No TW this time! There are vague evocations on heavy topics, but I'm pretty sure you're okay with that if you've read this far haha
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Pupils fully dilatated to see in the dark, still half-asleep, Agata makes his way to the bathroom. Pauses. The light is on, forcing him to squint against the unexpected brightness. Through the half-open door, he makes out the outline of a figure, bent over to reach the under-sink cabinet – but he doesn't need to see his face to recognize him. The others lions aren't this slim.
"Melon?"
The hybrid startles, dropping what he was holding and knocking one of his horns against the sink as he hurriedly straightens up.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you!"
"'S fine," he mumbles, picking up the fallen pill bottle to put it back on the shelf. He only has black shorts and an oversized shirt on, and it exposes his protruding collarbones. "Why are you up at this hour anyway, kitty?"
"Uh, I wanted a glass of water. You?"
"Looking for sleeping pills. There aren't any downstairs, so I figured I should try my luck here."
"I don't think we have any."
"Ah."
Melon leans back against the sink, raising a hand to his face to rub his eyes. In the harsh bathroom light, the dark circles seem even more pronounced.
"Trouble sleeping?"
Agata gets a non-committal sound in response, so he dares to push it further:
"Nightmares?"
"Yeah. I…" He hesitates, then: "I'm afraid to go back to sleep."
Maybe it's the setting – this little bubble of light they are standing in amidst the darkness of the night all around. Maybe it's the late hour, the lack of sleep making their inhibitions thinner, smaller. Maybe it's something else, something he dares not dwell upon – anyway, Agata finds himself speaking words that surprise even himself:
"You can come to my room if you want. If you don't want to be alone."
"Why?"
His voice has risen, flash of fangs showing, taking the young lion off-guard.
"Why what?" he asks, unsure – what if he overstepped somehow, what if-
"Why do you- you know, do- are like this?"
Melon finishes with an impatient gesture of his hand, trying to encompass all of what he cannot put words on, and Agata realizes it wasn't anger in his tone – and his mind flashes back to a scene, weeks ago. "I've never been friends with anyone… so I don't understand." He had disregarded this comment at the time, filing it under the hybrid's apparent lack of empathy, but now…
Is it what this is about, Melon? Do you really, genuinely, don't understand?
"I care about you," he blurts out.
"… why?"
His voice trembles this time.
"You… can't always explain why it- why you like someone," Agata slowly, cautiously answers. "You find something that ties you together, like a common lifestyle or hobby usually, or something that you can relate to in the other person… or you just enjoy their company, or some- or there is some part of them you want to see more of. Anything that makes you want to stick around, really. And… when you do like someone, you don't want them to suffer."
The hybrid looks away, his ears dropping uncharacteristically. His valid arm has wrapped around his chest, fingers clutching the fabric of his sleeve on the opposite side. He visibly shivers, and Agata knows it's not only due to the cold of the bathroom tiles.
"Melon… tell me, the other day… why did you stab your hand? With the fork?"
The question seems to take him by surprise, eyes widening just a bit – losing the haunted look they had going on.
"I…" He stops, furrows his brow. Thinking it over. "I couldn't truthfully apologize to you, but I still wanted to make it right."
"Why?"
"Eh, that's my line here…" A quiet chuckle escapes his lip, and his hand relaxes, letting go of his shirt sleeve. "I don't know. I just… I didn't like it when you flinched. I guess that's all."
"Is it, really?", Agata wants to ask – but he refrains from probing further. Clearly, he won't get an answer; that Melon doesn't have it anyway. The hybrid's features scrunch up as he makes a face.
"Actually, kitty, there is a lot of things I can't explain when it comes to you."
"Good things, I hope?" the lion asks, amused.
"Hum-mh. But it's… annoying."
"You'll get used to it."
Something flashes through his golden eyes, but Agata can't say for sure what it was.
"Okay, so…" Melon finally says. "Does your earlier offer still stand?"
"My room? Yeah, sure." They look at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, before Agata points with his thumb the corridor he came from: "You, uh, know where it is. I'm just going to get that water and, ah, I'll be there in a sec."
"Oh, yes. Of course."
The hybrid moves out of the way, maneuvering around the lion's frame. His hand brushes against his arm for the briefest of moments and Agata really thinks it should not trouble him the way it does.
Guess you're not the only one who can't explain everything these days…
He fetches the nearest glass, attempts to fill it, but he has opened the tap too far and water angrily splashes across his nightshirt. Swearing between his teeth, he cuts off the stream, tries again more carefully. Empties the water in one go. Why is he feeling hot again? He refills the glass.
He finds Melon standing in the middle of his room, arms limp by his sides, looking at the posters on the walls. The young lion suddenly feels a bit embarrassed. Some of the movies these are from really aren't that great, but they remind him of his dad, so he usually likes having them around. With someone over, though, it's a bit different.
"Yeah, I, um, like movies."
"Can see that."
The hybrid turns around to face him and there is a hesitation in his movements, on his face, that there never was before. Agata is left to try and break the ice:
"Eh, sleepover? … It's your first, right?"
Melon nods absent-mindedly, and his gaze wanders back to the room. Agata cringes internally, now deploring having put off cleaning for the past few days.
"What we used to do with my friend…" His voice wavers for just a second as Daido's funeral portrait flashes through his mind. "… back in high school, is that we put a… you know, long pillow?"
"Bolster."
"Yeah, that. We placed it in the middle of the bed, to stop us from rolling over and accidentally kicking the other during the night. It worked," he adds uselessly. "I still have one."
Melon nods again, steps around the twin bed to the visibly unoccupied side. He sits down, but his posture stays rigid, and one of his hands lays on top of the covers like he doesn't quite know what to do with it. Agata is acutely aware he's being watched as he takes out the bolster and places it under the covers, where he estimates is the middle of the mattress. It's not until he sits down in turn, his back to the hybrid, that Melon speaks again:
"Your friend… The one from high school you were talking about. Where is he now?"
Agata finds it hard to swallow all of a sudden. He smooths back the covers next to him, exhales slowly.
"He's dead."
"Oh."
"He killed himself. Sort of."
"How do you sort of kill yourself?" There is a blank, then: "Sorry. Maybe you don't want to talk about it."
"I… I think I do? I haven't really talked about him to anyone, to be honest."
"A secret for a secret, hum?"
Agata twists to look at him, meets his tranquil gaze. There is a shadow of a smile on the hybrid's lips – not a happy, playful kind of smile, more of… he doesn't know what would be the right adjective, but it seems to say "Yes, I'm aware of what I'm referring too. It's okay. We don't have to address it".
"Sure," the young lion finally says, complying. "I'm- I'm gonna turn off the light, if it's okay? I will feel better telling this in the dark."
"Fine by me."
He turns off the light, leaning back against his propped-up pillow before starting.
And so, he tells the story he has kept quiet for so long, going back and forth in an attempt to make it make sense, and his voice breaks a few times along the way; he finishes it nonetheless. Melon's comments are scarce, but he knows he's listening intently. Afterward, they speak a bit more. Agata has taken to lie on his back, palms resting over his stomach, facing the ceiling lost in the shadows. It's peaceful like this – he enjoys it.
"… I like your voice," he says out of the blue after a few beats of silence.
"Eh?"
"I've gotten to hear it more and more these last few days."
"What were you doing all this time before, just… not listening to me? I could take offense, kitty."
Agata represses the urge to face-palm.
"And the fake tone is back. The high-pitched tone," he clarifies. "It sounds like… I don't know how you do that so consistently, but it still doesn't sound natural."
"Hmm. I have years of training…"
"Why?" Agata prompts softly.
"If I speak normally, my voice is too deep. I can't pass as a carnivore, but I can look like an herbivore… if I change about half of my facial features, anyway. So, one more, one less… I've been registered under a gazelle's identity for several years now. I need to maintain the façade."
"Not with us. We know you're a hybrid."
"Yeah. And that's about the extent of your knowledge on the subject."
"About you, or about hybrids in general?"
"Both." He pauses. "It's linked anyway."
Agata reflects on what it means for a while in silence.
"Would you care to teach me?"
Only the sound of calm steady breaths answers him. He glances at his right, but he can't make out much with the only light being whatever moonlight filters around the blinds – he can only guess Melon has finally fallen asleep. He smiles to himself, turns around, and settles to go to sleep too.
It's morning when he wakes up.
He keeps his eyes closed, but the light paints his eyelids a soft lively red nonetheless. He goes to stretch under the warmth of the covers- and his heart misses a beat.
There is a body right next to his. And while he does recall offering Melon to sleep in his room (it does sound even crazier now that the sun is up), that does not in itself explain why said body is not merely in the same bed, but rather, in his arms.
This has never happened with Daido.
He can feel by his feet the shape of the bolster that has proven completely useless. He has one of his arms over the hybrid's skinny frame, elbow resting on his waist, palm against his back – he can feel the outline of his spine. His other arm is folded under his own head and also starting to uncomfortably fall asleep. The more Agata comes back to his senses, the more he is made aware of body parts touching – Melon's arm tucked between their chests, his legs over the other's, tails intertwined.
Oh, Rex. Oh, by fucking Rex and all the stars, what?
He hasn't even come to terms with the situation yet that a new wave of panic washes over him as he moves his hand slightly down and it encounters bandages. Right, not only he's sleeping with… well, very much his boss, with all the craziness and danger it encompasses, but it's also someone who has been abused repeatedly in the past. And if Agata knows anything on the subject, it's that you don't touch someone with such history without their explicit consent, even – especially – when they are asleep.
He needs to find a way to disentangle himself quickly, and without waking the hybrid up. This will be a challenge, but maybe, if he begins by moving his arm… yeah, just like that, and-
He freezes when a hand is slowly laid over his heart, palm flat and fingers outstretched. He feels more than he hears Melon chuckle.
"Your heartbeat is going crazy. You're not still scared of me, are you? A big kitty like you…"
The fingers curl just a tiny bit, sharp nails scratching oh so lightly over the fabric of his nightshirt. By now, Agata feels so hot that he might as well spontaneously combust.
"You're awake?" he croaks miserably.
"Obviously. In fact, it might be me that woke you up. My leg was starting to cramp."
He feels cold toes press against the meat of his calf, making a shiver run through his entire body.
"Are you, uh, okay with… that?" he manages to say – unable to even begin to voice it out loud. Are they… hugging? Cuddling?
"Hmm, sure," comes the answer, half-muffled by the pillow. "You're warm."
Agata shifts just enough to be able to catch a glimpse of Melon's face. He's looking up at him through his lashes, his eyes glistening with amusement. In the early light, the gold shines brighter than ever. Without realizing it, the young lion has brought his hand up, gently touching the side of the hybrid's face.
"You have freckles like me."
Melon frowns.
"It's spots."
"It's whatever you want them to be. They are yours, and you're not a leopard."
The hybrid looks away, the frown fading away, as he mulls over the idea. Then, without warning:
"Is it true? I mean, what you said that night… about my body… do you truly think that?"
It takes Agata a few seconds to recall what he's talking about.
"That you were beautiful? Yes," he says, letting his thumb slide over the freckled cheek. "Yes, I do mean it."
"You are weird."
The young lion scoffs.
"And? You are too. Probably way more than me."
"Well, I have no choice."
"I know. And I don't mind."
His hand moves slightly, sliding towards the hybrid's nape – on impulse, Agata shifts, and presses a soft kiss to the other's lips. Something lights up like fireworks inside his chest, suddenly it feels like puzzle pieces are falling into place – now that he dares to accept the odd blooming feelings in his chest. Despite everything, it feels right.
The warmth under his skin now feels like the one from a gentle fireplace instead of a suffocating heat. He keeps his eyes closed, feeling the hybrid's breath against his skin with how close they still are. He feels him moving, and- they are kissing again. Hesitantly, almost experimentally. Agata's heart leaps up and he returns the kiss with enthusiasm, almost whining when Melon pulls back. He chases his lips, but the hand on his chest now holds him away. He's about to ask about it when-
"I- I don't want to have sex with you."
His eyes snap back open and he looks down, incredulous.
"What?"
"I don't w-"
"No, no, I heard the first time. But I…" He fumbles, desperately looking for the right words. He doesn't dare move anymore, hyper-aware of all the places their bodies touch. "I don't want to either, well, not that- I just… It hasn't crossed my mind yet, you know? I'm…"
He trails off. Drags a hand over his face, brushes loose strands of his mane away from his eyes.
"I would never touch you if you don't want to. I promise."
"Even if I won't ever want that?"
"'That'…" he repeats, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean?"
"I don't have any sexual drive. So, intercourse… Isn't that what people in relationships do? Couples, I mean."
Agata stares at him for a few seconds before realizing that the hybrid is fully serious. He groans.
"Fuck, Melon, it's too early for this. Short answer, no. And the long answer would have to wait for me to have had coffee first."
Then, his brain catches on to what the other actually said:
"Wait, wait a second. Do you see… us… a couple?"
"Urh." The hybrid lets his head falls back on the pillow, eyelids half obscuring golden irises now. "I want the coffee joker, too... especially if it can wait a little bit more."
He snuggles more closely, letting out a small noise of contentment, and Agata's response gets caught up in his throat alongside his breath. Slowly, he puts his arm back over the slender body curled against his. Allows himself to relax back onto the soft warmth of their embrace.
"Hmm. Didn't know lions could purr."
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Hope that wasn't OOC? I like slow burn romances in theory, but in reality I don't have the patience lmao
