HPV 109

Extra 2-5

Sunlight slipped between the curtains and stamped a gentle mark across the man’s forehead.

Without any warning signs, Banwes’s consciousness returned with perfect clarity.

All his senses came alive as he scanned the area for threats. He detected every tiny movement, down to each blade of grass and the faintest twitch of a bug. His beast instincts were on full alert.

Soft, shallow breaths reached his ears, and Banwes let his entire body relax.

This place had no insects, no monsters, not even a speck of dust. It was a polished, spotless room. He was lying atop soft bedding.

Riarun, dressed in pajamas, slept curled up in his arms.

All the spikes and blades that had made up the man seemed to melt, leaving behind only a soft, languid atmosphere.

He drew the small body in his arms even closer. The hand that brushed the hair off that innocent face was gentler than a parent with a newborn. His lips soon pressed a kiss to the same spot.

This face held a kind of magic. During sex, when Riarun clenched around him, squeezing with blissful pressure, just his expression alone could make Banwes climax. He was endlessly annoying when he picked fights, but also so cute it made Banwes want to nibble and kiss him nonstop.

And when asleep, he seemed capable of purifying all the world’s corruption and bringing peace.

A bird chirped outside. Banwes debated whether to cover Riarun’s ears, but he knew this sort of noise only sounded sharp to him, Riarun slept peacefully through it.

There was a garden outside the window, on the first floor. A month ago, Riarun and Banwes had set up a birdhouse in the center.

Riarun had been full of anticipation, while Banwes had felt a twinge of guilt and worry behind him.

“Because I’m here, no birds will ever come to that house…”

But perhaps the bright, refreshing energy of the young man, who seemed almost like an incarnation of the Rohin Spirit, was stronger than Banwes’s ominous aura.

Amazingly, a pair of larks had made a nest. They’d even laid eggs, and now the garden was filled with the chirping of baby birds.

When he saw it for the first time, even Banwes had frozen, astonished. Seeing the newly hatched birds peep with closed eyes had made him think of Riarun, and he instinctively associated every part of Riarun with those tiny lives.

It had been magical, briefly.

Before long, the birds started to annoy him. Too many servants came to the garden to see them. Which meant… they couldn’t have sex there anymore.

“What did you used to think about?”

Sometimes, when Banwes had his head buried in Riarun’s arm, Riarun would stroke his brow and ask.

If he meant the time long ago, when Banwes had survived alone, then, honestly, he hadn’t thought about anything. He only searched for places to sleep, avoided or killed monsters, and constantly assessed whether something was edible or not. A primitive brain.

But if Riarun meant during their travels.

Even then, when Banwes hadn’t yet known this was love, he had thought only of Riarun.

He’d stew over Riarun’s annoying comments.

He’d think the food Riarun gave him tasted okay. Or stare at the tiny bite mark Riarun left on his meal and feel strangely deflated.

His sleepy eyes roamed the room slowly. He saw the table where they sometimes sat reading together.

He remembered laying Riarun across it and plunging his cock between those pale cheeks.

Sunlight had spilled over Riarun’s hair, his bare shoulders, and his slender back in a lascivious cascade. Outside the hallway, servants had passed by. Banwes had clamped a hand over Riarun’s mouth and thrust hard enough for thump, thump sounds to ring out.

“Mmph, ngh…”

Trying not to moan, Riarun had clenched down so tightly inside.

Banwes had liked that, and hated it. The pleasure surged like a beast, but the fact that Riarun was thinking about other people during sex made him feel strangely offended.

He was also surprised at himself, having sex without hesitation even while others passed by outside. His usual vigilance had completely lost meaning compared to the joy of being inside Riarun.

Many things had changed in him. Once, he had eaten rotten meat and drunk polluted water without blinking. Now, he only ate fragrant foods, and was even learning preferences.

For instance, he liked salty foods more than sweet. Strong spices put him off. He preferred dishes slightly undercooked rather than overdone. He liked meat far more than vegetables. Seafood had been too unfamiliar, but recently he’d started enjoying clams and lobster.

But the thing he liked most of all was a specific sweetness.

Riarun’s skin was candy to him, and Riarun’s fluids, syrup sweet enough to melt his gut.

A splitting desire pulsed, so intense it ached. Heat pooled relentlessly in his lower half. Banwes slowly looked down.

His partner, right beside him, was still asleep, completely unaware of the dangerous weapon raising its head.

Banwes slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Riarun.

He went into the attached bathroom and faced the mirror. Picking up the razor from the shelf.

Since they’d started living together, Riarun had always shaved him. It was Banwes’s favorite moment of the day.

But recently, he’d started doing it himself. A new habit.

By shaving alone, he didn’t show Riarun the rough stubble that embarrassed him.

It had been a while, his hand trembled a bit, and he ended up nicking the bottom of his chin. Banwes finished shaving, praying the wound would heal before Riarun woke.

He stared at himself in the mirror. His sharp nose, his jutting jaw, his harsh red eyes, he looked like a monster.

He took off his clothes and ran water into the basin. He’d broken a sweat earlier while relieving himself alone, aroused during Riarun’s sleep. He fretted over whether he smelled unpleasant.

Now that he was free from worries about shelter, food, and survival, he had a new concern: Do I suit Riarun?

Riarun was naturally elegant, even without grooming. But Banwes?

So many would find Riarun beautiful. There were surely people out there better than him in every way, more talented, more noble.

In contrast, his body was all harsh muscle, like an orc. Covered in countless scars and blemishes. Rough and ugly in every way.

His self-hating gaze dropped lower, to the vulgar, hideous club between his legs, and the wild patch of hair around it.

Should I rip it all out?

Riarun didn’t have a single hair down there. But he did. Wasn’t it disgusting?

It was too coarse to shave with a razor. Trembling slightly, he picked up the scissors he sometimes used to trim his hair.

Just then, the bathroom door burst open.

Riarun entered, yawning groggily. He’d assumed the room was empty since he hadn’t heard the water.

He saw Banwes, and turned red, about to leave, then froze.

“…Huh?”

What are you doing!

Riarun rushed forward and tried to snatch the scissors from his hand. Water splashed out of the tub.

Banwes, afraid Riarun might get hurt, hurriedly placed the scissors far away on the shelf and raised his hands.

“It’s a misunderstanding! I wasn’t trying to hurt myself!”

“Then what were you cutting with that?!”

With no way out, Banwes told him everything.

Riarun stared at him like he couldn’t believe it.

“It’s a little itchy sometimes, but without it I’d feel empty!”

He blurted it out, then placed both hands over Banwes’s groin. Cupped his hands and placed them over it.

“Isn’t it gross?”

Banwes asked, feeling small. There was nothing more humiliating than standing there as Riarun tried to protect his pubic hair. He figured he might as well be honest.

Riarun looked genuinely confused. Then dropped his head and muttered softly:

“…I like it. It’s sexy.”

Only the sound of water remained. Silence fell.

Riarun instinctively sensed the heavy stare pouring down on him.

Banwes was still mid-wash. Water dripped slowly down his copper-toned, firm muscles.

Very slowly, like backing away from a predator, Riarun removed his hands from Banwes’s groin.

Then bolted from the bathroom in a panic, leaving only a disappointed man behind.

Time passed, and they sat across from each other at the dining table.

The more Riarun thought about it, the angrier he seemed. Banwes said nothing, quietly watching his mood.

Riarun silently spooned soup into his mouth, clearly holding back… until he finally slammed the spoon down and glared.

“You, how do you still not get it?”

“…Not get what?”

“Do you seriously not think you’re manly and handsome?”