It was late evening when Aodhán exited the nature laboratory, and the golden clouds of the nexus of sunsets had already filled the sky. He was walking alone because, apparently, his torture of plants had been such a terrible deed that Andrew didn’t even want to be seen with him.
In Andrew’s words, Aodhán needed to pray to Raol and beg for his forgiveness after his terrible actions. Aodhán hadn’t even bothered to argue; instead, he had raced out of the laboratory, chased by the judgmental gazes of more than a dozen plants awakened.
He made his way to the cafeteria, and after dinner with Daruk, a much quiet affair due to Yurin’s and Andrew’s absence, they went to the post office to drop off their letters to Synové, after which they returned to their individual residences.
Their little stop at the post office had taken a lot of time though, and it was practically night when Aodhán finally got home. Sighing, he pushed the door open, and for the first time in a while, he took out his AAT textbook and sat down in the living room to read.
He rarely sat down here because he preferred to avoid his housemates on most days, but as he settled into the plush blue couch, he realized that the living room was cozier and warmer than his room. It wasn’t just the aesthetics that were brighter, but the overall feel of the room reminded him of Magha Puja or Christmas evenings back on earth.
Feeling slightly melancholic, Aodhán’s gaze swept across the living room, and he smiled when his gaze landed on Imani’s favorite chair. The chair was marred with several splotches of ink as well as a few tears on the armrest that Aodhán figured were a result of Imani’s nervous scratching. A pile of textbooks lay on a small stool next to the chair, the topmost one dog-haired to mark the page she’d stopped reading. It was nice to see that Imani was still an avid reader, although the rate with which she seemed to be reading lately seemed to have reduced.
On the kitchen counter, a half-eaten bowl of cereal lay covered, its contents soggy, and Aodhán didn’t have to think too long to recognize Marcellus’s handwork. Honestly, that boy needed to be spanked.
A memory from his time as the Northwing coordinator surfaced in his mind, and Aodhán shook his head in amusement. It was funny that all the dislike he’d initially held for his housemates had sort of evaporated. Sure, he still wasn’t close friends with any of them, but he at least no longer wanted to see them kill each other, not even Marcellus, who was the douchiest of douchebags.
Smiling, Aodhán returned his attention to his textbook, opened to the chapter on bloodline inheritance, and began reading. However, he’d barely read more than a few lines when he suddenly noticed an oddity in his surroundings. Usually, his core sense worked passively, so he was always subconsciously aware of everything in his immediate surroundings, but more often than not, he had to focus on something to sense it in detail.
This time, though, Aodhán hadn’t even needed to focus. The oddity was just so bizarre that it broke through the noise of his subconscious and blared in his mind like a fire alarm. Curious, he focused his senses on the oddity but quickly withdrew his senses the moment he realized what was going on.
Two cores in one room! That was the oddity that had stood out to his senses, but that wasn’t what alarmed him. No, what alarmed him was the affinity of these cores and what these cores were doing. Well, not the cores, but what the owners of said cores were doing.
Aodhán blushed in embarrassment, feeling naughty for even sensing the oddity. He shuffled awkwardly, not quite sure how to feel about this new development as a series of emotions erupted within him. First came disgust, then jealousy and finally annoyance.
Aodhán wasn’t sure he could help the first emotion, because what the fuck! He understood the concept of sex, and he was no saint either, but the image of Imani and Marcellus together was just ick!
The second emotion, though? Yeah, even he wasn’t that much of a hypocrite. He had no right to be jealous, even if he thought Imani was making a very terrible mistake seeking comfort in Marcellus’s arms.
Aodhán tried to push the pesky emotion away, but it refused to budge, so, after nearly a minute of mental struggle, he resigned himself to facing it. He closed his eyes and tried to think of a valid reason to justify his jealousy, but when nothing came, Aodhán realized he truly was a hypocrite. He didn’t like Imani that way and hadn’t even thought of her in a sexual manner, not to mention that he had done her dirty too many times, both intentionally and unintentionally. He had absolutely no right or reason to feel jealous.
He spent the next few minutes thinking, trying not to imagine what was going on in the next room. It was impossible though, and before long his mind began to torture him with images that he most definitely didn’t need or want.
Deciding that he’d had enough of the living room for one day, Aodhán grabbed his textbook and ran up to his room, wanting to be away from the whole lustful stuff that was going on downstairs. However, when he got to his room, he raised his hands to the doorknob and paused as a different kind of lustful thought entered his mind.
He shook his head forcefully, trying to banish the images with sheer determination, but it was a losing battle, and before long, Aodhán found himself heading towards the next room. He tried to redirect his legs and force them to turn back, but the traitorous limbs refused to heed him, and a moment later he found himself standing before Meredith’s bedroom door.
His hands reached up to knock, but Aodhán forced it down and prayed to all the gods that would hear him to give him back control of his own body. He prayed that Eren would come out of his own room and save him from this burst of madness. He prayed that principal Zatya would text him and ask him to come to her office immediately, but none of his prayers were answered, and slowly, even the meager control he had over his hands began to slacken.
He tried and tried, but his hands reached up to the door anyway and knocked. Immediately, Meredith’s core began to move in his direction, and the next moment, she pushed the door open and peeked out, raising an eyebrow in surprise when she saw him. A coy expression soon replaced her surprise, and she smirked. “Humph, look what the cat dragged in. What do you want, player?”
Aodhán just stared at her, not knowing what to say. What could he possibly say? I’ve come here to sin? By the stars, he was a hypocrite!
Meredith’s brows furrowed in confusion as the silence lengthened, and she asked again. “Look, Aodhán, the fact that I like you doesn’t mean you can do… whatever this is that you’re doing right now. I’m very busy at the moment, so if you don’t mind leaving—
“I don’t want to leave.” Aodhán blurted out and cursed himself for being so stupid. “Uhm…I don’t want to leave. I want to stay and…and hang out.”
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“Hangout?” Meredith scowled as if the words tasted bitter on her lips, causing Aodhán to quickly correct himself.
“Maybe more than hangout; you know, we could do something…fun!”
Meredith stared at him in confusion for a moment before her eyes suddenly widened and she leaned closer. “Are you trying to do what I think you’re trying to do?”
“What!? No. Yes. No, no! Why would you think that?” Aodhán cringed as the words tumbled out of his mouth, and he cursed himself. It was official. His own body was betraying him.
Meredith smiled, her eyes dancing with amusement. “You don’t seem to know what you want, do you?”
“I…I do. I…”
“What do you want?”
“You.” The words tumbled out of his mouth, and Aodhán sighed, resigning himself to the emotion burning in his chest. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against Meredith’s doorframe. “Right now, I want you.”
Meredith’s eyes widened, and she stared at him for a long moment before shifting away from the entrance and gesturing for him to come in. Aodhán hesitated for a moment before stepping in, and the moment the door shut behind him, Meredith pounced.
Aodhán gasped as her lips captured his, and his mind went completely blank. Heat engulfed him as his body burned with desire, and five minutes later, the both of them were a tangle of bodies on the soft bed.
Aodhán lost himself to the sound of her voice and to the feel of her body grinding against him with a ferocity that would have greatly inspired Varéc. Tiny arcs of lightning rippled around them, each one causing Meredith to shudder in pleasure as the heat of their bodies rose and their needs peaked.
It was euphoria. Plain and simple, and by the time they were done, Aodhán collapsed to the bed, shuddering and breathing heavily as his heart raced in excitement. Meredith, on the other hand, was almost catatonic, as she stared wide-eyed at the ceiling with a stupid smile on her face. With a giggle, she looked at Aodhán and said, “We’re definitely doing that again.”
Aodhán woke up in his bed the next morning, only a little conscious. He had extricated himself from Meredith only a few hours ago after she had suggested they commit the sin for the dozenth time in a row.
As tired as he felt though, a smile played across his lips. He couldn’t help it. Yesterday night had been one hell of a night, and he just wanted to bottle up the feeling and dose himself with it whenever he felt down.
The more he thought about it, the more his grin widened, and it wasn’t until his alarm blared that he stumbled out of bed, cursing, when he accidentally knocked his bedside lamp to the floor in his rush.
“Fuck!” he muttered when he picked his uniform from the floor and scowled when Varéc let out a growl of amusement.
“Oh, laugh all you want, Varéc. I’m on fucking cloud nine, baby.”
Varéc was pissed that he hadn’t been let out for his usual hunt yesterday night. He had tried to have a conversation with Aodhán about it, but Aodhán had been so tired when he snuck out of Meredith’s room a few hours ago that he had fallen asleep almost immediately his head hit the pillows. This had annoyed Varéc even more, hence his lack of sympathy this morning.
Varéc growled again, and Aodhán chuckled. “I mean, you could try to eat her, but I’m sure Meredith’s strong enough to handle you without assistance.”
Varéc growled again and scoffed in derision, his wings puffing out and tearing through the curtains with ease. Aodhán raised an eyebrow at the damage and sighed. “It’s just one day, Varéc. Stop being so dramatic. I’ll let you out tomorrow.”
Varéc huffed in dissatisfaction, but Aodhán didn’t have the time to argue any further. He only had a few more minutes to spare before he had to meet Daruk and Andrew at their meeting spot, so he quickly rushed to the bathroom and took a quick bath. Somehow, he managed to avoid thinking too deeply about the consequences of his actions with Meredith yesterday. Actions that he intended to repeat today. Haq!
He rushed through his bathroom routine, and five minutes later, he was completely dressed, albeit a little rumpled. Varéc hesitantly returned to his spirit, and after taking one last look around the room to make sure the room was in order, he stepped out and almost collided with Eren.
He’d been so distracted by his thoughts and in such a hurry that he hadn’t noticed Eren’s core blazing from behind his door. Sloppy!
Scolding himself mentally, Aodhán asked. “Hey, Eren, what’s up?”
What he really wanted to ask was, “Where were you yesterday when I needed you?” But that was a bad idea, so Aodhán decided to keep his thoughts to himself.
Eren shrugged somberly and said. “I’m fine, I guess. I just figured we could walk to the gym together.”
“Oh.”
Aodhán let the words hang in the air for a moment, wondering what Eren’s motive was. This wasn’t the first time he had suggested they walk together, and Aodhán would be lying if he said he wasn’t very curious. The silence stretched for only a few seconds before Aodhán replied. “Apologies, Eren, but I usually go with Daruk and Andrew, and they’re kind of waiting for me.”
Eren’s expression fell, and he nodded. “It’s fine, I understand.”
Aodhán frowned, and despite being in a hurry, he asked. “Is there a problem? Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just…Can we talk in private?”
Aodhán scanned the empty hallway and sighed. “Sure, come on in.”
Eren hesitated for a moment before stepping in, his gaze taking in Aodhán’s gray-black decorations without comment, although he couldn’t help himself when his gaze landed on the variety of damaged stuff scattered across the room. “What’s happened to your roof?”
Aodhán glanced at the damaged ceiling, which was slowly putting itself back together and blushed.
“Varéc’s horns.” He replied curtly and quickly used his body to block the burning curtains. “So what did you want to talk about?”
Eren turned his gaze back to Aodhán and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I need your help. My control over my element is lacking, and I was wondering if you could help me. Give me some tips, perhaps.”
Aodhán arched an eyebrow in confusion. “Wait. You’re having difficulties controlling your element, and you came to me for help.”
Eren scowled. “I’m not on good terms with Grendar Bladewynn and her posse of metal awakened lackeys; besides, I see how well you do in Master Lamarr’s control exercises. All I’m asking for is advice.”
Aodhán wasn’t quite sure how to react, to be honest. He wanted to help Eren, but he had no understanding of the metal element, not to mention giving someone else advice on how to control it.
Eren noticed his hesitation and grimaced. “You’re the strongest student in the academy, and despite our initial differences, I respect you for that and consider you an acquaintance. You’re the best option I have, really.” Aodhán highly doubted that, but he let Eren continue. “I’ve got a match tomorrow, and from the look of things, I’m going to lose again. After tomorrow’s match, if I lose another, I’m going to find myself at the bottom of the class. I don’t want that. I’m not asking for your technique; I just need advice.”
Aodhán contemplated the matter for a while, and against his better judgment, he replied. “I’m not sure that I can help you at all, but Daruk, Andrew, and I will be diving a dungeon today after class. Perhaps you could join us, and if I find anything to help you with, I’ll just tell you.”
Eren mulled the idea over for a moment, not seeming too enthusiastic about it, but after a while he replied. “Okay, I’ll join you guys for the dungeon delve after class.”
“Great, I’ll see you then.”
After Eren left, Aodhán locked his door, jumped out of his window, and zoomed off towards their meeting point at full speed. When he arrived, he found Daruk and Andrew glaring at him in annoyance. Not wanting to waste any more time apologizing, he shouted, “Hop on guys, we’re going to be late.”
“That’s our fucking line.” Andrew shouted back as he and Daruk hurriedly scrambled onto his platform. While they did that, Aodhán presented his excuses. “I know, I didn’t mean to; I had a busy night.”
His response drew Daruk’s ire, and he scowled. “I do not blame you. I blame myself and Andrew for convincing me to wait a minute longer.”
Aodhán chuckled and eventually apologized, narrating his meeting with Eren and his eventual decision while they zoomed off to the gymnasium. They didn’t really get to talk much about it as they arrived at the gymnasium a minute later with only a few minutes to spare.
Coach Harvey tsked sadly as they rushed up the stairs towards the entrance of the gymnasium. He shook his head as he marked their names on his attendance, muttering something under his breath in annoyance.
When he finished, he glared at them and said, “One of these days, I’ll catch you three again.”
Eren stumbled into the gymnasium a few seconds later, and coach Harvey shut his book, shouting. “Move your arses, you lazy twigs! I want everyone up and running immediately. An extra lap for anyone who isn’t geared up in the next one minute!”