Formo, startled by Serdin’s sudden kiss, opened and closed his lips. He was deeply flustered, not having expected him to kiss again while he was awake. Moreover, it was a kiss that had been carried out while even holding onto him as he tried to pull away, making him all the more dumbfounded.
Serdin, who had no way of knowing such feelings, smiled slightly as he looked at Formo’s lips, which had parted slightly due to his confusion.
“You asked me to call your name, so I called it. Why do you look so surprised, Pipi?”
“I-I asked you to call my name, not to put your l-lips…”
Formo, who had been stammering his words, flushed his face, which was already tinged with red. Anyway, that jaguar was a master at making him feel troubled. Formo took advantage of the moment when the strength left Serdin’s hand gripping the back of his head and quickly escaped from him, lying down on the bed. Formo’s face, now turned toward the window, was bright red.
“Pipi.”
Though Formo trembled at the voice that came rushing in with breath right beside his ear, he absolutely did not turn his head. This was because he didn’t want to show Serdin not only his thoroughly flushed face but also feelings that even he couldn’t define.
“What’s my name?”
“…”
“I called Pipi’s name, but what about Pipi?”
“…I’m sleepy. I’m going to sleep now.”
Unless he played the card of being overcome with sleepiness, it seemed Serdin would keep pestering him to call his name. As Formo pressed his lips tightly shut and slightly lowered his eyes, Serdin asked in a small voice.
“You’re going to sleep?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Really?”
“Ah, I said I am!”
Formo, who spoke as if snapping in a half-suppressed voice, pulled the blanket completely over himself, showing he didn’t want to talk anymore. Seeing Serdin acting particularly persistent today, it felt like if he didn’t fall asleep quickly, his inner feelings would all be exposed.
“Pipi.”
Formo ignored Serdin’s voice coming from beyond the blanket and closed his eyes. Formo, who struggled desperately to catch the sleep god circling around in the distance, soon succeeded in falling asleep.
And so the next day’s sun rose. Formo groaned at the suffocating feeling for some unknown reason and wandered through nightmares before his eyes snapped open. The world was pitch black—perhaps it was still dawn. It seemed a bit hot too. As Formo blinked his eyes in a half-awake state, he belatedly realized that everything was because he had the blanket pulled over him and flailed his body.
As he groaned and twisted his body this way and that, the blanket wrapping around him became disheveled and the bedroom, filled with abundant sunlight, came into view. But it was quite strange. Even though he had somewhat escaped from the blanket that had been pressing down on his body uncomfortably, the suffocating feeling didn’t go away. The heat was the same as well.
Formo turned his head with his brow deeply furrowed and could easily discover the cause that had made him uncomfortable.
“Th-this…”
He wanted to shout “This terrible jaguar!” but seeing Serdin sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, his lips automatically pressed together. Right. Sleeping was fine. But there was no need to sleep while holding him tightly.
No, when exactly had he held him? Could it be while he was asleep…
It was just absurd. To think the reason he had been sweating profusely and wandering through nightmares was because he was trapped in Serdin’s embrace. Formo glared fiercely at Serdin, who was immersed in sleep without any thought of opening his eyes, then suddenly remembered the events of dawn and his ears flushed red.
Having too good a memory was also a problem. He kept recalling things that wouldn’t interfere with living even if he forgot them. Formo, still held in Serdin’s embrace, pursed his lips and recalled the events of dawn. As he reflected on the ticklish yet overwhelming moment, a strange emotion surged up from within.
It was unfair. This terrible jaguar had kissed his forehead twice and was acting brazenly about it, while he couldn’t even properly protest. Instead, he’d been thoroughly affected, unsightly flushing his face completely. Of course, even if he questioned it, there was no way Serdin would accept it.
Formo, who had been pondering with a serious face, clenched his fist tight. Then he moved close to Serdin and sent an intense gaze toward his forehead. This terrible jaguar needed to feel this strange sensation too. It wouldn’t be fair for only him to feel it.
And somehow he thought that if he pressed their lips together, he might understand what this emotion was.
‘…It’s not like I can’t do it.’
Since Serdin had kissed him without permission, he didn’t need to ask for permission either. It was certainly so… but he couldn’t help hesitating due to subtle emotions before taking action. Even while Formo was making a fuss alone, Serdin remained immersed in sleep without any movement.
Formo, who sneakily checked if Serdin had woken up, let out a long sigh and steeled his resolve. Then, moving carefully so he wouldn’t wake up, he succeeded in half-raising his upper body. The position was a bit uncomfortable, but if he got any greedier here, Serdin would wake up.
Formo waved his palm several times over Serdin’s face as if checking whether he was still sleeping. Seeing that he showed no particular reaction, he seemed to be very deeply asleep. Formo swallowed his dry saliva and slowly approached Serdin’s forehead, revealed between his disheveled hair.
Even up until the last moment, he hesitated, blinking his eyes and just glaring at his forehead, but soon he gently brought his lips to it. The moment they touched, he could naturally feel a soft, warm heat. At the close distance, regular breathing tickled his ear. A strange sensation swept through his entire body, enough to raise goosebumps on his skin.
However, since this was Formo’s first kiss while in human form, he didn’t know when to pull his lips away and ended up freezing in that state.
‘I-I…’
To think I actually voluntarily kissed Serdin. This was an excessively childish act. The lips that had been hovering over Serdin’s forehead, unable to do this or that, pulled away the moment Serdin opened his eyes.
Along with a “Hiik” sound, Formo’s body trembled violently. He belatedly regretted his actions. What if Serdin asked why he kissed him? Since it had been an impulsive action committed due to childish thinking, he had no other words to explain it. Even if he did explain the reason, Serdin would obviously laugh at him.
Formo, feeling guilty in advance, fidgeted and watched Serdin’s reaction. Serdin, who had just woken from sleep, looked at Formo with narrowed eyes, then smiled faintly.
“What are you doing this early in the morning, Pipi?”
Could he have realized what he’d done? Formo looked at Serdin with tense eyes. Even while receiving such a look from Formo, Serdin said nothing particular. Fortunately. Making his worries seem pointless, Serdin appeared not to have noticed that Formo had kissed his forehead.
Formo, who had slightly regretted his childish action, felt relieved and decided to keep today’s events as his own secret.
“Pipi?”
Serdin called out to Formo, who was half out of it, with a puzzled expression. Then Formo trembled his shoulders as if having a seizure and made eye contact.
“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Did some eagle chick bully you in your dream?”
“N-no! It’s nothing.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
The usual Formo would have poured out confident boasts chattering away about how he could easily beat an eagle, but this was strange. However, if asked what was strange, it was vaguely strange to the point where he couldn’t pinpoint an answer, so he could only raise his eyebrows in dissatisfaction.
“Then that’s a relief.”
Serdin muttered quietly and raised his upper body to sit leaning against the headboard. Then he placed his head on the shoulder of Formo, who was sitting in an awkward position, and opened his mouth.
“By the way, Pipi. I have a lot of time today.”
“Th-that… so what?”
Formo, startled by Serdin’s sudden contact—and moreover by the ticklish position after what had happened at dawn—stammered excessively. Furthermore, since they had never been in this position before, his heart was pounding fiercely.
“What should ‘we’ do to spend time today?”
Serdin pronounced the word “we” with great emphasis, and this held such blatant intention that even the dense Formo could feel it. Sure enough, Formo, who sensed through his skin the strange current flowing between him and Serdin, quickly flushed his earlobes and turned his head sharply.
“Hm? Pipi, what do you want to do?”
Formo had no words to answer Serdin, who asked back as if he knew nothing, so he could only move his lips silently. Even in the midst of this, Serdin sat quietly waiting for Formo’s answer. For Formo, who had been subtly hoping that Serdin would give him options first, this was a predicament.
It couldn’t be helped. The time had come when he needed to answer quickly, even if only to escape from the current flowing arbitrarily between him and Serdin. Formo, who had been diligently avoiding Serdin with his head turned to the side, cleared his throat as if he’d decided on something and spoke in a small voice.
“I want to walk around inside the castle.”
Walking around inside the castle and sharing many stories with Bléar had remained a very good memory for Formo. And Formo, who was born naturally free, had great interest in roaming around outside. While in human form, it had been quite uncomfortable and nerve-wracking so he’d restrained himself, but now that he’d become much more accustomed to it, wouldn’t it be okay?
Above all, wandering around the spacious castle seemed better for eliminating this strange current than staying inside the palace.
Formo, who hid his expression so such ulterior motives wouldn’t show, obediently waited for Serdin’s agreement. If it was Serdin, who knew how much he normally enjoyed walks, he would permit it without much suspicion.
“So you want to take a walk?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. Good, Pipi. But before we take a walk, there’s something we need to do first.”
“…Need to do? What is it?”
Could he be trying to bring up some strange topic again using the walk as an excuse? Formo waited for Serdin’s answer with a tense face.
