The moment he tried to put strength into his hand, Kishiar grabbed Yuder's arm. Facing Yuder, he slowly shook his head.

Provocation is not what you do at this moment. Dont make the decision so easily.

I dont make such decisions lightly.

You haven't even fully recovered yet.

That doesnt mean theres a particularly painful part either.

You think I wouldnt know that you had difficulty gauging distances because of your eye?

It had been such a subtle difference that others would hardly have noticed, but Kishiar had obviously seen everything. Yuder hesitated momentarily, but still did not withdraw the hand he had extended. He opened his mouth, gazing intently with one eye at his sweat-dampened white forehead.

I know you've been concerned about my unhealed eye, Commander. But honestly, it's fine if the other eye never heals. So please, don't worry too much about it.

Kishiar frowned at those words. Observing his red eyes, where a painful emotion briefly flitted across, Yuder considered the emotions he must have hidden and swallowed every time he looked at his one eye.

How can you say that?

Wouldnt it be nice if you could think of it?

How could I, Yuder thought, bending his body towards him. The two pairs of eyes facing each other mirrored one another.

I can think of anything that is good. I saw everything I wanted to see before losing my sight, so I think I stored it all in one eye. I have no regrets.

...

Isnt that enough?

He had thought this way ever since both his eyes had stopped seeing. The last thing Yuder saw before losing his sight was the giant corpse of Pethuamet and Kishiar's face, symbols of having escaped the tragedy of his previous life.

He was glad the last thing he saw was his face. He could vividly recall it even in darkness, so there was little regret. Especially now that he could see everything again, he had no complaints. That was still the case.

Yuder did not miss the slight tremble in Kishiar's eyes as they slowly closed. When he opened them again after a long wait, his red irises were filled with emotion other than the previous pain.

...Ah.

With a faint sigh and eyes wavering as if melting, Yuder was stared at. Astonished for a moment at the hungry and entranced expression, Yuder was embraced so tightly he couldnt breathe.

I really cant win against you.

Thats cheating. I really...

He couldn't hear the next words. They were stolen by a kiss. The sofa, unable to bear the weight of the two men, made a small sound as Yuder felt the soft cushion press against his back during their intense embrace.

Heat poured from the sensation of a thigh pressed against his, and unconsciously he tilted his head, letting hot breath escape between parted lips. Kishiar seemed determined not to let that go either, sucking it all in.

Yuder felt a dazzling pleasure inside his head as he fumblingly moved his hand to Kishiar's pants. The moment he forcefully yanked at the button trapping the front, the heat felt a degree stronger.

It was the first time I ever climbed on top, or took off my clothes.

Seeing Kishiar's face, melted by desire, so clearly was, in truth, a first for Yuder as well. In a feeling both familiar and foreign, Yuder's gaze was stolen by the sweat nestled between Kishiar's furrowed brows. Just by looking at his flushed eyelids and his long, lowered golden eyelashes, a stomach without hunger became empty, and thirst spontaneously arose.

A little more. Yuder couldn't bear it, wanting to see just a bit more.

The greed that arose at being able to desire something tangible like this was unbelievably intense. What was thought to have settled flared up instantaneously, bringing heat to the body, a warmth that spread inside.

When Yuder opened the lips a little wider, giving a burning cry, a kiss, deeper and more intertwined than expected, quenched that thirst. Yuder felt hands reach in between their rapid breaths. The touch, softly exploring and lowering Yuder's pinned clothing, soon unbuttoned and freed them, just as Yuder had done earlier.

Feeling the sensation of something that had never before been touched exposed to the air, Yuder twisted uncontrollably, gasping for breath. That caused their lips to part, but Kishiar, like flowing water, traveled down the cheek to under the ear, pressing his lips once more to the soft flesh.

Breath paused again at the spark-like small stimulation. The sound of mucous membranes and flesh sticking to each other wasn't loud, but the shock felt immensely enormous, causing the entire body to tremble faintly.

Finally, when they fully exposed and held each other, a low moan mixed with heat and shock leaked out from both simultaneously.

Ah.

The sight of the wet, swollen red lips releasing breath in front of Yuder was too provocative, making resistance impossible. Yuder stared blankly at Kishiar, who was exuding a much deeper body scent than usual, his untamed wildness still held in check. The rich scent of an Alpha Awakener was spreading thickly, yet there was no fear at all. The heavy scent, trying to envelop Yuder's body, was as comforting as a long-lost, dear friend.

The day had come when Yuder could so calmly watch the clear desire in the eyes of the man gazing down through disheveled bangs.

If he had faced this situation just after returning back in time, or when the second gender manifestation had begun, he would have considered it a dreadful nightmare. But now, not a bit of such emotion was felt. The fact that Kishiar had fallen head over heels for Yuder, unable to see anything else, breaking down his usually ironclad reason, unbelievably felt good. Even Yuder's own disheveled body did not feel so bad.

The pain existed only within Yuder's unseen interior.

Yuder took a deep breath, slowly feeling the two hot entities held in his hand. Kishiar's fingers and Yuder's intertwined as they held hands, releasing another suppressed sigh simultaneously, but once the movement started, it couldn't stop.

The sensations and memories that had been forgotten for so long sprung to mind, restless like the water of a lake when a stone is thrown. Yuder fumbled blindly, following instinct and memory, moving his hand slowly over something too enormous to grasp entirely. The pleasure in Yuder's head seemed ready to explode just from the sight of his partner's face, tensing and grimacing, releasing suppressed breath each time Yuder's touch connected.

The two forces of heat collided and slid against each other within his hands, repeating the process again and again. The quicker the movements, the more the hot breath erupted repeatedly, scalding his biting lips. At some point, a liquid began to flow, unpleasantly wetting between his fingers, but he had no concern for it staining his clothes or the sofa. The sticky, resonating, and searing noise might have struck his ears, but it only added to his excitement, failing to cool him down.

Every time Kishiar swept his large hand down, Yuder lost himself in shocking pleasure. Unable to bear it, he would gasp and open his mouth, only to have the man, who seemed to have been waiting, entwine his tongue once again. The deep and intimate kiss that reached even deeper than before made his whole body jolt once again.

Despite one of the two entangled bodies not being his own, the terrible unity shook his mind to the point of disbelief. The pleasure was so excessive it seemed almost unreal.

It's not even heat period. Such a thought briefly brushed his mind.

Neither of them in this place was in their heat period. They were performing this act while maintaining a perfectly normal rationality.

Yet, why had he not known before that it could be so desperate, so hungry? He could not understand. The past, when he thought there could be no act more irrational and disgusting than being immersed in primal sensation, was no longer remembered.

As the trembling movement reached its limit, accelerating and more strength entering his hands, his head became light. Yuder, wanting to see Kishiar's face without missing a single detail, roughly brushed away the messy hair stuck to his forehead with the back of his other hand, staring straight into his eyes. The beautiful face distorted in pleasure looked momentarily similar to when it expressed painful emotions, yet it was definitely different in some way.

Trying to see the difference a little more closely, Kishiar's hand suddenly gripped Yuder's more firmly, sweeping from the bottom to the top without mercy. Yuder's mind went blank as his body stiffened at the touch, as if it was trying to wring and swallow everything.

A gasp, not fully formed into sound, escaped from Yuder, and he tilted his head back. Kishiar wrapped his body, rounding his back, and closed his eyes with a clenched jaw. A few strands of golden hair stuck to his eyelids, quivered a few times, and strength filled his wrist visible between the sleeve and bony back of his hand. Yuder could not take his eyes away from that obscenely explicit sight.

Finally, as the inside of their palms became wet with heat, the tension in both their bodies relaxed simultaneously. Yuder stared blankly, panting, as Kishiar slowly opened his eyes again. The fact that only Yuder himself was reflected in those red eyes felt like something impossible.

He had seen a sight never witnessed in his previous life. That fact finally hit him, and his heart pounded heavily inside his chest. Amidst a pain and turmoil as if someone was squeezing his insides, he finally closed his eyes. An unprotected and exposed kiss, as soft as down yet as heavy as a brand, settled over his throat and nape.