“One room, Please”
“…”
The receptionist stared in silence, her gaze lingering on the drenched man standing awkwardly behind the two women. Her eyes flicked between them, clearly curious about the situation.
Aether, feeling the weight of her stare, averted his gaze, as he remembered last time where he ran off before her.
Raven, growing impatient, snapped her fingers in front of the woman’s face. “Hello? Can we hurry this up? We can’t have him standing here soaked to the bone all night.”
The receptionist blinked, snapping out of her daze, and quickly arranged the room key.
As they entered the room, Raven gestured toward the bathroom without much emotion.
“Go take a shower,” she instructed, her voice flat.
Aether excused himself, disappearing into the bathroom.
As soon as the door closed, the tension in the room shifted. Both women stood in silence, biting their nails, clearly restless with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.
“W-Why did we bring him here again?” Thalia finally asked, casting a sideways glance at Raven, who had initiated this whole situation.
Raven awkwardly adjusted her sunglasses, though they were entirely unnecessary indoors, “W-Well… he was drenched, so…” she mumbled, trying to sound casual.
“Oh? Oh!” Thalia’s eyes widened with sudden realization, and her lips curled into a teasing grin, “Wait a minute. Are you… worried about him?”
Raven simply shrugged, not giving a clear response.
Thalia, undeterred, let out a small chuckle, though she dropped the teasing, “Hmph. Well, this is a surprise. But, you know,” she added, looking around the room with a thoughtful expression, “I never thought we’d end up in the same room… again.” as she stared at the bed where everything happened.
Raven’s expression darkened slightly at the reminder. Her gaze fell on the bed—the same bed where everything had happened before.
Memories she’d rather forget flashed through her mind, making her face harden even more. ‘I need to set things straight,’ she told herself, ‘and stop these emotions that are gnawing at my heart.’
With a determined sigh, she gently flopped onto the bed, sinking into the soft mattress as she steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation.
A few minutes later, Aether stepped out of the bathroom, steam trailing behind him as he emerged—wearing nothing but a towel slung low around his waist.
Thalia’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What the… Aether!” she shouted, unable to contain her shock, “Put some clothes on, you bastard!”
Aether blinked at her, ‘Really now? after seeing everything’ he thought before saying out loud, “What’s the problem? Haven’t you seen it all before?”
[+200 AP]
Thalia’s face immediately turned red, and she coughed, quickly averting her eyes, her earlier boldness crumbling. “T-That’s not the point!”
Aether smirked but said nothing, his amusement short-lived as his gaze shifted to Raven. His smile disappeared, replaced by a stern, unreadable expression.
“A-Aether?” Raven called his name hesitantly, sensing the change in his demeanour.
“Yes?” His response was indifferent, cold even, as though their previous flirting interaction meant nothing.
Raven’s heart pounded, ‘W-Why am I feeling like this?’ she wondered, as an unexpected tightness gripped her chest. Taking a deep breath, she tried to muster the courage to speak. “I know what I did was completely wrong, but—”
Before she could finish, Aether interrupted, his tone sharp. “Wrong?” He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just trying to help me, weren’t you? Trying to keep me from disintegrating. You had good intentions, right?
There was nothing wrong with that.”
Raven bit her lip, stealing a glance at Thalia, who shifted uncomfortably.
Noticing this, Aether’s frown deepened. “What?” he asked, his voice hardening.
Thalia hesitated before speaking. “About that… um, it’s not exactly true.”
“Not true?” Aether’s voice dripped with disbelief.
His attention fully turned to Raven now, his expression growing darker by the second. “What do you mean, not true?”
Thalia scratched her cheek awkwardly, trying to find the right words, “W-Well… what we told you was… a lie.”
Aether’s eyes widened, his disbelief evident. He turned back to Raven, opening his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
The betrayal hit him harder than he expected!!
“Aether, wait,” Raven pleaded, her voice trembling. “I was just… I didn’t know what else to do. I thought it would help—”
But before she could finish another lie, Aether spun around, grabbing his clothes with every intention of leaving. His movements were sharp, filled with frustration…. That was until Raven grabbed his arm and pulled him back toward the bed.
Thud!
Aether stumbled, falling onto the mattress as Raven quickly straddled him, pinning him down with surprising strength. Her hands tightly gripped his wrists, holding him in place. “Please, Aether!” she begged, her voice desperate. “Just listen to me first! Please!”
Aether stared up at her, his face a mix of shock and embarrassment, “R-Raven, what the hell—”
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But Raven cut him off again, leaning down, her face inches from his, “I know I lied. I know I messed up. But there’s more to this than you think. Just give me a chance to explain everything. You deserve to know the truth. Please…
just hear me out.” as she moved her body making it hard for Aether.
Aether’s face flushed crimson, “O-Okay, I’ll listen! Just please… move!”
Raven shook her head stubbornly. “No! I won’t move until you’ve heard everything clearly.”
Aether, trying to keep his cool while beads of sweat gathered on his brow, spoke calmly, “R-Raven, I understand what you’re trying to do, but seriously… please, just move.”
But Raven remained firm, still shaking her head. “No, Aether! I will no—”
“My towel fell down, you idiot!” Aether shouted, his face reddening even more.
“Oh?” Raven flinched, her eyes blinking as she slowly glanced back down, noticing something unmistakable rising behind her ass, “O-Oh…!” Her body trembled for a second in surprise, but then she shrugged nonchalantly, “Well… whatever.”
Aether was completely taken aback, ‘What the hell?’ he screamed inwardly, utterly embarrassed by the situation.
And yet, these two girls didn’t seem to care at all.
Two girls?
Another horrifying realization struck him, ‘Wait! Thalia is still here!’
“W-Wait, Raven! What about Thalia? She’ll see—” Before he could finish, his eyes darted to Thalia, who was calmly placing a towel over his… rising dragon. “May it rest in peace,” she mumbled with a serious expression.
“What the fuck?” Aether blurted out, “Don’t any of you have manners?”
Raven, however, grabbed his chin and turned his head toward her, commanding his full attention. “Aether, I’m really sorry for what I did that day, and…” She finally removed her sunglasses.
“Raven?” Thalia called out softly, sensing something important about to happen.
Raven nodded, her voice steady. “It’s fine.” Slowly, she took off the sunglasses and revealed her eyes fully.
Aether’s breath caught in his throat!
Her left eye was a deep, pitch-black with a slit pupil, while her right eye glowed a brilliant crimson, resembling a flickering flame.
Both were mesmerizing, striking in their duality!
Whatever thoughts had been racing through Aether’s mind vanished. All he could manage was a breathless, “Your eyes… they’re gorgeous.”
[+300 AP]
Raven’s heart skipped a beat at his words, her cheeks tinged red despite herself. She had expected many reactions… shock, fear, maybe even disgust… but not this.
His tone wasn’t mocking, it was… genuine!
Aether, his gaze softening, gently touched her face. His hand, once pinned by her, was now free, and he used it to brush a fingertip along her eyelid, fascinated. “Why would you ever hide these eyes?” he mumbled, clearly mesmerized. “They’re beautiful… truly beautiful.”
Unlike before, when he had only caught a glimpse, now he could fully take in the details, and he couldn’t look away.
He was entranced!!
Raven blinked, her confusion deepening, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ she thought. No one had ever reacted to her like this before.
Thalia’s amused voice broke the moment, “Ohhh, looks like someone has a thing for eyes, huh?” She glanced at Aether’s still twitching “situation” beneath the towel. “Look at cute twitching! He’s practically obsessed with your eyes, Raven. Maybe this is fate… maybe you’re really meant for each other.”
[+400 AP]
Raven’s frown deepened, and she looked down at Aether with a shocked expression, unsure of what to make of the situation.
Aether snapped, glaring at Thalia. “Oh? Should I hand you a microphone, you shameless dragon?!”
“Pffftt!” Thalia chuckled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Shameless? I’m not the one getting all turned on over someone’s eyes! You’re the shameless Phoenix here!”
Aether rolled his eyes, ‘Do they even understand the situation we’re in right now?’ he thought, feeling increasingly exasperated.
Raven cleared her throat, breaking the escalating banter between Aether and Thalia, “A-Anyway,” she began, trying to regain control of the conversation, “as you can see, I have two different-coloured eyes. But…” she pointed to her left eye, “this one is my original, my birth eye.” Then, she gestured to her right, the fiery crimson one. “And this… this one belongs to my younger sister….
Pyra Noirix, the Ex-Arcane Queen.”