It didn't take long until Ilay joined Taeui in the living room. He didn't sit down, choosing to stand leaning against the window, arms crossed. They kept quiet for some time, Taeui barely paying attention to the newspaper due to Ilay's laser focus on him.
"Why are you angry?" asked Ilay, finally breaking the silence.
"I'm not."
"You do a better job at running away."
Taeui folded the newspaper and put it down, turning to look at Ilay. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought it would be worse if I told you."
Taeui kept quiet. The truth was that he would still end up in his rabbit hole, unsure how to approach the subject to his parents. Maybe it would have been worse once he learned about the conditions his parents gave him. Thinking about it now, it made sense that Mrs Riegrow made sure he was in both meetings.
"I thought that it would be best if you gathered the courage to tell them yourself. But you were taking a long time and feeling depressed that you lost your ring."
"About that too. Why didn't you just say Scarlet had it?"
"A small punishment for taking your ring off."
"For someone who said the ring was just a representation of your love, you sure hated me taking it off."
"I did hate it. Even if it's just a representation, I still like seeing you wear it. I like that whoever looks at that ring knows you belong to me."
Taeui took a deep breath. He had already apologised before, and he still didn't have the ring, so there wasn't anything he could say. A second later, Ilay sat down next to him and grabbed his hand.
"Don't think about taking it off ever again."
Ilay put the ring back on Taeui. When Taeui lifted his brow, Ilay clarified. "She gave it to me today after a long coaxing and a compromise to buy her a cake and a ring."
Taeui laughed. He looked at his finger and released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He smiled, kissing the ring lightly. At that moment, he saw the smile he loved on Ilay.
"Hell must have frozen over. Never thought you could smile like that," teased Helena.
"Ever since he brought Taeui here, they have been lovey-dovey," teased Kyle right next to her by the door.
"If he smiles at you like that, I think I can understand why you choose to stay with him," said Helena, smirking.
Taeui felt his face getting warmer and looked away, nodding. Meeting his lover's family was a new experience for him, and it made him shy despite already being comfortable with Helena. Ilay, without caring what they said, grabbed Taeui's waist and pulled him closer, placing a light kiss on his red cheek.
"You shouldn't tease him too much. I'll get mad."
However, Ilay's expression was far from mad. He had a boyish smile on his face, enjoying seeing Taeui embarrassed with the situation as he tried to push him away. Right after, Scarlet and Amber entered the room, and Taeui pushed Ilay's face with all his might.
"Hey, don't be mean to uncle Ilay," said Scarlet, dashing to her uncle's aid and standing between them. Amber followed suit, but instead, her eyes kept jumping from her uncle to Taeui.
"Ow." Ilay groaned. When Scarlet looked at him, worried, he pointed to his cheek. "He hurt me here."
Amber got close, eyeing the place he was pointing to.
"I think a kiss would make it better," Ilay said.
The scene was so ridiculous that Taeui stared at it with his mouth open, mimicking Kyle's and Helena's expressions. Amber was the first to lean over and kiss Ilay's cheek to make him better. Scarlet followed right after.
"Ah, I'm feeling all better now, thanks to you," Ilay smiled even more.
"Hell must have imploded…" murmured Helena.
The trio continued staring at how Ilay was acting with his nieces, all smiles and gentle gestures. Taeui found himself smiling too, seeing the happy face Ilay was making.
"Uncle… can you…" Amber hesitated, her eyes trying to look at her uncle but instead finding a spot on the floor.
"No. Never mind." She said after a long moment, still staring at the floor. Ilay observed her for some time.
"Of course, I can," he said.
Amber looked at him with big, bright, happy eyes and a big smile, but then, as if she realised she hadn't asked him what she wanted, her expression dropped, and she leaned her head to the side.
"If it's for you, I can do anything," Ilay said, patting her head.
He didn't hesitate, and Taeui wondered if Amber understood what those words meant. Like Ilay had said before, if she asked him to kill the boogeyman, he definitely would.
"I..." she hesitated again. After a moment, with determination in her eyes, she looked back at her uncle. "Can you brush my hair too?"
"Of course." Ilay smiled gently. Amber hugged him tightly, and Scarlet did, too, not wanting to be left out.
Taeui couldn't look away from the scene. Every time he saw Ilay interact with his nieces, he was mesmerised by how soft he was with them. Taeui experienced some of that softness, but not like this. Kyle and Helena's expressions mellowed just like Taeui's, seeing the interaction, and they chuckled and sat while discussing the plans for the day.
The following days, Taeui tried to adjust to officially being Ilay's lover. He found himself blushing at things he never did before when he was asked how they met and who fell first. During that time, Taeui was able to hear a few stories about Ilay from Mrs Riegrow, and even though Ilay glared at him for listening and asking for more of these stories, he didn't do anything else. And since everyone knew their relationship, Ilay was allowed back in Taeui's room, with the sex ban still up.
"Why?" Ilay asked when Taeui said no to sex.
"Your family is still here."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Because you're going to leave marks, and they are going to see it, and…"
"They asked for grandchildren, we are just doing our part."
Ilay was looking down on Taeui as he lay in bed, looking away with a red tinge in his cheeks. "You are just overthinking again."
Taeui glared, but Ilay placed a kiss right away on the corner of his eye, and he closed them.
"Don't try to get me in the mood. It won't work."
"Am I not allowed to kiss you either?"
Ilay planted another kiss. Taeui didn't reply. Ilay continued to scatter kisses on Taeui's face, slowly moving to his neck, as his hands found his chest. Taeui, who started by pushing Ilay away, found his strength and determination lacking, and he pulled on Ilay's shirt.
"Does that mean I can continue?" Ilay smirked, shirtless.
"Shut up."
Taeui wrapped his arms around Ilay's neck and kissed him, but he felt the smile on his lips as they kissed. That smile soon disappeared as the kisses became more intimate and their clothes pooled by the bed.
By the end of it all, Taeui was spent and sweaty, lying on Ilay's chest.
"I heard some interesting news the other day."
Ilay broke the silence. Taeui opened his eyes, trying to stay awake, but he was blissfully sated and comfortable, and it made it hard for him to have just one eye open.
"Hmm?"
"I heard rumours of men being pregnant. A couple in several countries."
"What?"
Ilay shrugged "It piqued my interest. What if it is true?"
"You are not really considering this, are you? It's impossible," Taeui said.
"Humans adapt," Ilay spoke with the most nonchalant demeanour. "That reminds me, I should drop by the church one of these days to drop a dime or two for our future child."
"Even if you give them all your assets, I still can't get pregnant."
"Oh ye of little faith."
Taeui laughed, and Ilay met his eyes with a smirk.
"Sleep."
Ilay kissed Taeui's eyelids, making him close his eyes, and soon enough, he fell asleep in his arms.