Eston quickly scanned the pages of the book, closing the 1000th book he had examined to rest for a bit before going over another stack of books. He rested his arms on the spacious desk in front of him and placed his head down on his right arm while his left arm was slightly bent to support his head, placing his hand under his cheek as he faced left where Tyrion was seated.
Tyrion appeared deeply focused on scouring the books for anything related to Eston or Estoria. As Eston noticed Tyrion's eyes glaring at him from the side, he closed his book.
"Are you tired?" Tyrion inquired.
"No, just taking a brief break," Eston replied without blinking, staring at him for a good while before saying, "Tyrion... Thank you."
Tyrion seemed somewhat surprised as he asked, "For what?"
"For everything—for always looking after me and assisting me," Eston murmured, his words interspersed with a faint smile that resembled a smirk.
Tyrion was at a loss for words, his heart beating rapidly enough to break the unusually quiet atmosphere. The sound of his heart reverberated loudly in the serene library, captivating their attention as he gazed at Eston, mesmerized by the smile on his face.
"What? Are you okay?" Eston rose from the desk, placing his hand on Tyrion's chest to confirm that the thudding sound emanated from his rapidly beating heart, which felt even faster.
"I Like you," Tyrion declared.
Eston's hand fell from his chest as he locked eyes with Tyrion. "Wha-"
Tyrion spoke before Eston could respond, "No, I believe I'm in love with you."
Eston felt his cheeks flush with heat as he met Tyrion's gaze. Tyrion appeared serious, showing no signs of jest or teasing.
Eston averted his eyes from Tyrion's. "You—I'm also—No, why?" He struggled to articulate his thoughts.
Tyrion cupped Eston's face in his palms, appearing as though he wanted to convey something but couldn't.
Eston's cheeks were already burning, and Tyrion's firm hold on his face only exacerbated the sensation, causing his ears and neck to redden as well.
"I want to kiss you," Tyrion stated, his gaze fixated on Eston's soft pink lips.
Tyrion waited for a moment, ensuring that Eston understood the nature of his affection. Observing Eston's reaction, Tyrion was now certain that Eston did not reciprocate his feelings.
Tyrion lowered his face onto Eston's chest, his hands trembling slightly as he held Eston firmly but didn't let go, maintaining a tight embrace.
Eston collected his thoughts, noticing Tyrion's fingers trembling on his cheek. He reached for Tyrion's perplexed face, previously bowed down on his chest, lifting it up by the chin. Summoning his courage, he drew nearer and gently pecked Tyrion's lips, his eyes closed.
Eston quickly released Tyrion's chin after the peck and raised his hands to cover his face in embarrassment, unable to face Tyrion.
Tyrion gazed at him with wide, unblinking eyes, fixed on Eston for more. He called out, "Eston, please look at me."
Eston slowly lowered his hands, making eye contact with Tyrion once more. His face was fully flushed with red from embarrassment.
Tyrion scrutinized Eston's eyes, which were already moist. As Eston removed his hands entirely from his face, Tyrion drew closer, their foreheads touching and burning together.
"May I kiss you?" He inquired once more.
Eston simply nodded, which sufficed to ignite Tyrion's ardor. He pressed his lips against Eston's with all his might, causing Eston to tumble to the ground behind him. However, Tyrion positioned his right hand under his head and his left under his shoulders to shield himself from fall damage.
Tyrion fervently explored Eston's mouth, thrusting his tongue inside deeply after they both fell. His hands then moved to grasp Eston's face even tighter than before.
Eston emitted various sounds, which proved embarrassing to hear even for him. He gently pushed Tyrion's cheek, attempting to speak.
"Wha-"
Tyrion, however, refused to release him, enfolding him in his embrace as tightly as he could. Eston's hands now clutched the fabric of Tyrion's back as tears streamed down his flushed face unreasonably.
A voice approached them as they heard, "Are you alright? Eston? Tyrion?" It was Ria's voice; she likely came looking for them upon hearing the loud thud from their fall on the hard ground. Although the floor was carpeted, it was sufficient for everyone to hear in the quiet space.
Eston's tear-filled eyes instantly opened at his mother's voice. He attempted to push Tyrion away again, finding the scene too overwhelming to display in front of Ria.
Tyrion hesitated to release Eston just yet, patting the ground next to him a few times, conjuring a barrier over them—the desk and the bench.
Eston's breathing eased slightly upon seeing the pink barrier above them, but it didn't last long because Tyrion began kissing him even more vigorously than before, pressing his entire body against Eston's beneath him.
After a while, Eston grew exhausted from kissing Tyrion for so long, but it seemed that Tyrion hadn't had enough. Eston had had enough; he pushed Tyrion away for the third time, utilizing his powers this time, and succeeded.
"What are you doing?" Eston moved back slightly from Tyrion, breathing heavily.
Tyrion said nothing, nor did he rise from the floor. He simply gazed at Eston with the intensity of a predator eyeing its prey, having clearly lost himself.
"Are you attempting to consume me alive?" Eston remarked after his breathing had stabilized somewhat, touching his swollen lips, which stung.
"I... apologize..." Tyrion finally spoke as he drew closer to Eston, touching his swollen lips.
"Your lips are slightly torn," Tyrion observed closely, examining Eston's lips and the cut on his lower lip.
"It's because of you!" Eston wiped his wet face with his sleeves.
"Let me heal them, please," Tyrion entreated, seizing Eston's face again and gently kissing his lips this time.
"Nnn," Eston attempted to push, thinking Tyrion was merely kissing him again without healing his torn lip first, but as Tyrion kissed him, the cut gradually healed as well.
Once his lips had fully healed, Tyrion moved away from Eston's once more tear-streaked face.
"Why are you crying again? I'm sorry, hm?" Tyrion pecked Eston's wet eyes.
"I am not crying! My eyes are watering on their own for no reason!" Eston sounded confused and frustrated.
"It's okay; I like how you look right now," he Tyrion pecking Eston's face affectionately.
"What are you doing now?" Eston's voice came out in a small, broken tone.
"You're just so pretty; I want to devour you whole," Tyrion said, tightly squeezing Eston's face in his palms.
"Nonsense," Eston mumbled.
Meanwhile, outside the barricade, Ria called for Isaac to come over and dismantle Tyrion's barrier.
"Issac, break the barricade," Ria said, sounding upset.
Isaac didn't utter a single word before flicking the barricade with his fingers, shattering it.
"Eston!" Ria called out even before seeing him.
The barrier came down, revealing the desk with books on top of it. Both of them were seated on the bench side by side. Tyrion had a book opened in front of him, while Eston's head was buried in the desk, his right arm covering his ears.
"Good evening, Duchess Ria and Duke Isaac," Tyrion greeted.
"What was that sound? Is Eston alright?" Ria inquired, not caring about the greeting at all; she was trying to peek at Eston's face.
"Yes, he's just taking a nap right now," Tyrion replied with a warm and genuine smile.
"Why did you put a barricade over yourself and Eston?" Isaac asked suspiciously.
"I wanted to block out any distractions and noises in case Eston's sleep was disturbed," Tyrion said, looking at Eston and holding his left hand under the desk.
"You care more about him than me. It's fine without a barricade too; there is hardly any noise in this dungeon of a library," Ria sighed in relief.
"Let's leave them be, Ria. I'm sure Tyrion was just worried about him. It hasn't been long since Eston's awakening," Isaac said, holding Ria by her shoulder and signaling for them to leave.
"I was going to leave anyway. We have a ton of books to go over ourselves. Let me know if you find anything useful, Tyrion."
Tyrion nodded like a dutiful son, listening to his mother affectionately. Ria left after seeing his reply, walking back to her section with Isaac in tow.
"You're such a good liar. What was that?" Eston lifted his head from the desk, his face now pale white.
"I could tell them the truth if you're okay with it. Should I call them back?" Tyrion said, opening his mouth to shout.
Eston quickly covered his mouth with his hands. "When did I say you could tell them the truth? They're my parents, so it probably doesn't mean much to you, but I don't want them to find out about us yet."
Tyrion removed the hands from his mouth. "They're basically my parents too now." He kissed Eston's hand, licking his slender fingers.
Eston felt the blush creeping up his cheeks again. "We are not here to do this. Stop." Though he said that, he didn't move his fingers at all.
Tyrion licked his hand religiously, showering it with many kisses, giving royal treatment to his hand.
Eston sat there, enjoying the view before his eyes, but Tyrion had his eyes on something else now. His pupils moved from Eston's hands to his neck, traveling to his lips.
Eston let Tyrion's eyes wander and went in for a kiss himself this time, unable to resist him.
Tyrion didn't waste a second before putting up a barricade again, and as they went into each other's mouths, Tyrion's hands moved on to Eston's shirt. He didn't have the patience to unbutton the shirt and was about to rip it when Eston noticed and stopped him.
Eston unbuttoned the shirt himself, and as soon he undid the top three buttons, Tyrion moved on to his neck, making Eston moan in surprise.
Tyrion looked at Eston's expression, amused. His tongue still licking and sucking on his neck, making Eston whimper relentlessly.
Eston covered his mouth with the back of his hand, noticing Tyrion's expression. But Tyrion saw him covering his mouth and went straight back to licking Eston's neck, making his way down to his collarbone.
Eston couldn't control himself anymore; he moaned softly as Tyrion held him in his arms, biting his collarbone.
"Mmm...?" Eston reacted, letting out a clear groan.
Tyrion sucked on his collarbone after biting it, leaving his teeth marks on it. Eston was about to fall behind again, So Tyrion laid his back down on the bench without removing his head from Eston's chest.
"I like the sounds you're making right now," Tyrion whispered into Eston's ear, making Eston twitch and blush slightly.
Tyrion kissed Eston's cheek and moved his head back to look down on him; he seemed pretty satisfied with his view.
Eston was rested on the bench, his back pressed on it, his legs—one on the right and the other on the left side of the bench—with no strength left in him. He breathed softly but quickly, his lips and neck dripping wet. The half-opened shirt revealed his right collarbone, which had bite marks on it, and his neck had red spots all over. His black suit was also a mess; his black dress shirt was all wrinkled from Tyrion's relentless pursuit. His black long coat was hanging from his sleeves. His relaxed eyes were fixated on Tyrion.
"That's it...?" Eston asked, his head still spinning a little.
Tyrion smiled wide, hearing this. "Yes, I can't do much on this hard bench, and I don't want to hurt you either." He pressed a kiss on his forehead.
[15 hours left until their return]