"Um…we um…" Berry felt his cheeks flush as he tried to explain but the words refused to come out.
"Yes we do, why?" Caelum said without batting an eye, his face still as stoic as ever.
Asher and Sepehr gasped, with the dragon scientist pointing his finger at Caelum and Berry, "How Scandalous!!" he exclaimed dramatically.
Caelum rolled his eyes, "says the one receiving backshots from a human".
They both went cold, their faces paling, "y..you didn't have to say it like that" Sepehr said in a quiet voice, his face turning red.
Berry also felt flustered listening to the conversation but he was intrigued, "what are backshots?" he asked Caelum.
The three men were stunned, they looked at him like he had grown three heads. Caelum cleared his throat nervously, "well…that's um…like…." he looked at Asher and Sepehr for help but they turned away from him, pretending like they didn't hear anything.
Thankfully the alarm went off, saving him from the explanation, he sighed in relief and straightened up his clothes, "I think that's just a drill, not a feral alarm, let's go" he said to Berry, placing his hand on the Runes back before walking out.
Asher and Sepehr watched then leave, their faces a mixture of confusion and relief, "This is gonna get him in trouble" Sepehr stated.
"Why? He is the king, he can do whatever he wants" Asher said nonchalantly.
"No he can't, there are laws and there are other people involved, like the Jury of cosmos and the board of-"
"Milky way?"
"Shut up Asher and be serious, this issue is serious"
"Relax, It's Caelum, the saviour of the world, the king of all Star Dragons, he won't fall in love with some Rune, he knows what he is doing, he might just be keeping him safe because he is valuable, that's all" Asher said with an uncaring shrug, he didn't see any of this as a big deal but Sepehr still felt uneasy.
"Exactly my point, it's Caelum, the stoic and cold king, he doesn't invite someone to his room if he isn't at least intrigued by them" he said worriedly.
Asher sighed, "Look honey, you're over thinking this thing, just relax okay, there is no way Caelum would get with a Rune, I mean come on, think about it, that's absurd".
"You know what…maybe you're right, maybe I am over thinking it"
"Good, now calm down and let's go back to the other scientists and give them the results from today…oh wait I forgot, we have no result because the Rune is useless"
"Asher!!"
.
.
.
Berry sat on the bed, munching on the cake someone had gotten for Caelum, it was a chocolate cake with some sprinkles. It tasted sweet and honestly, it felt like this was the first time he was eating cake.
Was it? He doesn't really know.
"Want some?" He asked Caelum who was going over some codes on his table, the neon screen floating in front of him.
"No I don't take sugar"
Typical
"Okay", he continued to eat, enjoying the treat to the fullest. He was so focused on it that he didn't notice Caelum looking at him, taking in his figure and features, as if he was analyzing him, he had stayed like that for a few moments before speaking up.
"Do you have a problem with it?"
Berry looked up at him curiously, "With what?".
"Staying with me"
Berry thought for a moment, swallowing the cake he was holding in his mouth, "I don't have a problem with it, I…know I need to stay here to be safe or else the other runes will-" he stopped himself from thinking about the rest as he still felt chills remembering how they were coming close to him and trying to touch him.
Caelum had never been in the room when he woke up and he has no memory of them sharing a bed. In fact he felt like Caelum always left whenever he slept off and would only come back during the day.
He did feel self conscious at first but not uncomfortable.
Caelum hummed at his answer and nodded, "okay then, if you ever feel uncomfortable, let me know".
Berry smiled a bit, appreciating the thoughtful words, he nodded and went back to his cake.
As he neared the last bite he started to feel funny, the cake felt weird in his mouth, almost like plastic.
"This tasted funny all of a sudden" he grumbled, the taste growing even more unpleasant.
Caelum looked at him with a frown, "are you okay? You're turning red" he stated in alarm, standing up and walking over to Berry with quick steps.
Berry felt his body growing hot, "Caelum" he whispered out, his breath coming out in short gasps. He clawed at his clothes, trying to get them off, "hot", he whimpered, his mind became hazy and his vision blurry.
Caelum was confused, "by the gods, what is this all of a sudden?" he went back to the table and pressed a button, "Hello, Sepehr, I need assistance" he said urgently.
The Sepehr's voice came from the other end, the signal making it hard to decipher what he was saying but Caelum would hear the panic in his voice, "I…the…feral…" were the only words he could make out before the line went dead.
"Hello? Sepehr! Shit" he hit the table and went back to Berry, the boy who had already taken off half of his clothes.
"Hey hey you'll be okay, just stay with me okay?" he looked around the room before his eyes landed on the wardrobe, he rushed to it, pulling out a hoodie and bringing it back to put it on Berry.
"Hot!!" Berry protested but he still managed to put the oversized hoodie on his body and then picked him up.
"Let's get you to the lab" he said walking out of the room hastily.
But the chaos he was greeted with made him stop in his tracks.
"By the gods...what is this?"