<Chapter 70>
#8. A Frightening Encounter (2)
“So…”
The tremendous words he wanted to blurt out were quickly refined in his head. If it had been his usual temperament, these thoughts would have already flowed out of his mouth without needing to deliberate.
“There is. That… amazing thing.”
“So what exactly is this amazing thing?”
Calix, who had been carefully restraining himself to avoid startling or upsetting Melty, frowned. Regardless of his efforts, Melty was burning with determination to get an answer from him.
When Calix sighed, running his hand through his hair while averting his gaze, Melty immediately rose from the sofa.
“Why can’t you answ—!”
Just as Melty, feeling triumphant about cornering Calix, was about to shoot out his words. Calix cupped Melty’s cheeks with both hands to prevent him from escaping and lowered his posture to plant kisses—smack on his forehead, smack on the bridge of his nose, and smack on his lips. Melty froze in place, dumbfounded by the instantaneous “three-stage smack kisses.”
Calix, who had pulled back slightly to observe the frozen Melty, raised the corner of his mouth into a smirk. Leaning in again, he targeted those plump lips that had been tempting him.
“Wh-wh-what…!”
Each time Melty barely managed to stammer out a syllable, another “smack” of a kiss followed as if keeping rhythm. Only after the same action was repeated three times did Melty regain his senses and push Calix away with all his might.
However, Calix was not one to be easily pushed away. Because Calix remained firmly in place, Melty’s body was pushed backward instead. With a sound like “Uh, uh…?” just before Melty’s buttocks could touch the sofa, Calix wrapped his arm around Melty’s waist and pulled him close.
“You wanted to know what the amazing thing is? If you’re already hiding like this when we haven’t even started, what am I going to do?”
“H-haven’t started? You’ve already done plenty! Just now!”
After snapping back with a voice raised in panic, Melty hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand. Seeing Melty’s flustered state, a mischievous smile appeared on Calix’s lips.
“You call that much worth mentioning? Why are you so surprised? Lovers can kiss, you know.”
As if to demonstrate, Calix lowered his head and kissed the back of Melty’s hand that was covering the area above his lips. As those lips tickled across his hand, Melty finally chose to reach out and cover Calix’s mouth instead of his own.
“Y-yes, they can, but!”
“If they can, that means you already knew, right? Why are you so surprised by something you already know?”
Melty shuddered at his snake-like tone. Despite Melty’s glaring eyes while still firmly protecting his lips, Calix chuckled. Calix gently grabbed both of Melty’s wrists that were blocking his mouth and tilted his head slightly as he asked.
“Then, may I kiss you again?”
“…If I say no, would you not do it…?”
At Melty’s question, asked with his head slightly lowered and eyes looking up, Calix pulled up the corners of his mouth into a grin. Pushing aside the hands tightly gripped in his own, he quickly kissed Melty’s lips.
“No.”
The answer to the question only came after the brief kiss ended. Staying just slightly apart, as if he might kiss him again at any moment, Calix smiled, curving his lips. Melty couldn’t take his eyes off Calix’s lips as they curved into an elegant arc. For some reason, those moist, red lips looked exceedingly sensual.
Confirming that Melty’s gaze was fixed on his lips, Calix swallowed the laughter that seemed about to burst out. He had been suppressing his desire to do more because Melty was easily startled by even light skinship, but seeing him now, it seemed like something more intense might be acceptable.
“I’m going to kiss you more deeply than before.”
After giving this advance notice in a languid voice, Calix pressed his lips against Melty’s before he could say anything. Calix’s hands firmly held Melty’s waist to prevent him from escaping. Melty’s hands, now free but with nowhere to go, clutched tightly at Calix’s clothes as if they were a lifeline.
While they were engaged in a kiss more intense and rich than before, a light knock sounded. Calix, who didn’t want to be disturbed by a mere knock during a good moment, decided to casually ignore the sound.
Unlike Calix, who was leisurely enjoying the feast, Melty, who was being devoured, reacted sensitively to the knock. Melty’s clenched hand tapped Calix’s shoulder repeatedly. Though it felt like a massage from a cotton ball with no impact, Calix obediently stopped and pulled away.
“What.”
“…Didn’t you hear the knock?”
At Melty’s whispered voice, Calix frowned and turned his head to the side.
“What is it?”
A chill naturally frosted over in Calix’s voice as he was interrupted during a particularly good moment. Perhaps sensing that his mood had soured from his cold, sharp voice, the person beyond the door spoke in a respectful and cautious tone.
“I apologize, Master Calix. Master Braiante has asked when you will be coming down for dinner.”
“…Tell him we’ll be down soon.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Following that calm voice, the sound of footsteps leaving the doorway could be heard. Calix clicked his tongue lightly, lamenting the broken mood, and turned his gaze to find Melty already sitting back down on the sofa, which made him chuckle.
“Why are you sitting down?”
“…This is all your fault, Calix-ssi… My legs went weak.”
“That’s quite troublesome.”
Despite Melty’s reproachful gaze, laughter kept escaping from the corners of Calix’s mouth. Melty, speaking in a waterlogged voice, repeatedly thumped his innocent legs with his hand.
“That’ll hurt, you know.”
Calix laughed as he covered Melty’s legs with his hand, protecting them from their owner’s unwarranted venting. After briefly glaring at Calix, who kept letting out laughter here and there, Melty dropped his head down again. Calix flipped the hand that had been covering Melty’s leg and easily caught Melty’s falling hand, as had become his habit.
“What’s wrong?”
Calix gently asked while playing with Melty’s small hand that had slipped into his own. He pushed his thumb into Melty’s palm and massaged it gently, causing Melty’s clenched hand to slowly relax.
“This is a bit unfair.”
“What is?”
“You’re the one who did everything, but I’m the only one feeling embarrassed.”
“Pfft.”
Calix barely suppressed a laugh that nearly burst out at Melty’s sulky mumbling, and let out a big fake cough instead. To escape Melty’s sharp triangular gaze, Calix quickly spoke up.
“Were you just embarrassed?”
“…What?”
“Why don’t you tell me how good it felt, enough to make your legs weak?”
“I-I told you my legs went weak.”
“You only said your legs went weak.”
Melty pushed his lower lip forward at Calix who was responding with bright smiles. He was so annoyed at how snake-like Calix was acting. Quickly responding to Melty’s changing expression, Calix decided it was time to stop teasing him.
With a light chuckle, Calix reached out and used his thumb to wipe away the glistening traces on Melty’s plump, swollen lips. While obediently accepting his touch, Melty rolled his eyes.
“Well, there’ll be opportunities to hear about it next time. Still, you didn’t react too strongly? I thought you might hit me a few times.”
“I’m not that violent!”
“Hmm, I wonder…”
Calix dragged out the end of his response to Melty’s raised voice full of indignation. Having already had his hair pulled by Melty before, Calix couldn’t possibly agree with that statement.
“I-I was just a little surprised, that’s all! Of course lovers can kiss! Obviously!”
“Really? They can?”
Calix kept laughing at the sight of Melty, who had lost strength in his legs from mere light kisses and making out, yet was now acting as if it was no big deal. Perhaps thinking Calix was mocking him, Melty puffed his cheeks slightly and grabbed Calix’s face with both hands.
Before Calix could be surprised by his sudden action, Melty’s face charged forward with his eyes tightly shut. As soon as their lips overlapped, there was a sound like “slurp.” Following that, with a “pop!” sound, their overlapped lips separated.
Unlike Melty, who looked triumphant, Calix, who had been suddenly attacked, slowly rubbed his tingling lips with his hand.
“How was that?”
“It felt like… being attacked by a giant octopus’s suction cups.”
“Giant octo…”
In an instant, his confident kiss was downgraded to an octopus attack. Melty’s eyes widened at Calix’s unexpected response. Chuckling at the sight of Melty with indignation sparkling in his brown eyes, Calix slowly rose and briefly kissed Melty’s lips again.
“But I liked it.”
“Saying that now doesn’t help!”
Melty shot a resentful look at Calix before abruptly turning his head to the side. Calix lovingly gazed at him with a smile still lingering on his lips. Despite being attacked by Melty’s “octopus suction cups” as he charged forward with his eyes shut tight, it was clear that he had enjoyed it.
‘Though he doesn’t seem to believe me.’
In truth, even Calix hadn’t expected that such a clumsy, inexperienced kiss would make him feel so elated and happy. Calix casually touched his lips that Melty had sucked on so eagerly, then reached out to tousle Melty’s hair.
As if to urge the still reluctant Melty, another knock sounded. After being interrupted by knocking twice in a row, Calix frowned. Since he had clearly heard the first person who knocked walking away, it wasn’t the same person.
“Tsk. I suppose we should go now.”
“…Are you going to leave right after the meal, Calix-ssi?”
“Ah, well… I need to assess the situation. Even though I said it was fine, if a drought has occurred here as written in the letter, it’s a serious problem.”
Melty, who had been contemplating while watching Calix nod lightly, got up. When they first arrived, his body had felt so heavy that he wanted to sleep immediately, but now he felt much less drowsy. Moreover, he felt a sense of responsibility for coming to assist Calix in Angel’s absence.
“Then I’ll go too.”
