C | Extra 2.4 | Crack in the Noon

Revenant scooped Ian’s limp body into his arms. It wasn’t as light as when Ian was fifteen, but he still felt absurdly weightless. Even the inexplicable anger stirred by this lightness was an extension of Revenant’s affection for Ian. When it came to Ian, no other name could describe his emotions.

“Your leave starts tomorrow. Show up again, and I’ll shoot you.”

“But what about emergencies—”

“If you want to keep your dick intact, bring a resignation letter.”

“Re-resignation? What do you mean?”

“Stablemaster at the Grand Duke’s castle. Nothing else.”

Eduard’s jaw dropped.

“You filthy opportunist! That’s just an excuse to loaf around—”

There wasn’t even a job called stablemaster in Ranihardt.

BANG!

Instead of responding to the nonsense, Revenant left the room, carrying Ian, his steps echoing in the hall.

—

“Maybe you should button up a little.”

Revenant paused mid-step as he walked through the chandelier-lined corridor. Ian was awake, his half-lidded eyes fixed on him, one hand clutching the loose hem of his shirt.

“It’s cold… and kind of embarrassing.”

“…You weren’t asleep?”

“I woke up.”

“When?”

“When you said my eyelashes are yours.”

“…”

There was no way he’d only woken up then. He must have been awake long before that. Revenant quickly reviewed everything he had said earlier.

What the hell did I say?

“You can put me down. I can walk.”

“…Do you want me to put you down?”

“Not really, but—”

“Then button up.”

“…?”

Ian clumsily fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, while Revenant resumed walking.

After buttoning three, Ian spoke instead of asking to be let down.

“My clothes are wet.”

“Bear with it a little longer. You can change at home.”

“Okay… By the way, Prince Eduard has a weird way of talking.”

Revenant bit his lip before replying.

“It’s not just his speech that’s weird.”

“I never said I wanted to move out, by the way.”

“…Then?”

“I just said I felt like I was freeloading off you. Then he offered to give me a new house. I never said I’d take it.”

“That bastard.”

Revenant muttered a quiet curse.

“Accurate, though. He makes too many promises and keeps dragging other people into them.”

“Don’t pay any attention to him. It’s all nonsense.”

“Hmm… Well,”

Ian hesitated, thinking about the part where Eduard seemed to know a suspicious amount about Revenant’s preferences in bed. But in the end, he decided not to mention it.

What mattered wasn’t what Revenant used to like, but what he liked now.

“Still, maybe leave his dick alone. I don’t remember everything, but I think I did spill the wine.”

“I already left it alone. For now.”

“Just so you know, I’m saying this because I care about you, not because I care about his dick. That prince seems like the type to hold a grudge.”

“…That may be true.”

Revenant agreed silently. Eduard was indeed a petty bastard with a long memory. But that wasn’t a good enough reason to spare him. Revenant decided not to say it out loud—he didn’t want Ian wasting even a thought on Eduard.

“And another thing,” Ian added, causing Revenant to stop in his tracks.

“What is it?”

He looked down at Ian to ensure he wasn’t about to trip or stumble. Instead, Ian gazed back with a slightly bashful but utterly sincere expression.

“I love you. So if there’s anything I can do, I’ll try. Saying things like ‘Take me’ still feels a little awkward, but I guess I’ll get used to it.”

“…Ha.”

Revenant let out a breath, bowing his head.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something…”

He gritted his teeth, unprepared to have this conversation here, of all places.

“…You don’t have to do anything.”

“Why not?”

For the first time, he realized how hard it was to meet someone’s eyes during a confession like this.

“Because… you’re already too much for me.”

“Huh?”

Ian tilted his head, confused.

“Not the other way around? You’re the one always saying it’s not enough.”

“Because you’re too much.”

“…What?”

“You make me this way. Always wanting more. Always feeling like I’ll never have enough of you. You turn me into a maniac obsessed with you, a beast out of control.”

“Ah…”

Ian opened his mouth but couldn’t form any words.

Revenant, his gaze still averted, suddenly leaned down and captured Ian’s lips in a fierce kiss. It wasn’t so much a kiss as it was drinking him in. Ian began to understand what “not enough” truly meant.

“I wasn’t like this before,” Revenant murmured, pulling back slightly. “I’m not myself right now. You’re really mine now, and it still feels unreal. For five years, you were someone I could never have.”

“Why… Why did you think that?”

“I thought forgetting me was the only way you could stay safe. Even now, I’m not sure I’m wrong. You being fine right now might just be temporary. One day, you might look at me and feel nothing but disgust.”

“…”

“I’m out of control because of that. Maybe I’ll get better with time. But whether I do or not, you don’t have to do anything. Just stay as you are. If you want me, take me. If you don’t, push me away.”

Ian, unsure of what to say, gripped Revenant’s sleeve tightly. To him, what Revenant had just said was indistinguishable from a confession of love. He didn’t understand why Revenant couldn’t say it plainly. Sometimes, it felt like Revenant didn’t know how to simplify his words.

Maybe that’s because what you feel for me is too complicated to be simple.

Compared to that, Ian’s own feelings were easy to express. He wanted Revenant, and that was enough.

“I love you, Leo.”

Revenant’s eyes softened, then twisted with emotion.

“I…”

“Don’t think my feelings are bigger than yours just because I can say it easily. I’m just that kind of person, and you’re not. But you’re still mine.”

Revenant’s lips curled into a wry smile.

“…You’ve had all of me for a long time. There’s nothing left to give.”

“I know. Now, really, put me down. I can walk. You look tired.”

Ian, unaware that Revenant had flown back from West Africa in a fighter jet, thought he simply looked more exhausted than usual.

“If you don’t mind, stay put. I hate this place too much to let you touch it.”

“…Do you hate it because I’m here?”

“I hate it because you’re here.”

Revenant didn’t elaborate, but Ian understood clearly from the way he said it.

“Okay… Then,”

Ian decided to let it slide, at least for now. After all, he’d just heard something monumental.

When they reached the marble steps leading to the garden, two familiar figures rushed toward them.

“Sir Joseph!”

The gardener Karl and the housekeeper Ernst were waiting by the parked car. Their faces were etched with worry.

“Are you alright?”

“…I don’t think he is.”

Revenant ignored their fussing, opened the car door, and carefully placed Ian in the back seat. That was when Ian noticed something was wrong.

“This isn’t… wine?”

He had been annoyed by the sticky feeling of spilled wine on his clothes earlier. But now his white shirt was drenched in something darker, something redder.

“You’re hurt?”

Ian realized the paleness he’d noticed wasn’t just exhaustion—it was blood loss.

“Are you insane? You’re bleeding this much and didn’t say a word?”

Revenant slid into the seat beside him without responding, shutting the door as Karl and Ernst climbed into the car.

“Why didn’t you say anything? Can you even talk? We’re going to a hospital, right? There’s no doctor at the Grand Duke’s castle?”

Ian’s panicked questions were cut off as Revenant pulled him close.

“I’ve already dealt with it. It’s just a scratch.”

“A scratch? You’re pale as a ghost!”

“It’s nothing serious. I’ve had worse.”

“Stop saying that!

I hate it!”

Ian clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to spill over. Revenant, moved by the sight, reached out and pulled him into his arms.

“Don’t treat me like a kid. I’m only staying quiet because you’re hurt.”

“I’m just trying to show you I’m okay.”

Revenant guided Ian’s hand to his thigh, smirking faintly.

“Feel for yourself.”

“What?”

Ian pushed him away, though without much strength.

“You think that’s going to convince me you’re fine?”

“I could prove it right now.”

“I hate you.”

Ian glared and withdrew his hand.

“Stop messing around and let the doctor check you first. I’m not believing anything you say until then.”

Revenant, amused, leaned closer.

“I’m not lying.”

Ian turned his head, avoiding his gaze.

“Even if you’re not, that doesn’t make it okay to brush off bleeding like it’s nothing.”

He could feel something firm beneath his palm. For a moment, he wondered if Revenant’s claim of losing control might not be entirely false.

Bleeding out while still… aroused? Definitely not normal.

Ian decided to put off questioning Revenant’s preferences for later.

Revenant grinned, his expression playful but dangerous.

“What do I do? Seeing your face now makes me really want to.”

“Absolutely not.”

Ian leaned back, keeping a safe distance.

“Not until you’re fully healed.”

Revenant’s tone was serious, almost teasing.

“Then I’m healed.”

“Healed, my ass.”

“You can feel for yourself.”

“I don’t need to. I can see you’re not.”

“Really? I meant the bleeding’s stopped.”

Ian shook his head in exasperation.

“Not falling for it.”

“How about if I show you?”

“Don’t you dare! Just sit quietly until we get there!”

The drive from the Grand Duke’s castle to the Count’s estate took 15 minutes, which Ian would forever remember as the most nerve-wracking 15 minutes of his life.

The doctor who greeted them at the estate seemed as indifferent as Revenant about the injury but left with strict instructions that sex would do nothing to aid recovery.

And so, Revenant’s three-month leave officially began.

Or at least, it was supposed to. But a small problem arose.