Corym walked into Milo's room, blood running from his nose and a cut on his cheek. It wasn't the first time someone stronger than him made thier opinions known about his mere existence with violence, but it was the first time he wanted to turn to someone for help.
"Hey...you have bandages right?"
Milo looked up at the mere tone of Corym's tired voice. Immediately, Corym's regretted coming to him when Milo's smile fell with worry. It took him a moment to notice the blood against his lavender skin, but the moment he did, he stood from his desk too quickly, knocking things over in the process. If anything broke, he didn't care to notice.
Gently, he took Corym's face in his hands, tilting his head towards the light. It looked like he had been in a fight.
A spark of anger flickered through this body. "Who did this to you?" He asked, his voice strained and barely above a whisper.
Corym's eyes finally met his. "It's a long story, Mi. Don't worry about it. I just don't have the energy to get the healing spell to work."
“Don't worry about it?” Milo shook his head and backed away to get bandages. "Corym, that cut is going to leave a scar. You look like a wreck and you're keeping something hidden so yes, I'm a little worried." He returned with medicine that would help him heal. "I- I don't know enough about healing magic. Still can't get the spell we learned in that class to work, so his might sting."
Corym nodded and leaned against the desk. "I was just having a long day, I lost my patience and insulted a guy I shouldn't have."
"That guy being?"
"... Darren."
Milo groaned as he prepared the medicine. Darren was a renowned jerk, yet his physical prowess made him believe he could get away with anything.
"How did that happen?'
"Like I said, it's been a long day. My friends asked me to go to a club with them tonight but I have an assignment to work on. They didn't know, but I wanted to ask you if we could work together. They started telling me I was losing myself recently, that they missed me when I didn't care... I always cared, I just pretended not, to fit in and whatever. They teased me about only trying to catch your attention, as a challenge because of your status and shyness and stuff. They don't know we're together, but I guess they noticed us talking. Usually I don't mind the way they talk about me, but I didn't sleep well last night. They got on my nerves, so I just took my things and left. One of my friends did catch up with me to apologize, which was nice I guess. But my mood was already shot."
Corym hissed at the sting of the salve Milo was applying to his face.
"Sorry, I'll be careful."
"Its ok, I'm fine."
"Corym..."
"... I left the room rather quickly and quite literally ran into two students I didn't recognize. First years, I guess. One spilled her drink on herself because of it, told me to... um..."
Milo finished healing Corym and cast a simple spell to remove the blood stains. He sat down on his desk chair, looking up at him. Corym looked down to the hands in his lap, playing with the ring on his finger, pulling it off and back on repeatedly. He didn't want to admit to missing Milo's touch, albeit medical. Milo must have read his mind - he leaned forward and rested his hand on his leg.
“You don’t need to tell me-”
"No. I want to. It’s just… she told me to go back to jail.”
Milo was taken aback. "They knew..?"
“No, of course not. Just... f*cking rumors. It’s stupid, I hear this stuff all the time, I don’t know why it’s getting on my nerves today."
"It's not stupid, these things shouldn't be as common. But what does this have to do with Darren?"
Corym looked away. "It's-... fine, ok. After dealing with those two, I just walked by him, while he was talking… well, talking about you to his 'friends'. They heard about you and Reyna breaking up. They couldn't decide- stars, you don't want to hear this, Milo."
Milo got up and sat on his desk next to Corym. "Don't worry about me, I can handle it."
Corym sighed and clenched his fists on his lap. "They couldn't decide what version of the story they liked better. That Reyna turned you away from women or that you disgusted her from ever being in a relationship again."
Milo felt a sudden ache in his chest. Were those the rumors going around? The whispers he heard when he passed by? How? He needed to find Reyna to talk about it before she found out on a bad day.
"That son of… This isn’t about me right now. So you hit him?"
"Not exactly. I did approach him to cast a spell that would make him unable to speak for the day. But then he… I think he tried to warn me? Told me to watch out, that if the rumors are true, that being friends with you might turn me off of guys. I laughed at that, that was so stupid. Don’t think anything could do that."
"So he hit you for laughing at him?"
"Aah, no. He only did that after I said something about his sister being an interesting backup option, in case he was right..."
Milo snorted "You didn't."
Corym grinned faintly. "Yeah... I did. Was worth it, you should have seen the look on his face. Hopefully that'll shut him up for a bit."
Milo wrapped an arm around Corym's shoulders, tucking him into his side, trying to hide his anger. Corym exhaled in comfort, leaning against Milo, letting his head fall on his shoulder. He was so tired, so numb...
"Well, if any of that is true, you're still my favorite show off-y, criminal bastard."
Corym couldn't help but smile; Milo's words and odd humor were exactly what he needed. "And you're the best boyfriend a bastard like me could have."
Milo's silence could have frozen time. Was it too soon to call him his boyfriend? Was it too much?
"... Boyfriend?"
Corym looked back at him. "I mean... yes? Yeah, I think so."
"I - yes, it makes sense. It's good."
Corym chuckled and winced at the sting of his cuts. He settled back against Milo, taking one of his hands. "It's definitely good." He felt his heart flutter as Milo pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m better now. I don’t usually let these things get to me.”
Milo sighed. “I guess you’ve heard these things often. I’m so sorry. On behalf of-”
Corym stepped away to look at his boyfriend, taking his face in his hands. “Stop. Just… no. No behalfs, no apologies, none of that. You’re not them, so don’t speak for them. They don’t deserve you apologizing for them, or you feeling shame for them. Just… you’re not them.”
Milo seemed to consider the statement for a moment. “Okay, I won't.”
“Thank you.”
“I-... You can stay here tonight. If you want. Probably don’t want to go all the way to your dorm in this state anyway, right?”
Corym nodded and leaned against Milo, who wrapped his arms around him. “You’re not them, you’re a million times better.”
You aren’t them, you’re a million times better.
Once their emotions calmed, the pair kept stealing glances, exchanging smiles, giving soft touches. More than once, Corym noticed Milo staring at his lips, then at the cut on his cheek, before looking away, looking almost ashamed.
“Mi… I’ll be okay, you know? I’m not all that fragile.”
Milo let a smile slip. “I know you’ll be okay. It still doesn’t make how people treat you fair.” Milo reached across the table they were sharing dinner on to take his hand. “You don’t deserve it. Nobody does.”
“It’s ok, honestly, I’m used to it.”
“You really shouldn’t be…”
Corym let out a quiet chuckle and squeezed Milo’s hand. “I’d rather be used to stuff like this than have it be a surprise to me. Besides, now I have a ‘you’ to help me feel better.” He lifted their hands and kissed Milo’s knuckles.
Milo tilted his head. “You’re smiling but it’s not reaching your eyes.”
“Sh*t, you already know me a little too well.”
“... Is there anything I can do to help?”
Corym smiled at him. “Stars above where did you come from?”
“Ah… here? Holn?”
Corym rolled his eyes and bit his bottom lip, fighting back a blush. Milo was… he was different, sure. But he was making his very soul react in a way where he just wanted to reach out to him. So, he followed his instinct and stood up, never letting go of Milo’s hand, and walked towards him. He pushed the table away a few inches, before sitting in his lap.
“Is this okay?”
Milo didn’t react right away, his eyes locked on Corym’s, fighting a quiet, far-away fear that bubbled up in his chest. He wasn’t used to anything like the moment they were sharing, barely accepted most forms of physical touch, and yet…
“For now it’s okay.”
Corym smiled. “If you ever want me to get off, please tell me.”
Milo nodded and let his head drop against Corym's shoulder as they wrapped their arms around each other. It didn’t take long for him to fully relax, lulled by the consistent rhythm of Corym’s breathing, a quiet hum, his fingers stroking his hair.
“If you intend to put me to sleep,” Milo muttered, “may I request moving somewhere more comfortable than a wooden chair?”
Corym broke into a laugh, wincing at the pull of the cut on his cheek, but stood up, still not letting go of Milo as the pair moved to the couch. Corym settled back in Milo’s lap immediately, catching hiss gaze. His boyfriends’ eyes widened in surprise.
“What is it?”
“You- ah- your eyes changed to a pale… blue or purple, I can’t tell, but it’s beautiful.”
“You like it?”
“How could I not? But I’m also curious to know how it works, it’s like you’re controlling… some kind of light-scattering part of your eye like a muscle. I mean, of course there are many things that change color with how they interact with light.”
“Ah yeah?”
“Mmhmm, you know, like suncatchers, they depend on the angle of the light that- your eyes changed again… that’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
Corym decided in that moment to let go of how much he was holding back, and hooked a finger under Milo’s chin, lifting his face for a gentle kiss, drawing back, enchanted by the one he had finally called his ‘boyfriend’.
He never would have expected for Milo to sit up, tentatively drawing him into another kiss, devastatingly carefully, minding the cut on his face. He moved to his cheek, his jaw, and nuzzled his neck, hesitating.
“Are you alright?”
“I just never… I mean-”
Corym was sure he would melt. “I could show you…”
Milo nodded slightly, tilting his head just enough to expose his neck.
Corym wanted to - stars, he wanted to - Milo was so gentle it drove him crazy; he was simply the sweetest partner he’d ever had.
Who was he to deny Milo’s bout of confidence?
Milo gasped when Corym kissed his neck, clutching onto him in surprise.
“Is this okay, Mi?”
“Stars, yes.”
Corym chuckled and kissed his neck again, chasing Milo’s reactions as he chased the butterflies going crazy in his own stomach. Eventually, Milo pulled away to claim another kiss, another, another. Slowly, buttons became undone, inhibitions became loose.
Never had Corym experienced any kind of intimacy that was so bright; full of giggles and smiles and unfathomable care.
Corym let his hands explore Milo’s torso - he was thin but not unhealthily. The edge of a tattoo on Milo's back caught his curiosity, as it peeked over his shoulder. No way... Feeling Milos hands carefully run over his own chest and sides and back made his heart seem to beat out of his chest, made him remind himself to be patient.
He was amazed by how different things felt with Milo - he made him want to bask in the warm glow of something more simple, more romantic. So, he took his time with him, keeping himself in check every so often to make sure Milo was comfortable.
It was only when his hands wandered down to Milo’s belt, that the human pulled back.
“I- I ah, I mean…”
“Is this too much?”
Milo nodded, barely visibly. “I’m sorry...”
“Hey, don’t be, it's ok.”
Milo nodded again, blushing to the roots of his hair. “I mean I would like to, one day. I just… I don’t know when. Just not yet. And um… well…”
Corym fixed a strand of Milo’s hair that had fallen out of place. “You don’t need to say everything.”
“Oh… I appreciate that, but I was going to say that with you sitting on my lap, my legs fell asleep.”
“Oh!” Corym moved to sit next to him, laughing quietly. “Are you okay?”
"I might need a moment before I’ll be able to stand again without falling over… but that was… I mean… I enjoyed that. It feels foolish to just say it like that, but-” Milo glanced at Corym with a grin, eyes widening as he saw the cut on his face bleeding through the bandage. “Oh, your face-”
“It’s ok, it was worth it. I ah… I must admit, I got a little carried away… tomorrow you may wake up with a mark or two on your neck, just so you know.”
Milo’s eyebrows rose again in surprise. “Well… thank goodness it’s Friday?”
Corym chuckled again and kissed Milo’s cheek, pushing him back to lie on the couch, nestling his head on his chest.
“You know,” Milo spoke up, “We can also just… sleep like this, I still can’t feel my legs, you really cut my circulation.”
“Oh stars I'm so sorry!" he giggled. "Come here.” Corym sat up and stood, pulling Milo to his feet along with him. He was certainly wobbling, but at least he could stand. “Need to get your blood moving again.”
Milo groaned as Corym led him through simple stretches he performed before dancing, laughing together through the awkward effort on Milo’s part until they both settled in bed. Out of habit, Corym reached out to him, but Milo shied away.
“I ah… do you mind just… not? It’s nothing against you, I’m just a little overwhelmed, and well…” Milo bit his lip. “Like I said it’s nothing against you, what happened was really wonderful, I just… I- it’s hard to explain… I’m not sure I have the right words for it. I- when it's people I don't know, even a handshake feels invasive and uncomfortable. It's like I feel the ghost of the contact for too long afterwards. It's better, I guess, with friends and family, where I don't mind hugs and such on a good day. You're one of the only people I voluntarily reach out to and that I want to be entirely, fully comfortable with and well... I mean guiding winds nobody has ever even kissed me like that and I just- I mean I still kind of feel our contact from earlier, but in a nice way, and I really don't want you to think I disliked anything, I know we're taking a long time to get anywhere, just-’"
Cory cut off his rambling that seemed to be making him spiral. “Hey, it’s okay. You are… exceptionally enticing to me, but I’m proud of you for telling me to stop. It'll take the time it needs to take."
Milo broke into a smile, “Thank you," he whispered, hesitantly reaching out for Corym’s hand, barely brushing his fingers with his own, before curling up to fall asleep, soundly.
"Sweet dreams."
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