of nowhere from the painting and the surrounding area started to burn. Who knew that a small fire can spread that fast in a matter of seconds, maybe he can use this technique when he needs some fire lighting. It will save him a lot of energy from spending his Evol.

Fast forward a bit after he sees himself admiring his own painting and getting dragged out of the fire by Xavier, something weird happens. A portal tore open in front of the painting, and someone with a black hooded clock came out of it. The person stared at the painting for a few seconds, one hand raising to touch the painting’s frame. It looks to him that the person is also mesmerized by his painting, he means, who wouldn’t be mesmerized by such a masterpiece made by him.

The person then retracts their hand from the frame, still staring at the painting. They stayed in that daze for a few more seconds before the person’s body shook and arch inward. The person lifted both of their shaking hands and a huge portal opened and swallowed his painting and the person in an instant, leaving no trace behind.

“See, I wasn’t lying” Thomas huffs and crosses his arms. “I already contacted the Hunter Association about this incident saying its the work of Wanderers or something from the Deepspace tunnel, and they said they will start investigating it tomorrow morning”

Rafayel looks up from the tablet and gives his manager a smile that doesn’t really reach his eyes. “I know I can count on you, my dear Thomas. Always two steps ahead of me”

“Yeah, yeah, no need for the thanks. Now, go back and take a rest or something, no more running to fire”

“Whatever my manager says”. The artist then turns to Xavier. “Come now, Mr.Bodyguard. Let us retire to our comfortable quarter”

The hunter merely nods at him, not wanting to meet his eyes just yet. His instincts are telling him not to mess with the artist right now and just do what he is told.

The duo exited the area where Rafayel’s car was parked in front of the entrance. Xavier opened the door for Rafayel, doing the same thing he did before they left before going to the driver’s seat.

The ride back was dead silent. Xavier is trying not to keep glancing back every few seconds, worriedly checking if the artist is okay or not because he definitely looks not okay. He would know this because the artist would never be this silent if not for something he considered a very serious offense to him. Looks like the internet is right about some artists loving their art like their own flesh and blood children. He needs to quickly look into this to bring back his smile, he looks better with a smile than a frown.

As the car automatically parks itself in front of the mansion, Xavier clears his throat and slightly looks back at Rafayel.

“Rafayel, are you free after this?”

Rafayel who was frowning while looking at the window suddenly blinked and looked at the hunter with surprise. “I am, why did you ask?" 

"I'm thinking we can eat somewhere nice after all that running. I have a nice place in mind that only takes about 10 minutes to walk from here. The food there is great and they have this spot where we can see the sea from there. "He turns his face around to look at Rafayel, his blue eyes stare at him as if they are pleading. “If you're tired, I can even carry you there" 

The artist blink slowly, thinking this is a dream and his bodyguard did not actually ask him out on a date because it sounds like it! Oh no, he did not prepare himself for this kind of event in his life. And with those puppy eyes!

“I-um, okay. W-we’ll go there. And you don't need to carry me, I'm not that tired" 

Xavier's eyes instantly become 10 times brighter and smiles. "Okay. Let's get going then”

And that’s how Rafayel found staring at Xavier who is happily munching on the food. It looks to him that the hunter is hungrier than him, which makes a lot of sense since he moved a lot, not to mention he had to carry him while doing those stunts. Though he’s confident that he can be considered light weighted, it is still not easy to carry someone while moving. That is unless his bodyguard is just insanely strong and stuff, which he is without a doubt.

The artist didn’t eat most of the time, his eyes always lingering towards his bodyguard. There’s something captivating with the way the hunter’s face lights up while eating. That is a good thing, he doesn’t want to make the hunter uncomfortable. He’s aware of how the hunter kept on glancing at him in the car with worried eyes, an action he finds oddly cute for weird reasons. Eh, it’s probably because he’s cute to begin with which automatically makes his action cute.

Xavier ended up eating more than Rafayel, the hunter instantly apologizing the second he realized. The artist just patted his hair to reassure him and paid for the bill without the hunter knowing.

The two exit the store feeling more refreshed and relaxed after a nice meal. Xavier is right, food can solve the problem. It never crosses his mind how food can make your heart a lot better. Maybe it’s because he survived on caffeine and cigarettes when he’s that mood. He’ll take note of ordering food more often to lighten the mood.

The sun is already starting to set in the background, casting the sky a beautiful color of mixed orange and purple. They walk side by side, shoulders occasionally bumping as they admire the sky. For Rafayel, the sunset is always a sight he loves to see, a view that would never get bored to look at.

For Xavier though, the sunset is just another reminder of how fast time flies. He really wants to stop the time and stay for eternity. Sure the others aren’t here yet, but he wants to be a little selfish and save this moment for himself.

He looks at Rafayel, finding the artist leaning against the railing and looking up. Ah, he looks so beautiful with the sunset behind him, not like he’s not beautiful most of the time. It’s no wonder he feels confident about his looks.

He really wants to kiss him right now.

Rafayel’s face and ears suddenly turned red, looking at him with wide, and shocked eyes. “You–what!”

Xavier blinks, then realization slapped him in the face. 

He said his thoughts out loud…