It was fear that stopped you from succumbing to your exhaustion. You were afraid that if you fell asleep, something worse would happen to the half-naked man you had on your lounge. Somehow, barely, you had managed to bring the Heavenly King back to your home, and while you had wanted to make him comfortable on your bed, you could no longer muster the strength to carry him. Apologising again and again, you settled him on multiple layers of blankets and towels over your lounge; anything that you could grab within arms' reach.
Your apologies fell on deaf ears though, as he hadn't fully regained consciousness yet. His skin still discharged that intense heat and his skin still rippled with purples, so you stripped his upper half of his neat clothing. After seeing him wear his bodysuit for so long, you were surprised to see that he had on only a muscle shirt under his collared one, but ultimately decided to remove all his top layers to try and prevent him from burning up as much. You were careful not to damage his clothes and hung them neatly over the end of your dining chair and you looked him over with both awe and sadness. You had also taken his turban off to help his scalp breathe, tousling his soft, raven locks out of his face.
His body was like carved marble; pectorals and biceps shaped by years of training and cut abs that created deep valleys into his stomach. Somehow, his coverings had made him appear a lot lither than he actually was. A lot of you felt awkward, like you were spying on him, but your concern for him overrode that feeling. Even though you expected it to happen, but his poison made waves over his torso and abdominal area as well, you concluded that the same was happening behind his trousers as well, but you weren't about to go there. You soaked a face washer in cool water and applied it to his forehead, flinching at him stirring from its touch. Coco's breathing was still ragged, but there wasn't much more you could do until he woke up. You changed into an oversized hoodie and soft pyjama pants, bundled yourself into a blanket next to the lounge and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Time dragged by as the sound of ticking from your clock broke the silence between the laboured breaths next to you. You periodically reapplied the washer to his forehead with cool water and watched for any signs of change. It was three in the morning before you noticed that the severity of his poison had diminished; his cream skin making breaks between clouds of purple. He had also started to stir a lot more; every twitch snapping your attention before you succumbed to dozing off.
Dawn broke over the horizon before Coco's poisoning had relented. The sun snaked its way across your hardwood floors under the hem of your curtains, bringing with it the unfiltered morning clatters of Gourmet Town. You had finally surrendered to sleep, lightly napping with your head laying a hair's breadth away from Coco's chest. He stirred, his eyes breaking open with a sheer force that the soft golden lighting caused him to blink. He stretched his fingers tentatively before moving to offset the tension in his back; succeeding in almost crushing you under his ribs. You jolted upright when the sound of movement had filtered into your subconscious; both alert and worried.
'You're awake!" You breathed in relief, abandoning your wrappings and checking on him. You instinctively cupped his face as you checked his face over for any traces of poison; oblivious of the fact that you would be touching it if there was any.
"Where am I?" Coco asked as his eyes darted around the room. Nothing about this place was familiar; especially not the large number of bras and lingerie hanging over the indoor clothesline. That was enough to make his cheeks flush red before he averted his gaze. Seeing the flush on his face made your panic rise again.
"Oh no, you're burning up again!" you exclaimed, hoisting yourself up to cool the face washer again.
"(Y/n), wait!" Coco said, instinctively reaching out for your hand before you went off in a tizzy.
"What happened?" He asked quietly.
"Well, we were leaving last night," you began to explain, turning back to face him.
"You went to call Kiss and then your poison began to spread over your body. Everywhere. Then you collapsed on me…so I called a taxi and brought you here. It was the only safe place I could think of. I…"
You trailed off, averting his gaze.
"…I didn't think taking you to a public hospital would have been a good thing; the press would have had a field day if they caught wind of someone like you having an episode. And also…"
You looked back into his soft eyes; sadness cloaked in yours.
"…Rin told me about how you were captured by scientists before… I didn't know if it was too similar and I didn't want you to relapse or something… I'm sorry if I did the wrong thing."
Coco just stared at you speechless, before realising that he still had captured your hand. He let it go abruptly, before noticing that he was half undressed.
"…where are my clothes?"
"Oh, they're hanging up over there- AH!'
You pointed to the chair, only realising now that your personals were out on display. You had left them to dry before going away to Gourmet Fortune just over a month ago. You also realised that Coco had seen them before, which would explain why he flushed red before.
At least they would be dry now.
"Ah…I'm sorry." You sighed, resigning yourself to the fact that they were already seen. They were some of your more intimate styles though, so at least they were nice to look at? You found that Coco seemed to be eyeing off a particularly intense one at the front: a black and gold piece with gold chains dangling from the front cups with small handcuffs on ends that secured them to the bands as well. You shifted to sit back down in front of the lounge and sighed, which broke Coco's stare.
"…How did you get into something like this?" Coco asked softly.
"Desperation, I guess." You answered, hugging your knees to your chest. "I needed money, and I needed it quickly."
"Does this make you happy?"
"…Not for a long time."
Coco looked you over, watching the way your electromagnetic waves shook and spasmed with disarray.
"What were you doing before?"
"Before this? Well, a long time ago I was studying to be a chef… it didn't work out though."
You could almost sense Coco's discomfort as he grappled to think of something to say.
"We're both adults here, it's fine." You said, saving him the trouble. "Some of us just do a different job to everyone else. Besides, it's let me survive for a long time. I suppose I shouldn't complain."
You looked at him and gave him a small, genuine smile.
"I got to meet you, too. I'm thankful for that."
You would never know it, but that odd kick in Coco's heart happened again, confirming his suspicions about himself and the result of his Hot Chocakeolate. Morning had finally broken through and the rabble from the street below bubbled its way into the room as you both sat in silence for a moment.
"Thank you for looking after me." Coco said finally.
"It was nothing. Though, when you said you would come and visit sometime, I didn't expect you to mean in the same night." You joked, watching guilt pass over Coco's features.
"It wasn't my intention, trust me."
"What was that, though? Has that ever happened before?"
Coco shook his head, lost in thought.
"It was strange. I remember coming out to meet you, and then all I could taste was poison on my fingers. There wasn't any reason for me to use it though, so I can't figure it out."
"Was it something you ate?"
"I didn't eat anything different from you-"
His eyes flew open before he jolted upright.
"The pearl!"
"Wait… you mean the gift we were given?"
"Yes! Did you eat it?"
"No, not yet. I wasn't sure what it was yet…hang on."
You moved over to your discarded clutch and pulled out the small black box and propped it open. The pearl shone just as brightly as it had before; its red lustre looked a lot more vivid than it had mere hours ago. You took the white card stashed in the top again and brought it over to read aloud; not before you turned read in the face as you skimmed over the text.
"What does it say?"
"'With love, from all of the staff from Hotel Elune. Please enjoy this gift: a single pearl from the…the…-"
You swallowed the lump in your throat, embarrassed.
"The Aphrodisiaclam.'" You finished.
Coco covered his face with his hands and groaned. You could see the tips of his ears turning pink around his chopped hair.
"That must have triggered it." He mumbled behind his palms.
"So…you're not too good at… umm…-" How were you even going to finish that sentence.
"...I didn't think it would have been that potent." Coco admitted, still hiding his face.
"Why did you eat it to begin with?" You blurted out.
"…I'm still a person." He said, finally lowering his hands; his face filled with sadness. "I thought I would have been home before…"
You raised a hand at him. He didn't need to finish that sentence. You sat down on the floor next to him again.
"Has it… always been that way?"
Coco shook his head, defeated.
"No. Never to that extreme. I mean, I've been…aroused before and plenty of times, but that was something else. Though my poison hasn't ever manifested like that until I…"
He struggled to finish that sentence, keeping his eyes averted from yours. Embarrassment radiated out of him just as much as his heat had before. You tapped your index fingers together, trying to find a solution to his concerns.
"So…did you find this out when it was your first time? O-or before?" You stumbled over your words. This wasn't the discussion you ever thought you would have had with a Heavenly King. True, you'd had a lot of sexual encounters, but this one conversation alone felt taboo. There was a beat of silence before Coco answered.
"…I've never had a first time."
His voice was barely above a whisper before the room fell thick with a silent tension. You could hear a pin drop on carpet, while the clock still ticked away softly on the wall. Your eyes widened at this admission.
"…Never?" you whispered back.
Coco's hazel eyes flicked over you, before he shook his head; his movements barely visible.
"I can't be intimate with anyone, or I will hurt them." He said quietly.
"And I can't change that."
You felt your heart cleave in two over his words. His vulnerability almost reduced you to tears; not because you were afraid of him, but for him. Here a man that through all aspects had maintained a cool, yet aloof demeanour in the face of adversity, but sat before you with a broken spirit.
"Surely…-" You began.
"There isn't." He said flatly. "I've researched everything I could get my hands on. Nothing."
"Oh, Coco…I'm so sorry." You croaked, taking his hand in yours. You didn't care about keeping your distance right now; you wanted to give this man some sort of connection, even if it hurt you in the long run.
Coco stared at your connected hands, before a thought struck him.
"(Y/n), you were exposed to my poison, correct?" he asked slowly, his brow furrowing over his thoughts.
"Well, yes? I mean, I wasn't about to leave you in the street the way you were… why?"
"Do you feel okay?"
"Physically yes. I don't understand what you're trying to get at, though."
"You weren't ill at any point?"
"No. I mean, I was sick with worry, but that's about it."
Coco slipped his hand out of yours and stared at it. Something was troubling him, but you weren't completely sure what.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No…no, not at all." He said, looking you in the eye before giving you a smile. "I suppose we should head back though. You still have things to collect."
You took one more look around Gourmet Fortune before you made your way to the train station to properly head home. It looked as though your adventure here was coming to an end, and as you waited for the train to reach the station, a shadow passed over you, blocking out the sun.
"Are you ready, (y/n)?" Coco's mellow voice called out to you. He had since changed into his normal attire, his cape billowing with the breeze and those familiar green wrappings covering him from his head to his ankles.
"Yeah, I think I have everything." You said, gesturing to your luggage bag. "I'm going to be sad to leave this place though."
Coco took a quick glance around the town as well. There was not a soul in sight; citizens inside the safety of their homes. Coco had issued a warning to the town of a foreshadowed monster he had seen in his fortunes. The truth was, he just wanted to see you go without being hassled by townsfolk.
"I'll admit, I'm going to miss your presence here." He said, before pulling out a thick envelope. "This is yours too."
You took it from him and opened it neatly. Inside were stacks of money in neatly bundled piles.
"…I can't take this." You said, sealing it back up and thrusting it back at him. Coco blinked at you and pushed it back towards you.
'We had a contract-" he started, before you pressed a finger to his lips.
"I don't care about the contract anymore." You said, giving it one final push back, and you held it there. You knew full well that you couldn't physically restrain him with your strength, but he wasn't fighting back.
"Getting to know you was worth more than any amount of money. Don't take that away from me… please?"
Accepting his money would make you feel cheap; like this whole experience was just another business transaction. To be fair, it was, but you didn't want to end things this way. It was bad enough that your heart felt heavy and you were on the verge of tears from saying goodbye, but you weren't about to reveal that.
You were a professional…
You were doing your job…
You were in too deep.
You had feelings for Coco.
As you took your finger away, the train rumbled into the station with a mechanical whir. You picked up your bag and rolled it up the steps with you. You turned around and smiled.
"Until we meet again?" You said, your sundress billowing out from the air of the train.
Coco smiled his sweet smile at you, his eyes boring into yours.
"I promise." He said simply.
With that, you turned on your heel and boarded the train. Coco watched your silhouette take place in a window seat before the locomotive roared to life again. As the train pulled from the station, you took his gaze and gave him a small wave, feeling the hole in your heart increase. Coco watched until the engine had chugged along its track out of his eyesight; much longer than the average human's eyes could muster.
He could still feel your warm, soft touch lingering on his lips.