This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This work contains mature themes, including violence and sexually explicit content, and may not be suitable for all audiences. It is only intended for readers 18 years and older. Reader discretion advised. 

Residences for the Merciful were located in the Lamb Center’s East Wing, separated from the main complex by a manicured, yet practical, green space. Tennis courts, a lap pool, and outdoor gym equipment took up a majority of the garden-like courtyard, surrounded by a large, oval track that circled the perimeter. Alexei had never seen anything like it. It was considerably less grand than the hanging gardens he’d seen at the Bishop’s Palace, yet it still managed to feel luxuriously resort-like. Two men in white uniforms were busy skimming the surface of the pool for impurities, and a young woman hurried past him, almost knocking him over, her arms laden with neat rolls of white towels as she apologized breathlessly. 

None of it felt like home. Alexei was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that this foreign type of luxury was now available to him. Part of him balked at the idea, having lived simply most of his life, both out of duty and preference, but another part of him craved the tempting sensation of slipping his aching body into the refreshing coolness of the pool’s crystal clear water. He didn’t want to get too comfortable, though. He still hadn’t forgotten about that obscene illustration in his orientation materials. Something about the whole process felt a bit too concubine-esque for his liking. Whatever gift for healing he now had inside due to his awakening, he wanted to be the one to decide how it was used, and when. A refreshing dip in the pool, or a luxurious penthouse, would not be the price for his agency. Something else would have to give. 

It wasn’t the concept of being a guide that bothered him, in fact, Alexei had prayed many years for a gift like this. “God, use me as your vessel to cleanse this believer’s body of its illness. God, use me as your vessel to release this child’s mind from its suffering.” None of his calls for aid had been answered. He wasn’t sure what to do with his new-found powers now. The urge to dwell on all the things he’d go back and change weighed upon him heavily. Each individual who’d begged him to intercede on their behalf, stared back at him as he gazed through the haze of memory. There was no use thinking about that, though, he had no other option than to decide what he wanted to do moving forward. 

When he reached his, or rather, Daniel’s residence, he found that he was not alone. There, in the living room, sat two men embroiled in a tense game of cards. The larger of the two men– a tall, behemoth of a man with hair the color of lapis lazuli leaned back, tossing his cards onto the coffee table as his opponent pointed at him with an accusing finger. 

”You cheat! No powers, that was the deal. I can’t believe you’re–” The man’s words trailed off as he noticed Alexei standing in the doorway, and his scowl was quickly replaced by a smile so bright and warm that it could charm even the most devout of cynics. “Oh! You’re here,” the man said, bounding over to take the overstuffed, Center-issued duffle bag out of Alexei’s hand. 

“I’m sorry,” Alexei said, growing concerned that he’d opened the wrong door entirely. “I’m looking for Penthouse 4.”

The other man was already halfway back to the couch by the time Alexei had finished speaking. “Of course you are! This is it. You’re in the right place. You’re Alexei, right? Alexei Lastra?” He dropped the duffle bag on the couch and kicked the other man lightly in the shin. “Get up,” he whispered harshly, turning back towards Alexei with a smile, “I’m Felix and this is Kalvis.”

As the other man rose to his feet, Alexei marveled at how tall he was. He had to be 6’6” or 6’7” at the very least, with a broad chest and truly impressive thighs. Alexei always considered himself rather tall at 6’, but he felt suddenly microscopic as he craned his neck to look at the man’s face. There was no mistaking it, this man was definitely one of the Merciful. Alexei checked the man’s wrist, finding a familiar, silver identification bracelet, then looked to the other man, finding one around his wrist, as well. Both espers? An esper and a guide? Alexei guessed he would find out soon enough. 

“Are you gonna close the door?” Kalvis said, motioning towards the still-open door behind Alexei. That earned him another swift kick to the shin from Felix, who trotted back over to close the door and take Alexei by the arm, bringing him back to the couch. 

“It’s a lot to take in,” Felix sympathized, patting Alexei’s knee. “We’re here to make sure you get settled in. Daniel is still under sedation, so everyone thought it would be best if you didn’t come home to an empty house.”

”An empty house with a drugged up fool in one of the bedrooms,” Kalvis added.

”Yes,” Felix agreed, “there is also that.” He looked a bit sheepish when he turned back to Alexei, but something about him felt warm and inviting, so Alexei simply thanked him and let himself go limp against the plush upholstery with a groan. 

Felix and Kalvis made no move to strike up a conversation and instead resumed their game of cards, allowing Alexei a few moments to rest and take in the penthouse that he would now be forced to share with his partner. The space was large and open, with plenty of natural light streaming in from several tall windows. Curtains, that Alexei reasoned must have been custom-made to fit such large windows, moved water-like in the occasional breeze from an open patio door. From where he sat he could see a kitchen, and past that, a darkened hallway lit with the warm tungsten light of several sconces, presumably leading to the bedrooms. The space had a far more cozy feel than he’d expected, considering the other two rooms he’d seen in the complex were nothing short of sterile. It was a bit of a relief. 

Alexei’s mind drifted to Daniel, remembering the impossibly clear expression he’d held as he’d sliced himself open. At the time, it had frustrated Alexei to no end that Daniel would do something so stupid, and it frustrated him even more now knowing that he’d simply done it for Alexei’s attention. Something about that type of instant love, or was it simply lust, didn’t sit quite right with him. Of course Alexei had felt those emotions before himself. He was a priest, not a monk. His vows didn’t require a life of celibacy– a fact Daniel had unfortuneately gleaned through careful research, but it did leave a sort of churning anxiety in his gut to be desired in such a way. He wasn’t sure if meeting the real man, and not the butler he was pretending to be, would make it easier or harder to deal with. 

“I don’t suppose either of you have a cigarette,” he asked off-handedly. 

“Officially, no,” Kalvis replied, already pulling out a pack from his inside jacket pocket, “unofficially, let’s take this outside.”

The patio that ran along the side of Penthouse 4 was just as lush as the courtyard, only with less landscaping and more potted plants. Kalvis put two cigarettes to his lips and lit them both, passing one over to Alexei with a nod. “If you want more, just ask. It’s not a bother. After the week you’ve had, neither of us would blame you for needing a bit of relief. Not that it’s gonna get any easier, but you know.”

Felix went to kick him again, but Kalvis shifted a few feet away to dodge. Alexei had suspected that the man was an esper, but to see someone move that quickly up close was truly a marvel. And to do it with such effortlessness was unreal. 

“You’ve never seen one up close have you?” Felix asked, noticing Alexei’s keen expression. “Daniel can do that too. It looks like teleportation doesn’t it? It’s not, they’re just really fast. Kalvis, show him some more.”

Kalvis took a drag, feigning offense, “Love, do I look like a trained seal to you? Let him play with his own esper.” Even though he complained he did as he was told, floating the cigarette in the air in front of his face, sending it out and then pulling it back between his fingers.

Felix leaned over to Alexei, “Don’t mind him, he just likes to act tough. Let him go a few days without guiding. He’s not so tough after that.”

“You two are partners?” Alexei asked, sensing a connection that ran deeper than mere coworkers between the two men.

They replied at the same time, speaking over one another.

”We’re partners.”

“We’re married.”

Felix laughed, “We are partners and we are also married, but that’s not a requirement of being partners, so don’t worry. Speaking of, we heard you had a bit of a rough go with Daniel.” 

”Everyone is going to tell you to give him grace,” Kalvis added, “but what he really needs is someone to knock some sense into him. I’d do it myself if Felix would let me.”

”There bad blood between you two?” Alexei asked, feeling only slightly guilty about the sense of kinship he was beginning to feel towards Kalvis due to their mutual annoyance with a certain someone. 

”No,” Felix interjected, “What Kalvis means is that we love Daniel very much, but he’s getting on our last fucking nerve with the soulmate stuff. He works hard, he trains well, he’s great at his job, but–” Felix trailed off, the sheepish look returning to his cherubic face. 

Kalvis spoke up, “He’s trying to say Daniel lost his mind when you matched. All reason flew out the window, and we’re all suffering for it. No offense.”

Alexei let out a laugh, shaking his head. ”None taken.”

”Look,” Kalvis continued, lighting another pair of cigarettes and passing one to Alexei, “All us espers, we’ve been here pretty much our whole lives and we can barely remember anything before we came here. We were raised like siblings. Everything went fairly smoothly at the start. We were all excited to have powers. Kids being kids, ya know? But now we're adults, and everybody in here wants something they can’t have, and wanting love is the worst thing to hope for. They told you that you can only get partnered with other S-Class, right?”

Alexei nodded.

”Well that means that everybody here has sort of just assumed their perfect match died on the day of the first gate. There were a few S-Class guides taken out of the rubble in pieces, you know. Gnarly stuff, but its the truth. Awakened are rare already, but an S-Class guide? Very few survived, and they’ve found no new ones since. You’re only the second we’ve ever seen, so you can imagine Daniel’s excitement, even if it was poorly expressed. Felix and I got lucky. We matched early on, but this little jailbird had to finish out his stint in the big house before we could officially meet.”

Felix’s face started to turn a bright shade of red, and Alexei could only assume that meant he was gearing up for another attempt at a shin kick, but Kalvis just chuckled, taking it all in stride. “What’s the use in hiding it, Love, he’s gonna find out eventually. Hell, you were probably gonna tell him yourself before the night was over. You’ve been desperate for another guide to show up.”

”Well, yes, that is true,” Felix relented, giving Alexei a soft smile. “They say all known S-Class, both guides and espers, were awakened the day of the first gate. I was, as Kalvis so politely mentioned, incarcerated at that time. Nothing crazy, I didn’t kill anyone or anything like that, just robbed a few pharmaceutical facilities. Anyway, they did a sweep that night after the gate was closed and tested everyone in the prison. I got flagged and was in solitary after that. Lucky me.”

Kalvis pulled Felix against his chest, ruffling his strawberry blonde hair playfully. “But you’re not there now,” he said, placing a kiss to the top of his head, “and I’m not gonna let anyone take you away from me.” 

Alexei found himself smiling at the couple. It reminded him of a better time. A time where he’d overseen dozens of weddings each year, getting to revel in the outpourings of love and friendship each one had brought with it. He did love a slice of wedding cake, after all. The pair had obviously been through a lot, and there was no denying that it had left scars on them both. Going into gates, fighting beasts, living in solitary confinement, all seemed like horrific, life-altering experiences. Alexei couldn’t imagine a world where it hadn’t left a mark, but he was comforted by the knowledge that they had found each other. His mind drifted back to Daniel, asleep in one of the bedrooms, and he wondered how it must have felt for him to see such displays of affection while being denied the opportunity to seek companionship for himself. Alexei’s distaste for the Center rushed back to him, and he felt renewed in his fervent desire to leave as quickly as he was able. Even if two of the awakened had found some sense of peace here, that was surely the exception and not the rule.