Sinbad knew that something had been bothering Ja'far all day, but whenever he asked the younger man about it, Ja'far would smile at him and avoid the question, so the purple-haired man eventually dropped it.
Sinbad did not expect, however, to be woken up from his sopor that night by his lover's rummaging through drawers with an anger normally reserved for abusive drunks and gang members.
"Ja'far?" The tired man asked.
"What?" Came the angry response from the platinum-haired man.
"Is everything okay?"
"No."
"What's wrong?"
"Can't sleep."
That made sense. Ja'far was quick to anger, so it was understandable he'd be frustrated that he couldn't get to sleep one of the few times he actually tried, but what could the younger man be looking for? Surely he knew the sleeping pills were in the medicine cabinet, heck, he put them there himself!
Ja'far snarled in frustration as he slammed the drawer shut. "God damn it," he growled.
"What are you looking for?" Sinbad asked, his tone soft.
"Chloroform," was the simple answer.
"Please don't use chloroform to fall asleep. You'll die," Sinbad said quickly.
Ja'far huffed a small breath. "That's not why I need it."
"Then why do you need chloroform at," the older man paused to check the time, "2 a.m.?"
"Well... I definitely don't need it to keep Kouen knocked out until I can drag him to an isolated place where I can murder him," Ja'far mumbled.
"Ja'far..." Sinbad said with a sigh. He dragged his hand down his face. "I realize he's competition, but there's no need to kill him."
"He offended you," Ja'far protested.
"So does all of my other competition. It's normal for companies to do that," Sinbad pointed out.
Ja'far's face went red.
"That's not all, is it?" Sinbad asked with a small, sympathetic smile.
Ja'far shook his head.
Sinbad patted his lap. "C'mere. I'll listen."
"I don't want to tell you," the younger man mumbled.
"Communication is key in a relationship, Ja'far," Sinbad said, "If I don't know what's bothering you, I can't help you."
Ja'far's shoulders slumped and he slowly made his way over to his insistent lover.
Sinbad pulled the grumpy assassin into his lap and hugged him around the middle. He kissed the younger's neck lovingly. "Tell me what's wrong."
Ja'far huffed and reached back to grab some of Sinbad's hair, which he brought over his shoulder and played with quietly for a few moments before mumbling, "He spoke to me personally this morning..."
"And?"
"He k-kissed me..."
A surge of possessiveness flooded through Sinbad's body. He hugged Ja'far tighter. "Is that all?"
"He tried to convince me that you weren't worth my time. He said he'd make it worth my while if I'd go work for him," Ja'far said.
"And what'd you do?"
"I politely turned him down."
Sinbad sighed softly and suckled gently at Ja'far's neck, making him squirm a little. "Is this why you were covered in hives when you showed up at lunch?"
"Maybe..." Ja'far mumbled. He lifted amethyst locks to his lips and kissed them lovingly.
"I didn't realize that Kouen was bothering you so much..." Sinbad said softly as he moved his hands to knead at Ja'far's lower back.
The smaller man grunted softly and relaxed into the touches. "It'd be easier to just get rid of him... I won't leave a trace, I promise...!" He whined.
"No, love. You're already under suspicion from the last time, and I'm not going to let you resolve all of your problems through murder," Sinbad said with a kiss to Ja'far's shoulder.
Ja'far huffed. "I feel dirty... Like I cheated on you," he muttered. "I don't want the kind of affection he wants to give me. I only want you..."
"It's alright, Ja'far. It wasn't your fault. I'm here for you," Sinbad reassured. He turned the younger's head in order to kiss his lips.
"I love you..." Ja'far mumbled against Sinbad's mouth.
"I love you more," Sinbad purred with a soft laugh, "Should Kouen try to bug you again, just come to me."
"Okay..."
Sinbad kissed Ja'far sweetly. "Great. Now let's go to bed, shall we?"
Ja'far nodded, and the two laid down. Sinbad cuddled Ja'far tightly in his arms, half for comfort, half to make sure Ja'far didn't get up again that night to try and kill Kouen.