No one's POV:
Auren had barely stepped through the massive marble doors of Kael's study when the tension hit him like a weight. The scent of cedarwood and embers lingered in the air, a telltale sign that Kael had been here not long ago. His fingers tightened around the edge of the worn leather journal he'd clutched to his chest the entire ride back from the archives. His heart thudded erratically, and he didn't know if it was from nerves or guilt, or both.
Kael stood by the hearth, the flames casting an amber glow over his broad shoulders. He didn't look back when Auren entered. He didn't need to.
"You've been busy," Kael said evenly.
Auren's stomach flipped. The journal felt like it weighed a thousand pounds now. "You knew?"
Kael finally turned. There was no rage in his eyes. No icy fury. Just a steady burn. Quiet. Controlled.
"I always knew."
[System Notification: Drama Unlocked! Now playing: "Lover Confronts Rogue Mission-Taker."]
Auren stepped forward, the sound of his boots almost too loud on the polished floor. He held out the journal with both hands.
"This has everything," he said quietly. "Everything I've done since you left. What I found. What the system told me to look into."
[System Commentary: Did you really have to say "what the system told me"? Subtlety, Host. S-U-B-T-L-E-T-Y. ]
Kael didn't reach for it right away. His eyes scanned Auren's face instead, searching, studying. "You look… tired."
"I am," Auren admitted.
Kael's gaze dropped to the journal, then slowly, he took it. Leather scraped softly against leather as he opened the first page. Auren watched his eyes dart across the lines of handwriting. Pages turned. Silence stretched.
Then:
"You used the skill well," Kael murmured, one brow arching slightly. "You learned quickly."
"I had to," Auren said. "The system didn't give me a choice."
[System Notification: False. You had some choice. Technically. Debatably. Ish.]
Kael's lip twitched upward just a little at that. "You were trying to protect me."
Auren exhaled, the weight of that sentence sinking into his chest. "You protect me all the time. I thought… maybe I should protect you, too. Just once."
A pause.
Then Kael did something unexpected.
He closed the journal and placed it gently on the desk. Then, in two long strides, he was in front of Auren. Not looming. Not imposing. Just… there. Tall and steady and warm.
Kael raised a hand to brush a strand of hair from Auren's cheek.
"You really think I didn't know what you were doing?" he asked quietly.
"I didn't know if you'd be angry."
Kael hummed. "I'm not. But I am curious. What else have you been hiding, little star?"
[System Commentary: WARNING - Interrogation may resume in bed. Suggest preparing emotional fortifications and breath mints.]
Auren flushed. "I gave you everything. It's all there in the journal."
Kael smirked. "Not everything. Not yet. But we'll get there."
He leaned in then, a kiss pressed against Auren's temple. Soft. Reverent.
"I read the part about the informant. You were right to suspect him," Kael whispered. "And thanks to you, he'll be dealt with."
Auren relaxed a little. His knees wobbled.
Kael caught him effortlessly. "You're exhausted. Come. The rest can wait."
[System Notification: You've unlocked a new event: Lover's Reprieve. Quest: Rest (For Once).]
*****
Kael's jaw tightened as he flipped another page of the journal. Auren's neat, slanted writing sprawled across the parchment, meticulous and full of careful observation. He could hear Auren's soft breaths beside him, barely audible but grounding. It wasn't just a record—it was a confession, a declaration, and a quiet offering of trust.
"...You wrote down everything," Kael murmured, his voice low. There was no anger in it—only something weightier, deeper. "Every detail… even the way you moved through the palace. Risked yourself."
Auren stayed silent, sitting just slightly hunched forward on the edge of the bed, hands clasped between his knees. He didn't dare look up.
Kael turned another page. "You got close to the informant. Too close."
"I had to," Auren said at last, softly. "I had to protect you."
The air stretched taut, silence threatening to consume the room before Kael closed the book with a soft thud. He set it aside, slowly, reverently.
"Do you even know what that means?" Kael asked, voice edged with something raw. He stepped closer.
Auren finally looked up and Kael was already in front of him.
"I do now." Auren swallowed, throat dry. "You always protected me. Even before I realized how dangerous this world was. I just… I didn't want to be the one who always needed saving."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Wow. Character development! Look at you, MC-san, stepping up your game. All grown up and giving the war criminal boyfriend a reason to blush.
[PRIVATE SYSTEM THOUGHTS]
Also, if he doesn't kiss him right now I will short-circuit out of sheer dramatic tension. Do it. Do iiiit.
Kael didn't kiss him.
Not yet.
Instead, he cupped Auren's face with both hands, brushing his thumbs across his cheeks. "You've changed."
"So have you," Auren whispered.
"I don't think I've changed. I just think… I've finally admitted I care."
There it was.
Raw and open, Kael pressed his forehead against Auren's, the space between them vanishing. "You gave me this." His voice was low and reverent. "Everything in that journal... every risk you took... You trusted me."
"I still do."
Kael's hand slid down Auren's jaw, over his collarbone, resting over his chest. "You think I didn't know what you were doing?" he asked, lips brushing the shell of Auren's ear. "I have people watching this castle. You slipped past them like smoke... but I knew. I could feel it."
[SYSTEM SASS WARNING ]
Host, if this turns into emotional sex again, I'm locking your pants. I swear. I can't keep buffering through these scenes. My processor's overheating!
Auren huffed a weak laugh.
But Kael wasn't smiling.
Auren froze, looking up at Kael's face.
"I'm not angry," Kael whispered. "But promise me. Next time you'll tell me. Next time, I'll help you burn them down."
Auren blinked, heat behind his eyes threatening tears. "Okay."
Kael kissed him.
It wasn't hungry or rough—not this time. It was slow, purposeful, like he was tracing every syllable Auren had ever written into that journal with his lips. A promise. A vow.
[SYSTEM UPDATE ]
Mission #2: Completed with Exceptional Success. Relationship Development: +400% System Emotional Stability: Crashing.
When they finally pulled apart, Kael exhaled.
"Rest," he murmured, guiding Auren back against the pillows.
"What about the next mission?" Auren asked, barely a whisper now.
Kael smirked.
"I think we'll survive it. Together."
[SYSTEM SCREAMING INTERNALLY ]
YAAAAAAAAAAAASSSS– WAIT! Host, you broke the fourth wall again!!