"Are you ready to see my absolutely fabulous bedroom by night? " Adan asked Errot, his hand gently placed at the doorknob and a wide smirk playing on his lips.
Errot raised an eyebrow, trying to seem unaffected and calm, still startled by what happened at the throne room.
Adan opened his door and let Errot walk inside. "Tah-tah! " He exclaimed, glancing at Errot, ready to catch a glimpse of his reaction through the dim lights.
Errot was both thankful and frustrated that the only available light the room had was the various candles, burning the night away. Thankful because Adan couldn't exactly see him and frustrated because he couldn't see Adan. Grasp his facial expressions and the messages his body sent. He could barely make out his face.
"Well? What do you think of the decoration? Did a pretty decent job, didn't I? "
"Why do you like candles so much? " Errot mumbled and run a hand through his hair as he made himself comfortable at Adan's huge leather couch.
"Candles produce fire." Adan said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and sat down next to Errot
Errot blinked at Adan, his face serious and heavy. Five more seconds were killed like that. "Exactly." He finally said.
Adan chuckled. "It's like putting fire into icy water. The possibility of freezing to death is higher than dying from my poor candles. You're safe, kid." Adan went to pat Errot's shoulder but Errot flinched and pulled away in an instant.
"Do not touch me." Errot said harshly.
Adan's hand remained frozen in the air for a second or so and then he pulled it back, his smile still on his face. "Ohh someone's not in a good mood. Come on, talk to daddy. What's bothering you?"
"People."
"Sad."
Errot stayed quiet, looking at his fingers, suddenly finding the task very interesting.
"The situation requires wine." Adan walked to his mini bar and returned with two glasses of red wine on his hands. He passed one to Errot.
"To assholes and bad moods" He lifted his glass for a toast.
Errot didn't bother to clink his glass with Adan. Instead, he took it all down in one breath.
"Woah, easy there tiger, don't want you emptying your guts out the whole night." Adan looked amused.
"Wouldn't be nice if I stained your floors now, would it?" Errot said sarcastically.
Adan raised his eyebrows. "I see what this is all about. You're upset over cotton candy killing those merlots, aren't you?"
Errot cringed. He then frowned and decided to look at Adan in both disgust and confusion at the same time. "Cotton candy?"
Adan chuckled. "Oh, man. Like, don't ever tell him I called him that in front of you. Or in general. He'll go batshit at you.
And then he'll murder me in my sleep. "
"No worries, I won't tell him that a member of his close circle called him, the king of Ink Blood, a gross food for kids."
Adan rolled his eyes amused. "Cotton candy is fucking amazing. What's wrong with you?"
"A lot of things."
"I figured. Would one of them be that you're playing the king and all of us for fools? "
Errot felt like his heart stopped beating. One, two, three seconds. "Huh?"
"Did you have any accidents lately, during the last nine hundred years? Did someone hit you in the head?"
"Adan. "
Adan closed his eyes briefly and took a sip of his wine.
"I'm eighteen years old. " Errot deadpanned.
"You may think you are eighteen years old. "
"Don't I look very young?"
"You always looked very young"
"You hardly know me! This is literally the third time I'm having a conversation with you."
Silence.
"What's going on, Adan? Who are you all confusing me with? "
Adan took another sip when he decided it wasn't enough so he emptied his glass at once just like Errot. He then glanced at him. "Okay, listen. I like you. So let me give you a survival tip. Act all mysterious around the king. Like you're hiding shit. Like you may not be the person you're claiming to be. This will buy you some time. "
Errot knew that they were supposed to be dead by now so it didn't come as a great shock to him. He blinked, now curiousity eating him alive.
"But why? Don't you think I deserve to know? My life's on the line."
"That's why I gave you a survival tip, idiot. " Adan rolled his eyes playfully. "Kids these days" he mumbled.
"But-"
"So. " He started pouring some more wine. "How's life? Childhood? Did mommy and daddy treat you well?"
Errot tightened his grip around his glass. His eyes darkened and his gaze was stuck at his wine.
"Sensitive subject? What is it, abuse? "
"Mind your own business."
"I liked you better this morning. You weren't that moody" Adan smirked.
"This morning" he hadn't killed two innocent people. "You weren't so annoying"
Adan fake gasped and placed a hand over his heart, dramatically. "I don't know what's more hurtful. The fact that you implied that I'm generally annoying but not this much. Or the fact that you don't have the ability to lie."
Errot couldn't help a tiny side smirk that started creeping into his face. He rolled his eyes to cover it up. "You're such a drama queen"
"An annoying drama queen who can apparently lift your mood" his smirk widened.
"You give too much credit to yourself."
"Someone has to."
Errot looked at Adan at that. His face indifferent.
"Hi" Adan grinned widely.
Errot looked away again.
"How old are you? "
"Is this a trick question?"
He shrugged. "It's just a simple question."
Pause. "Technically, I'm 21." He smiled, amused.
"No shit. " Errot rolled his eyes. "How many years have you lived?"
"What do you think?"
"Since you are in king Canton's closed circle, I suppose you're about the same age as him. "
"Canton is the oldest. He's really the oldest creature to ever exist. He could be your grand, grand, grand, grand- "
"I get it." Errot resisted the urge to laugh. "Do you fall close behind?"
"Sure" Adan bit his bottom lip, still amused.
Errot glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, his gaze now steady at Adan.
Adan sighed. "I'm one thousand ninety-four years old."
Errot nodded. "damn, grandpa." He smirked.
"You know, eighteen is actually a legal age to do this."
Errot raised a questioning eyebrow at Adan. "To do what?"
Adan's face suddenly got serious, his smile nowhere to be found. His gaze was so intense, Errot knew he had to look away but he physically couldn't.
His breath got caught on his throat and before he had the chance to react in any other way, Adan leaned in and closed the gap between them.
♛♛♛
"Will you tell me what are we doing on the rooftop? " Oda asked, slightly creeped out.
Santos replied with silence and moved past her to sit at the edge, legs hanging in the air.
Oda raised her eyebrows and looked a bit around. Nothing moved, nothing could be heard, the only thing making her feel alive right now was the bitter cold linked with a few snowflakes gently touching her shoulders.
"Will you kill me? Is that why you brought me here?" She almost failed at sounding like she was joking.
"Aren't you a spy? You would have known if someone was to kill you. No? " Santos mumbled. He was now staring at the rest of Ink Blood below him.
"I was trying to make a joke. You know, humour? Is that word foreign to you? "
"You're not funny." Santos said, his voice a low mumble.
"I am funny. You're just miserable. "
Santos scoffed humorlessly. Half of his face was covered by his black hoodie, his expressions almost hidden.
"Sit down."
"Why should I sit down . You stand up. " Oda crossed her arms against her chest.
Santos clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Fine, I literally don't give a shit." His tone remained calm enough.
Oda sighed. "What's the point in this. It's literally snowing and I'm freezing and my mood is getting worse every passing second and you're not doing anything to help it."
Santos took a slow breath.
"Can we get inside?
Silence.
"Santos."
Silence.
Oda let a small irritated groan out. She mumbled nonsense as she sat down next to Santos.
Santos side eyed Oda through his hoodie. "too close." He muttered.
"It's okay, I don't mind. " Oda teased.
Santos pulled his knife out and aimed it against her. "If the tip of my knife can almost reach you, you're alarmingly close. Move. " His tone sounded dangerous.
Oda tried not to let her slight shock show. She kept her face almost neutral and moved a bit further away.
He placed his knife back to his pocket and kept gazing at the city in front of him.
"If you're still mad about-"
"You're no competition to me. I don't even think you're actual spies. " He sounded bored and his tone was dark.
"I won't even bother to explain myself to you."
"Don't. Just prove me wrong."
"We can't lie, Santos. Our word should be enough."
"Teals also have pointed ears. "
Pause.
Oda blinked.
Santos still wouldn't look at her.
"You think we are Teals?"
"Aren't you?"
Oda blinked once more and then frowned deeply. "You know very well that our ears are shorter than theirs. You're not stupid."
"And yet, you didn't deny it first chance you got."
"Are you implying anything?"
"I'm just stating facts."
"I can't stand you."
"That makes two of us." Santos mumbled.
"Great."
Silence.
Five whole minutes were spent like that. No one was talking, they were both staring at nothing, snow now colouring their hair white.
Oda started shaking from the cold. She wrapped her arms around her body tightly, her lips pale and trembling.
Santos threw a small glance at her and then looked away calmly.
The minutes kept passing until Oda couldn't stay like that anymore. She immediately got up and started for the door.
Santos grabbed her freezing hand abruptly and stopped her into place.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Let go of me."
"You'll stay here."
"So I can die? No thanks." She tried to free herself from his grasp but couldn't.
"Stay.Here." Santos said, his voice dark.
"I don't care what you were ordered to do. I'm pretty sure, killing me wasn't part of it."
"Hm. Thought eighteen years in Ink Blood would have made you cold resistant ." Santos looked at her in the eye for the first time tonight.
Pause. Her lips parted and she locked eyes with him. "Bluffing doesn't suit you. Let go of my fucking arm."
Santos kept looking at her, studying every detail of her face. He then exhaled and let her go, his eyes at the view ahead of him once again.
Oda stormed out the door without another word, leaving Santos alone, letting the snow slowly turn the black rooftop into the colour of purity.
♛