Archive of Our Own

It had been 3 years since Gio reappeared in Yu Sungwoon's life after making him think he was dead for a whole year.

Yu Sungwoon never blamed Gio for that. It was all Bisabeol's fault. His Gio was innocent.

Ah.

He'd really tried to stop thinking of Gio in possessive terms like that, since he was now much closer to human than before, but he still slipped up sometimes.

Actually, no. He hadn't really tried all that hard to get rid of the habit. Gio had started off as his Artwork, then became his Eye of the Origin. His. Regardless of what kind of being Gio was, he was his.

He knew that kind of thinking wasn't exactly sane, but that was just how Gardeners were. It'd be stranger if he remained sane when faced with the Eye of the Origin.

“Gio's Portrait” no longer existed, or to be more precise, it became 4 different portraits. Gio had explained it to him before. He'd said that if he—Seo Gio—died, then the other 4 would follow, but not vice versa, because he was their creator and tether. He'd compared it to being a figurehead boss. How incredibly like him.

Yu Sungwoon chuckled without realizing it as he thought of Gio. He was currently headed to see that very man.

Once his body was stabilized enough about a year ago, Gio started a restaurant. Unsurprisingly, business was booming. It was bound to happen considering how good Gio's cooking is. Bisabeol had been vehemently against it, but no one could stop Gio if he really wanted to do something, and Gio truly couldn't stand relying on others’ money all the time. He'd repaid the money he'd borrowed to open his restaurant within 6 months of opening. Despite grumbling, Bisabeol had helped Gio get a new Resident Registration Card and pulled some strings so Gio could get the loan since Gio had no income history or credit score history.

Now that it'd been 3 years, Gio was no longer in a “fetal state,” as he put it. He'd improved a lot, but he wasn't quite complete yet. If Yu Sungwoon had to describe it, the current Gio was at the level of a somewhat frail young master, rather than a baby who could die at the slightest poke.

Anyways, that frail young master of his came down with a fever. It was quite fascinating to Yu Sungwoon, all things considered, that a being so closely tied to the Origin could get sick at all, but most of all, he was worried. Gio had to close his restaurant for a bit since he was the only chef there, by his own preference. He gave the servers paid time off while he was recovering.

This was the third day of Gio's fever, and now that he'd learned human medicine actually worked on Gio, Yu Sungwoon was headed to him with it.

Gio had been staying at Yu Sungwoon's place for about a year. Yu Sungwoon didn't win against Bisabeol, Gio did.

Well, not quite. He threatened that he would destroy every Artwork in the Collection, and he was a being who was perfectly capable of it, so it must've really gotten to his Guildmaster. Yu Sungwoon himself had been appalled when he heard that, but then Gio explained that it was Argio who actually made the threat after becoming sick and tired of Bisabeol keeping Gio locked up, and suddenly it all made sense.

That damn Guildmaster deserved it.

It'd been 3 years now, but he wasn't sure he'd ever forgive Bisabeol for keeping Gio hidden from him for an entire year and letting him think he was dead.

Anyways, the reason Gio was living with Yu Sungwoon and not Joohyun was because Joohyun lost at rock-paper-scissors.

Living with Gio was really enjoyable. He's a tidy man who always cleans up after himself, he's not loud at all, and above all, the meals he makes could ruin nations. Yu Sungwoon felt himself becoming more and more helpless towards Gio every time he ate his food. Besides, Gio's face was certainly a treat on its own.

They shared all the spaces in the apartment. The closet was huge anyways, so Gio had no problem fitting his clothes into one side of it, and the bathroom had 2 toothbrushes. Yu Sungwoon really liked seeing how Gio's daily life had mixed into his.

Him and Joohyun had been taking turns looking after the bedridden Gio, and since Joohyun was incredibly busy tonight, it was his turn. Gio's fever was gradually getting lower, thankfully, but he wasn't fully better yet. However, he should be able to make a full recovery soon.

Yu Sungwoon went into the elevator and pressed his floor. He also bought some fish-shaped buns with him because he knew Gio really liked those.

The elevator doors soon opened again, and he stepped out and walked to his apartment. He unlocked the door and went in, taking off his shoes and changing into slippers. The door automatically locked again on its own.

As he walked in, he looked at the snowfield painting named “Yu Sungwoon” that was framed and hung up on the wall. Gio had done it, insisting that since he was the one who painted it and that it was named after Yu Sungwoon, it would only make sense for it to be in the place where they lived together. He also reassured Yu Sungwoon that he'd blocked Georgio from being able to interact with them or even peer into the apartment through it since he valued his privacy and he knew Yu Sungwoon did as well. They couldn't get absorbed into it either, it was basically just a normal painting. Honestly, Yu Sungwoon really loved it. Gio had painted it for him, and it was reminiscent of his Garden.

There was only one bedroom in his apartment, so he and Gio had been taking turns sleeping on the couch. Originally, he was fine with just being permanently relegated to the couch for Gio's comfort, but Gio absolutely wouldn't have it. They also sometimes just shared the bed since it was big enough. He changed from his work uniform into ice blue pajamas, put the fish-shaped buns in the fridge, and headed to the bedroom. Gio was currently laying on his bed in his black pajamas with a wet towel on his head, sleeping peacefully. Joohyun had been free for most of the day today, so he was the one who put it on Gio. Yu Sungwoon had gotten a text from him about an hour ago saying that he was going to head out now and to make sure to look after Gio.

Yu Sungwoon went closer to him, then he realized Gio wasn't having a restful sleep at all. He was covered in sweat, excessive even for someone with a fever, his expression looked agonized, his breathing was ragged, and he was groaning softly.

Yu Sungwoon felt his heart drop. Gio had already told him about the nightmares he'd been having ever since he started to feel negative emotions, those of what happened at “Portrait.”

He hated seeing Gio in pain, so when tears started falling from his eyes, Yu Sungwoon urgently shook Gio's shoulder and tried to wake him up.

“Gio. Hey, Gio.”

“Mmm…”

Gio stirred. He slightly opened his eyes, and Yu Sungwoon's heart just dropped further at how red they looked, yet he simultaneously thought Gio looked beautiful like this.

He cupped Gio's cheek with one hand and wiped away his tears with the other.

“Hey, hey, you're alright. You're safe here. Everything's okay now.”

Gio, dazed from both the fever and his nightmare, leaned into the hand cupping his cheek.

“Mhm… hyung, you're cold. It feels nice.”

Yu Sungwoon didn't show any outward reaction and just kept wiping away Gio's tears, but his inner mind wasn't quite so calm.

“Hyung”? Since when?

Yu Sungwoon had only ever been called “Mr. Yu Sungwoon” by Gio before. Even after living together for a year, that hadn't changed. He really had no idea how to react, and Gio himself didn't seem aware that he'd called him that. He wasn't in any state to be conscious of it.

After Yu Sungwoon wiped away the last of his tears, Gio leaned even farther into his cold palm and dragged him closer by the sleeve of his shirt.

“Sleep beside me. You're a nice cooler.”

Yu Sungwoon couldn't help but chuckle at that. Gio was treating him like a living cooler, but he'd do as he wished anyways. That was how it'd always been.

He tried to let go of Gio's cheek to go onto the bed from the other side, but Gio didn't let him. He grabbed Yu Sungwoon’s wrist and pulled him on top of him, then turned them both onto their sides. The wet towel on Gio’s forehead fell somewhere in the process.

After that, he latched onto him like a koala.

Wow. I've really been reduced to a cooler.

Yu Sungwoon could've resisted if he wanted to—he was an A-Rank Hunter—but he had no desire to do that. He'd always been willing to follow Gio's whims.

More importantly, Gio now looked much better than before. He'd already gone back to sleep, though Yu Sungwoon suspected he never fully woke up.

I think I'll ask him about that hyung thing tomorrow.

Tomorrow was one of his rare days off—or more like he'd taken it off to stay with Gio since Joohyun couldn't—and he really was curious. Since when had Gio thought of him that way? The medicine and fish-shaped buns could also wait until then.

He felt bad for thinking this while Gio was suffering from a fever, but his heightened body temperature felt really nice for Yu Sungwoon. In exchange for Gio using him as a cooler, it seemed that he'd gotten a heater.

While watching Gio's peaceful sleeping face, he felt a swell of affection rise up. He really couldn't help himself, so he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Gio's forehead.

Haha, this is bad.

Yu Sungwoon didn't know what to do about these feelings of his, or what exactly they even were.

He didn't even know when it happened, just that at one point he'd started seeing Gio in a different light from others. However, even if this truly was love, he didn't expect anything in return. He was a Gardener. Gardeners poured endless love into their Gardens without ever expecting anything in return, and this would be no different.

…I should just go to sleep.

Feeling exquisite warmth from Gio who was hugging him like a koala, his eyelids began to feel heavy. Before he knew it, he fell asleep.

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Yu Sungwoon woke up before Gio. At 7 AM. It was a habit ingrained in him, being a worker in today's world. He truly felt blessed that the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Gio's face.

He yawned and stretched his arms, and that seemed to wake up Gio, who somehow hadn't let go of him all night.

“Mmmm…”

Gio opened his eyes, although he still looked extremely groggy. Yu Sungwoon felt a little apologetic.

“Ah, sorry. Did I wake you up?”

“…No. I had a pleasant sleep thanks to you, Mr. Yu Sungwoon.”

“Then I'm glad.”

He didn't show it outwardly, but Yu Sungwoon felt a little disappointed.

Back to “Mr. Yu Sungwoon,” are we? I wish he'd just call me hyung like yesterday.

Regardless, Yu Sungwoon pressed the back of his hand to Gio's forehead.

“Hmm. I think your fever's gone or at least almost gone.”

“It's gone.”

“…? How can you be so sure?”

“I just can. Please trust me.”

Yu Sungwoon looked at him suspiciously then decided to get up. Gio sat up on the bed frame and watched him put on his slippers, walk out of the room, then return a moment later with a thermometer in hand.

“How cruel. Have our years of friendship meant nothing to you? You can't trust me?”

“Unfortunately, no. I can't trust you when it comes to your own well-being.”

Perhaps it was because Gio wasn't quite used to that human body of his yet, but he often pushed himself too hard without even realizing it. Yu Sungwoon approached him with the thermometer.

“Open your mouth.”

Gio obediently did so, and Yu Sungwoon gently placed the thermometer under his tongue. Gio closed his mouth around it. Once Yu Sungwoon heard a beep, he took it out and looked at Gio's temperature.

37.0°C.

“…Hmm. I guess your fever really is gone.”

“I told you.”

Gio looked up at him proudly, and Yu Sungwoon just let out a fond sigh.

“Yes, yes. You're always right, Gio.”

“I'm glad you know.”

Yu Sungwoon burst into laughter at that, and Gio let out a small laugh of his own as well.

I'll just keep the medicine I got yesterday here in case Gio ever needs it again.

Yu Sungwoon, being his Snowfield's Gardener, didn't catch fevers. That's just how his constitution was.

Ah. Yu Sungwoon just remembered another thing he got for Gio yesterday.

“I got you some fish-shaped buns yesterday, you can have them after breakfast.”

“How many did you buy?”

“…10.”

Gio chuckled at that. Ever since the first time Yu Sungwoon had gotten him fish-shaped buns all the way back when he was a Curator in charge of him, he always bought 10. It seemed he was well aware of Gio's large appetite.

Yu Sungwoon thought it was nice to see Gio happy. Ever since he'd become much more expressive, Yu Sungwoon has been able to see many faces on him, but his favorite remained Gio's smiling face.

“Anyways, what would you like for breakfast?”

“You're cooking?”

“I'm not letting a patient cook.”

“You’ve been the one cooking for the last three days, let me do it. I'm not a patient anymore.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, young master. So, what would you like for breakfast?”

Gio huffed at Yu Sungwoon's stubbornness, but Yu Sungwoon had no intention of backing down. Gio's fever may have broken, but if he pushed himself now, it could easily return.

Gio seemed to understand that he was coming from a place of concern and let it go. He then stayed quiet for a while. Yu Sungwoon didn't say anything since he knew Gio was thinking about what he wanted to eat.

“…I want doenjang-jjigae, please.”

“Your wish is my command.”

As Yu Sungwoon playfully replied, he noticed that Gio’s eyelids were drooping. It wasn’t surprising, Gio's body wasn't complete yet, so it was better for him to sleep as much as possible so his paint-human body stabilized further.

Knowing this, Yu Sungwoon covered Gio's eyes with one hand and held his waist and gently pulled him down so his head was back on the pillows with the other. Gio's head turned towards him in confusion.

“Rest.”

“But—”

“No buts. I'll wake you up when breakfast is ready.”

“…Okay.”

With that, Yu Sungwoon removed his hands from Gio. Gio's half-lidded eyes looked up into his.

“…Thank you.”

“Don't mention it.”

Yu Sungwoon knew that Gio was talking about more than just breakfast. Even if he didn't remember what exactly he'd said, he probably had a vague memory of Yu Sungwoon waking him up from his nightmare and comforting him. He watched Gio immediately fall asleep. He'd seen it many times before, but he remained impressed at how fast the man could fall asleep.

Now that Gio was asleep again, Yu Sungwoon found the wet towel that had fallen yesterday and put it away, brushed his teeth and washed his face and hands, then went into the kitchen. He put on an apron.

He thought for a moment about what side dishes to make with the doenjang-jjigae.

Kimchi and rice are a given. Gio likes spicy food, so I should also make oi muchim. Hmm, I'd like to add one more… ah, let's go with gyeran-jjim.

Yu Sungwoon himself wasn't picky. He didn't think Gio was picky either, but he had noticed that Gio enjoyed certain dishes more than others.

Perhaps Gio had rubbed off on him, but he'd come to enjoy cooking quite a bit. He never had any problems with it, and while he wasn't on Gio's level, he was a pretty decent chef after having lived alone for so long, but he didn't particularly enjoy it before meeting Gio. The pantry and fridge were also stocked thanks to Gio.

He started with the doenjang-jjigae. Yu Sungwoon pulled out shrimp, a green chili pepper, a potato, a zucchini, garlic, an onion, dried anchovies with their guts removed, tofu, fermented soybean paste, a dashi bag, and 2 green onions from the fridge and pantry.

He cut the potato and tofu into about half inch cubes, then cut the zucchini and onion into half inch pieces as well. He deveined, washed, and coarsely chopped 4 large shrimp, but kept the shell on them.

After that, he cut the stem from the green chili pepper and chopped the pepper. He minced 4 garlic gloves, then chopped the 2 green onions.

With the ingredients ready, he brought out an earthenware pot. He put the shrimp, garlic, potato, onion, zucchini, and chili pepper into it. He put 7 anchovies in the dashi bag and added that as well. Finally, he added water, turned the stove to medium-high heat, and covered the pot. Now he needed to wait for 15 minutes.

While waiting for the doenjang-jjigae, he went ahead with making the rice. He washed it multiple times until the water became clear. Instead of using water to cook the rice, he opened the fridge and took out the pre-made bone broth. He'd made it himself 2 days ago, knowing that Gio preferred rice cooked in bone broth.

This specific rice was long-grained brown rice—Gio seemed to prefer brown rice with doenjang-jjigae—so he poured 2 cups of it into a pot, poured 4 cups of the bone broth on top, then added 2 teaspoons of salt.

He'd love to have picked up Gio's magical ability of not needing precise measurements, but he wasn't at that level.

With the pot the rice was in lidded and on the stove, he returned to the doenjang-jjigae. It had been about 15 minutes.

He stirred the fermented soybean paste into the earthenware pot and mixed well. He covered the pot again. A 20 minute wait this time.

While that was cooking, he started on the oi muchim. He took out an English cucumber, an onion, a green onion, gochugaru, soy sauce, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. He washed the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, then cut those 2 halves into diagonal slices. He chopped the green onion, cut the onion into thin slices, and minced 2 garlic cloves using the garlic he'd already taken out for the doenjang-jjigae.

He got a large bowl and put in the cucumber, green onion, a ¼ cup of the sliced onion, garlic, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of gochugaru…

Hmm. Actually, let's add 4. I think just 2 would leave it too mild for Gio, and I can handle spice just fine.

Correction—4 teaspoons of gochugaru. He also added 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds. Lastly, he mixed it all together. Oi muchim done.

Only 15 minutes had passed, since oi muchim didn't take long at all. He still had another 5 minutes before he needed to add the tofu to the doenjang-jjigae, so he got started on the gyeran-jjim.

He pulled out 5 large eggs and yet another green onion from the fridge, then toasted sesame oil from the pantry. He decided to use the bone broth for this as well. He chopped the green onion. He pulled out an earthenware bowl and cracked all 5 eggs into it, then added the green onion and 1 cup of bone broth and whisked it all together. He then set the heat to medium-low, put it on the stove, and covered it with a heat-safe ceramic bowl. Now, a 12 minute wait.

The remaining 5 minutes needed for the doenjang-jjigae had passed, so he added the tofu in and covered the pot once again then let it cook for three minutes. After that, he took it off the stove, turned the stove off, removed the anchovies from the dashi bag and threw it out along with the vegetable remains on the cutting board he'd used, and placed the pot onto a trivet he'd already placed on the kitchen table. He also got a ladle and placed it into the pot.

The rice was done, so he turned the stovetop it was placed on off. 6 minutes had passed, so another 6 to go until the gyeran-jjim was done. Yu Sungwoon plated the rice and oi muchim then placed them onto the kitchen table as well.

The remaining 6 minutes for the gyeran-jjim had passed, so he turned the stovetop for that off as well and carefully removed the ceramic bowl cover with his bare hands. It couldn't burn him, considering his affinity with frost. He then drizzled 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil on top.

He placed the earthenware bowl on another trivet he'd prepared. Lastly, kimchi.

Thankfully, there was the kimchi he'd been fermenting for a little over a day.

He'd made it the day before yesterday at night. Technically, they already had kimchi, but it had been fermented for longer. He knew Gio would eat it either way but he'd noticed that Gio looked happier when eating kimchi that hadn't been fermented for too long. It was probably because Gio preferred sweet and savory foods compared to bitter and sour ones.

He plated it and placed it on the kitchen table, and also placed his and Gio's chopsticks on it.

Done.

Yu Sungwoon felt strangely proud of himself. He was seeing his hard work materialized in the form of delicious food. It also felt like he was finally able to give Gio something in return for all the times he'd taken care of Yu Sungwoon at his cabin.

He looked at the clock. An hour had passed while he was making breakfast.

Honestly, he didn't want to wake Gio up again so soon. However, he knew Gio would rather be woken up than eat a cold or reheated breakfast, so he went back into the bedroom.

Gio was sleeping, and his expression thankfully remained peaceful. His breathing was steady and even.

Yu Sungwoon shook him awake, thinking that this was a welcome change compared to how Gio had looked in his sleep when he came home yesterday.

“Gio.”

“…Yes.”

He sounded like he wasn't quite fully conscious yet, but he replied.

“Breakfast is ready, come on.”

Gio seemed to fully wake up at the word “breakfast.” He sat up.

“I smell doenjang-jjigae. Is that breakfast?”

“You specifically requested doenjang-jjigae. Why would I make something else?”

“Ah, I did.”

Gio, still shaking off the morning brain fog, seemed to just remember what he'd requested for breakfast. He quickly put on his slippers, brushed his teeth and washed his face and hands, then followed Yu Sungwoon to the kitchen.

Gio looked subtly delighted when he saw the spread on the table.

“Did you read my mind? Why are all my favorite side dishes here?”

“Let's just say it's that ‘power of friendship’ that you're so fond of.”

Gio chuckled at that and Yu Sungwoon gave a smile in return. They took seats opposite each other at the table and both picked up their chopsticks. Gio used the ladle to pour the doenjang-jjigae on top of his rice, and Yu Sungwoon did the same after him. They both dug into the food.

After having eaten a bit of everything, Gio spoke.

“Delicious. You used bone broth for the rice and gyeran-jjim, didn't you?”

“I remain impressed no matter how many times you guess stuff like that, you really are a gourmet. Yeah, you're right.”

“I pride myself on being a glutton. Good food is meant to be enjoyed.”

“I'm glad you think my food is good, but is priding yourself on being a glutton the reason why you're trying to turn everyone else into one?”

“You catch on quickly. I shouldn't be the only one enjoying delicious food, everyone should join me.”

“You really might achieve it with how good your food is.”

Yu Sungwoon chuckled. He'd said it before, but Gio's cooking could truly ruin nations.

“Why thank you, Mr. Yu Sungwoon. That's truly pleasing to my ears, since I plan to succeed one day.”

Aside from the faint worry he felt over Earth’s future state at Gio's words considering countries might really start wars over his cooking, he also remembered something he'd wanted to ask Gio.

“Right, Gio.”

“Yes?”

Gio never talked with his mouth full, so it was empty right now. Yu Sungwoon thought it was best to ask him now lest he choke on his food at the question.

“Since when have you thought of me as your hyung?”

“…”

Yu Sungwoon's worry was warranted. If Gio had food in his mouth, he definitely would've choked. He was looking at him like a deer in headlights. His cheeks and ears were tinged red, a rare look on him. Yu Sungwoon thought he looked cute like that. He rarely thought of Gio as “cute,” more like “beautiful,” “handsome,” “gorgeous,” or “ethereal.” Still, the first word that came to mind each of the rare times he'd seen him blushing was “cute.”

After a long moment of silence, Gio finally responded.

“…Can you really read minds? How do you even know that?”

Hmm. Yu Sungwoon had already suspected it, but it seemed that Gio didn't remember what he'd said in his half-asleep state yesterday. The reason he didn't bat an eye at waking up hugging Yu Sungwoon was probably because they'd slept beside each other many times before, and they usually ended up entangled in their sleep.

“I can't read minds, this is unfair. If anything, you're more likely to be able to do that. It's just that you called me ‘hyung’ yesterday.”

Gio looked horrified.

“I'm sorry—”

“Wait, wait. I'm not bringing this up to scold you. If anything, I was pleased. I was also curious—you know my nature as a Researcher. That's why I'm asking how long it's been since you've thought of me that way. You've never called me anything other than ‘Mr. Yu Sungwoon’ before.”

After hearing that, Gio no longer looked horrified, but he still had a somewhat nervous expression on his face.

“…I'm not sure you'll like the answer.”

“Now what in the world does that mean?”

He meant that. What in the world was Gio talking about?

“Regardless, I want to know. If I don't like the answer, then it's my fault for asking, not your fault for answering.”

Gio stared at him for a while before he hesitantly spoke.

“Do you remember the first time I went into the outside world with you?”

“Yeah. We went to Gyeongbokgung Palace and wore hanboks.”

That was earlier than he'd expected. Yu Sungwoon was really curious about what exactly had caused the shift in what Gio called him in his mind.

“You gave me a no-limit card and told me to use it as I wished.”

“That I did.”

Gio paused for a while after that. Just as Yu Sungwoon started to wonder if he wasn't going to say anything else, he spoke again.

“…That terrified me.”

“…Terrified you…?”

Yu Sungwoon was dumbfounded. Why did that make Gio terrified?

He asked as much.

“Why did that terrify you?”

“We'd only known each other for a few months at the time, and yet you were handing me a no-limit card like it was nothing. I was terrified. Capitalism has instilled that fear in me. That was when I started calling you ‘hyung’—no, ‘hyung-nim’ in my head. It eventually became ‘hyung.’”

“‘Hyung-nim’…”

Yu Sungwoon remained motionless for a while before he burst into laughter. It was Gio's turn to be dumbfounded.

“S-Seriously? You're not messing with me? Was it really because of that? Hahahaha!”

“I have no reason to lie about this.”

“Yeah, you don't, but I just can't believe it. The card. Haha, the card!”

“…I really don't think it's that funny.”

“It definitely is.”

Yu Sungwoon, having calmed down after his bout of laughter, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. After that, he took on a relatively more serious expression, although he was still smiling.

“I don’t mind at all. You're free to call me ‘hyung’ instead of ‘Mr. Yu Sungwoon.’ Actually, I think I'd prefer it.”

“That's bad manners.”

“How can it be bad manners when I'm the one telling you that you're welcome to do so?”

“…Hmm…”

Gio seemed to ponder over it for a moment before nodding. That came easier than Yu Sungwoon had expected.

“Alright. I think I would also prefer to call you that.”

“Oh? How sweet.”

Gio just smiled.

“I'm glad you think so, Sungwoon-hyung.”

“…”

Yu Sungwoon had been too hasty. He wasn't sure he could handle this after having been called “Mr. Yu Sungwoon” for so long.

Meanwhile, it was Gio's turn to think Yu Sungwoon's rare red-tinted ears and cheeks were cute.

Anyways, they continued their breakfast while chatting about this and that. It was an extremely pleasant morning for both of them.

Once they were finished eating, Gio collected all the empty dishes. He then started heading to the sink. Since both of his hands were full, Yu Sungwoon didn't grab them and instead lightly tugged at the hem of Gio's shirt. Gio looked down at him.

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

“I'm going to wash the dishes.”

“Did you already forget what I said about you being a patient?”

“Did you forget what I said about me no longer being a patient?”

“Gio.”

“Sungwoon-hyung.”

“…Dirty tactics.”

“I'm not sure what you're talking about.”

Yu Sungwoon lost.

“Still, let me help you with drying them at least.”

“Only if you promise not to even try to have that escalate to helping me with washing them. You'll only dry them.”

“But—”

“No buts.”

“Throwing my own words back at me now, are you?”

Yu Sungwoon chuckled weakly. He was hopeless against Gio.

“Alright, fine. I promise.”

“Good. If you break your promise then I'll absorb you into the Origin.”

“You do know that plenty of Gardeners would prefer to go that way, right?”

“I do, but I also know that you're adamant on remaining human until the very end.”

“…Ugh.”

He was right. Yu Sungwoon had no intention of merging into the Origin. Gio had started making jokes like that ever since he created his paint-human body, and Yu Sungwoon knew he would never actually follow through on that threat. Gio respected his will far too much for that. He was simply warning him that he'd truly get angry if Yu Sungwoon did any more than drying the dishes.

Even if Gio's anger would no longer lead to Catastrophes on Earth, he just didn't want to see Gio angry because of him.

They started cleaning the dishes, Gio washing them then handing them to Yu Sungwoon, and Yu Sungwoon drying them then putting them away. It didn't take too long for them to finish cleaning all of them.

As he watched Gio dry his hands, a question rose in Yu Sungwoon’s mind.

Maybe the domesticity that had been going on for a year had melted some of his brain, or maybe the feelings he'd kept bottled up for so long were finally getting to him. Regardless of the reason, he asked.

“What do you think of love?”

Gio looked down at him.

“Love?”

“Yeah.”

Yu Sungwoon's own selfish desires may have played a part in that question, but he was also truly curious. That was his nature as both a Gardener and a Researcher. He wanted to know. What did the Eye of the Origin think of the concept of love?

If the question got him into trouble, it wouldn't be the first time his curiosity didn't end well, so he decided to go ahead and ask it.

“This is probably going to take a while, so we should move to the couch.”

After Gio said that, Yu Sungwoon followed him to the couch. He sat with his legs crossed, and Gio sat with his knees together. Gio looked at him and started speaking.

“Love is beautiful.”

“…I didn't expect that.”

“I truly think it is. Do you remember Jung Seowoo?”

“Unfortunately.”

Seeing Yu Sungwoon's utterly displeased expression, Gio chuckled.

“I didn't know you hated him so much.”

“Why would I feel anything positive towards that fool who tormented you when you were human then expected mercy from you when you became a God?”

“…Oh dear. You'll have to forgive me for going ahead with this story despite your deep hatred for him. I met him once.”

“I know.”

It had gone through both Bisabeol and Yu Sungwoon. He frankly hadn't wanted Gio to face that vile man, but Gio's own will came first.

“Back then, he had this whole plan. Of turning me into an ideal God and using people's faith to take away the emotions I'd just gotten, since the perception of Gods ends up truly affecting them.”

“…I know.”

He already knew about it, but hearing it again wasn't exactly pleasant.

“Haha! You should see your face right now, hyung.”

“Is that your way of trying to get me to feel better?”

“Yes. Did it work?”

“Unfortunately, it did.”

Gio laughed again then turned his head to look at some indistinct point.

“I'm glad. Anyways, when I met him, he said all kinds of things about my students. He clearly expected me to hate them. He even expected me to want Sohee and Eunhye dead.”

Yu Sungwoon didn't know that part. Gio hadn't gone into the details of his conversation with Jung Seowoo, when he'd asked Gio he only got a “it wasn’t the worst thing ever.”

He stayed quiet and listened.

“He didn't even consider the possibility that despite everything, I might still hold affection for them, I might still love them. It made me pity him, that way of thinking was only possible because he'd never loved anyone before.”

“…”

Gio looked at Yu Sungwoon again.

“I think love is what truly gives life meaning. A person could accumulate as much money as they want, as many connections as they want, and as much power as they want, but they would just be hollow beings without love. It doesn't necessarily need to be love for a person. Love for nature, for clothes, for art, or for food. All of it is meaningful. Connections between humans are incredibly important, but they aren't the only reason love exists.”

He gave Yu Sungwoon a devastatingly gentle smile.

“Honestly, I've never experienced romantic love. Or maybe I have, and I just have trouble telling different kinds of love apart. It never mattered to me. I think any kind of love is a beautiful thing. I love my students, my grandmother, and my creations. Everyone seems to put the most weight on romantic love, but I’ve never understood why. I will never understand why one kind of love is treated as superior to the other.”

Yu Sungwoon couldn’t hold it in anymore. He knew it was selfish, and he knew it was greedy, but he truly couldn't.

“Gio, I think I love you.”

He knew he saw Gio in a different light from others, but his feelings didn't seem to match the traditional definition of romantic love. He knew Gio was special to him, but he didn't know if that was love or not.

Gio's view of love had pushed him off the edge. That he didn't view one kind of love as superior to another, that he thought any kind of love was a beautiful thing.

Gio's gentle smile didn't change.

“Me? Or all of ‘Gio's Portraits?’”

“You. Seo Gio. I feel fondness for Giovanni, Argio, and even Georgio, but what I feel towards you isn't quite the same. I can't really put it into words, I just—”

“It's alright.”

Gio calmed him down.

“I understand.”

“…You do?”

“Yes. I think I love you too.”

Yu Sungwoon froze at that. He looked completely stunned. Gio chuckled at his reaction.

He barely managed to get his wits together and speak.

“But you said you've never experienced romantic love. That's what I mean. I think I love you in the romantic sense, though I'm not entirely sure.”

“I also said that perhaps I have trouble distinguishing between different kinds of love. My doubt there stems from you. I love many things and many people, but what I feel for you feels like a different kind of love, although I'm still unsure if it's what people usually call ‘romantic love’ or something else.”

“…So we're on the same boat.”

“Yes, we are. We can figure it out together.”

“What do you mean?”

“We can figure out whether this is romantic love or not together. Even if it doesn't match most people's experiences, love isn't such a narrow thing. We can take our time.”

“Are you saying that we should start dating? Wait, no, pseudo-dating?”

“Pseudo-dating is a funny term, but I guess it's not really wrong. We'll go on dates, give each other gifts, and support each other.”

“Excluding the dates, that doesn't really sound all that different from what we've been doing so far.”

“It isn't, but that's what I mean by we can take our time. If there's something we think we'd like to do other than those, we'll do it. We'll figure out what the ‘love’ we feel towards each other is and how we'd like it to take shape along the way.”

All of a sudden, another question popped up in Yu Sungwoon's head.

Gio raised an eyebrow at him.

“I know that look. You're curious about something again, aren't you?”

“Yes, I am, but no matter how I think about it, this is an insanely inappropriate question to ask.”

“Just ask. I won't take offense.”

Yu Sungwoon's curious nature was too strong, so he ended up asking the question.

“Can you feel sexual desire?”

He really wanted to know. Could a being so closely tied to the Origin feel sexual desire?

Gio paused momentarily before he answered.

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

As Yu Sungwoon looked at him with that look of intense curiosity he got whenever he was fixated on something, Gio started fidgeting.

“I… I don't think I'd mind having sex if it's with you.”

Yu Sungwoon appreciated the incredibly rare occurrence of seeing Gio's red-tinted ears and cheeks twice in one day. However, he still had questions.

“Not minding isn't the same as enjoying it, Gio. That's sexual desire. If we're going to have sex, I'd want you to enjoy it, not just be indifferent.”

“Hyung, before that, what about you?”

“…Me?”

“Yes. Do you feel sexual desire? Would you enjoy, not just be indifferent, to having sex with me?”

Yu Sungwoon went silent for a long while. He really thought about it before he answered.

“It's… I would enjoy it, both pleasuring you and being pleasured, but I'd prefer to be the one pleasuring you if possible. I would want to see your reactions, most of all.”

“…Do you want me to be a pillow princess?”

“Where in the world did you even learn that term?”

They both felt embarrassed, but they pushed forward. Yu Sungwoon spoke again.

“No, I'd just prefer to be the one taking the lead most of the time. Anyways, I've answered, so it's your turn now, Gio. Would you enjoy sex with me, not just ‘not mind’ it?”

“…I'm really not sure. I know I wouldn't hate it, but as you said, that's not the same as enjoying it. It really has nothing to do with you as a partner, I just—”

“It's okay.”

“…It is?”

“Yes, Gio. It's okay. We won't have sex if you don't want to, it's as simple as that.”

Gio stared at the gentle smile Yu Sungwoon was giving him and felt himself gradually calm down.

“…Thank you.”

“What in the world are you thanking me for? You're a silly man.”

Gio chuckled at that, and Yu Sungwoon was just glad to see him happy again.

They somehow reached a silent agreement to move on from this topic. Yu Sungwoon smoothly shifted to another topic.

“Are we dating now, then?”

“Pseudo-dating, as you put it.”

“Right. Pseudo-dating.”

They stared at each other for a moment before they both started laughing.

“Wow. How ridiculous. I'm too old to be so awkward about dating.”

“You don't look a day over 25, hyung.”

“Thanks, Gio, but that's really not the point here… wait. How old are you? You said you were 29 when we first met, but you should've started aging only after you made that paint body of yours.”

“You're right. My current age would be 33.”

“We're 6 years apart, huh.”

“Outwardly, we really don't look like we're at different ages.”

“Yeah. I guess you're right.”

Yu Sungwoon smiled, then felt this mundane desire well up as he looked into Gio's eyes. He spoke it aloud.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Oh my. How forward.”

“Gio.”

“…Sorry. Yes, you can.”

With Gio's permission, Yu Sungwoon put one hand on his waist and cupped his cheek with the other. He then leant in so close that their noses were touching and their breaths were intermingling. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

“You really are beautiful.”

After he said that, Yu Sungwoon didn't give Gio a chance to respond and pressed their lips together. They both closed their eyes. Gio grabbed his waist with one hand and the back of his head with the other, then laid down on the couch and pulled Yu Sungwoon on top of him.

Yu Sungwoon smiled against his mouth.

He licked Gio's bottom lip, and Gio opened his mouth in response. They could taste today's breakfast on each other's tongues, but neither of them cared. Gio rubbed his thumb along Yu Sungwoon's nape as they kissed.

Yu Sungwoon squeezed his waist, and he let out a muffled moan. That egged Yu Sungwoon on farther. He kissed Gio relentlessly, only stopping momentarily to let them both catch their breath before diving back in.

Gio's reactions were a work of art in their own right. He enjoyed every soft gasp, every quiet, muffled moan, feeling like he was floating and his only tether to the ground was Gio.

He bit Gio's bottom lip until it bled, and he thought the tiny whimper, the slightly furrowed brows, and the light tug at his hair that he got in response were exquisite. He licked the wound in apology and continued kissing him.

Again. Again. Again. He felt like he was parched and Gio was his only oasis. Gio's hand on his waist had moved and was clutching at the back of his shirt. Yu Sungwoon just kept going until both of their lips felt numb.

After what could've been 30 minutes or 5 hours, Gio pulled him away by his nape and sat up on his elbow. They were both red, gasping for air, and a string of saliva connected their lips. Gio glanced at it for a moment before looking back up at Yu Sungwoon.

“Hyung.”

Yu Sungwoon didn't respond. He just kept staring at Gio's slightly bloody, swollen lips. Gio stared at him in return.

“…”

He tugged at Yu Sungwoon’s hair. Only then did Yu Sungwoon look him in the eyes.

“…Sorry, did you say something?”

“You didn't hear me. I expected as much, you had this crazy look in your eyes.”

“I probably did, didn't I?”

He laughed, then rubbed his thumb over Gio's bottom lip.

“Did it hurt?”

“Of course it did, but I didn't really mind.”

“Anything else?”

“…”

As he watched Yu Sungwoon's patient smile, Gio realized that the man was willing to wait as long as needed to get an answer. He felt a bit flustered, but he got the words out.

“…I liked it.”

“Then I'm glad.”

“You also have my blood on your lips now.”

“Oh, do I?”

Once Yu Sungwoon removed his thumb from Gio's lip, Gio cupped Yu Sungwoon's cheek and rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip, mirroring what the other had just done. Yu Sungwoon leaned into his palm. He covered Gio's hand with his own—it was a bit bigger and warmer than Yu Sungwoon's hand—then turned to kiss Gio's palm.

“Greedy.”

Yu Sungwoon chuckled at that.

“You've known that I'm greedy for a while now.”

“Yes, I have.”

Gio smiled up at him. Yu Sungwoon had never been much of an artist, but he got an urge to pick up a brush and paint the sight. He pulled Gio along so they were both sitting up once again, and Gio turned to him.

“What do you want to paint?”

“…Huh? Wait, how? How did you even know that I want to paint something? Gio, are you lying to me about not being able to read minds?”

“I'm not lying. I've just seen that look on myself many times before, and every time was when I felt an urge to paint.”

Yu Sungwoon blinked.

“…That makes sense, you are quite the artist.”

“You flatter me. Anyways, I'd like to know what you wanted to paint.”

“…Your smile.”

“Oh?”

That very same smile returned to Gio's face.

“Am I your muse, then? What a lovely thing to hear.”

“Gio, stop teasing me.”

“I don’t think I will, hyung. It's just too fun. I'm also being sincere, I'd be willing to model for you any day.”

“I wouldn't be able to do your beauty justice.”

Gio laughed at that.

“You have made it pretty obvious that you think I'm gorgeous.”

“It's not a matter of thinking it or not, you just are gorgeous.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. I often want to paint you.”

“You’ve already painted a piece named after me.”

“That’s not the same. That one was your essence, I want to paint your beauty.”

“…”

Yu Sungwoon was incredibly flustered at that. He felt his face heat up a bit.

“…Geez… how am I even supposed to respond to that?”

“By letting me paint you.”

“Is that really something you need my permission for?”

“Yes.”

He already knew that. Gio never painted people without their consent. He also knew that at this point, Gio painting him wouldn't lead to a clone of him being created, so he allowed it. With a condition.

“Okay, but only if you let me paint you too.”

“What happened to not being able to do my beauty justice?”

“Gio, I'm begging you, please stop teasing me… regardless of whether or not I can do your beauty justice, I at least want to try.”

“I can teach you.”

“…Teach me?”

“I was an art teacher, after all.”

“Right, you were. You've also said that one of your specialties is hyperrealism, is that what you're going to teach me?”

“If you'd like me to, but I can also teach you other styles.”

“Hmm…”

Yu Sungwoon paused to think for a moment. He thought of all of Gio's paintings, and how beautiful they were. It didn't take him long to come to an answer.

“Yeah, I'd like that.”

“Wonderful. Oh, also, does Collection have a training ground?”

“…It does. Why?”

“I'd like to see you spar against someone. Maybe Argio.”

“Gio, again, why?”

Was Gio mad at him? He really didn't understand why he suddenly wanted to have him fight against someone. Thankfully, Gio dispelled his worries.

“I've heard that watching you fight is like watching a figure skating routine. I'd love to see it. I want to paint it.”

“Oh. Gladly, then.”

Yu Sungwoon inwardly sighed in relief. He spoke again.

“I'm sure Argio would be delighted at getting a sparring partner.”

“I only need to see it once, so it won't be a regular thing.”

“Is just once enough for you to create a painting based on it?”

“It is. Besides, I'd rather you not risk injuries as much as possible. I've heard of how reckless you were when you fought against Aria.”

“I think that's a completely different situation to a spar.”

“That doesn't change the fact that you were reckless.”

“Wow. Am I being scolded? Now? When 5 years have passed?”

“Being scolded has no time limit. Just look at my students.”

“That's an extreme example.”

“But an example, nonetheless. Anyways, I mean it. I'd rather you not do something as heedless as stabbing into yourself then using your blood as a basis to freeze the entire ocean ever again.”

“…How do you even know about that?”

“Aria told me.”

“She can do that? Even as a Color?”

“Yes.”

Yu Sungwoon just let out an exasperated sigh. He was about to resign himself to showing as much restraint as possible when a thought popped up into his mind.

“I doubt you'll be able to get the sight you want to paint unless I go all-out against Argio.”

“We can just go to an ice rink instead. I'm sure your skating will look beautiful regardless of whether you're fighting someone or not.”

“Ugh. Fine, you win. I'll try my best to not be so reckless.”

“I doubt I'm going to get a promise any more solid than that from you, so I'll take it.”

“Just what do you take me for?”

“A reckless Gardener.”

“Gardeners are inherently reckless when it comes to themselves.”

“Exactly my point.”

“…”

Yu Sungwoon really had nothing to say in response to that. He turned to look at the clock.

12 PM.

“…It's lunch time, huh.”

He felt strangely impressed at the fact that he and Gio had made out for 3 hours without even realizing it.

Gio also looked at the clock.

“Huh. Hyung, what would you like for lunch?”

“You're not going to listen to me even if I say I'll cook, are you?”

“Not a chance. Also, where are the fish-shaped buns?”

“In the fridge.”

At that, Gio immediately went to the fridge, and Yu Sungwoon smiled fondly. He came back right away with the bag containing the buns and sat next to Yu Sungwoon again. He didn't hand any to him, since he knew Yu Sungwoon wasn't a fan.

He started eating them. He finished 8 of them in minutes.

“You know, no matter how many times I see your appetite, it amazes me.”

“Your appetite amazes me too.”

“…Is that an innuendo?”

“Yes.”

Yu Sungwoon laughed helplessly.

“You sure have gotten bold quickly.”

“I can tone it down if it bothers you.”

“No, I like you no matter how you are.”

“…”

Gio didn't know what to say to that, so he just bit into one of the two remaining fish-shaped buns. Once he finished the two buns, he spoke again.

“I'm going back to my restaurant tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“That came easier than I expected.”

“I know I can't stop you, and your fever really is gone, so as long as it doesn't come back, I have no reason to in the first place.”

“True.”

Gio looked into his eyes for a long while, looking like he was thinking deeply about something. Just when Yu Sungwoon was starting to wonder if he just wanted a staring contest, he spoke.

“What are we to each other now? Lovers? Pseudo-lovers?”

“Just lovers. No pseudo for that one.”

“Wouldn't pseudo-lovers be more accurate if we're pseudo-dating?”

“No. There's nothing fake about the love I feel for you, and I know you're the same. We may be pseudo-dating, but we're not pseudo-lovers.”

“…Alright.”

Gio gave him a gentle smile, and Yu Sungwoon returned it.

“Lovers. I like how it sounds.”

“You've always liked romance, Gio.”

“Yeah, I have. Oh, right, you didn't answer me. What would you like for lunch?”

“Jjajangmyeon, please.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Yu Sungwoon laughed at Gio returning his words to him once again. As he watched Gio head to the kitchen and put on an apron, he thought that regardless of what kind of love the feelings they had towards each other might turn out to be, they would be okay.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Another year had passed since then.

When they'd told Joohyun about their “pseudo-dating” situation, he just nodded and wished them happiness. When they'd told Bisabeol, he broke into rambunctious laughter, delighted at the fact that two of his masterpieces had come together. It took everything in Yu Sungwoon to not strangle that man. When they'd told the other Gios, the System just said “I see,” Giovanni said that he'd officiate their wedding whenever it happened, Argio said that he'd gladly design their wedding outfits for them, and Georgio said he could design their wedding rings for them. They'd both been incredibly flustered at the 3 of them assuming that they'd eventually get married, but they weren't displeased.

Within a week of Gio saying that he wanted to see him fight, Yu Sungwoon had invited Argio to a spar, and Argio gladly agreed. Gio had watched and painted one big painting of Yu Sungwoon with a toothy grin while in the middle of performing an axel, as well as numerous sketches of him performing multiple different skating moves. Gio named that painting of him in an axel “Ice Angel,” framed it, and hung it up.

He opposed Gio hanging it up because it felt embarrassing to have a huge painting of himself hanging in his home. Gio then countered by saying that he wouldn't let Yu Sungwoon frame any painting he made of Gio if he didn't let him hang it up, so Yu Sungwoon gave in. When he asked Gio why he'd named it Ice Angel, Gio said that it was because Yu Sungwoon looked truly beautiful on the ice, like he was freely soaring through the skies, hence the “Ice Angel.” At that, Yu Sungwoon just went silent for a while before saying “okay” with his face red.

As promised, Gio had been teaching him hyperrealism for the past year, and he'd improved a lot—Gio really was a great teacher. After about 6 months of Gio teaching him, he'd painted Gio's smile. The one that got him into this in the first place. He thought it didn't hold a candle to Gio's paintings—it looked closer to semi-realism than hyperrealism—but Gio himself had been delighted, so Yu Sungwoon framed it and hung it beside the painting of himself. He decided to name it “Obsidian Sky.” When Gio asked him why, he'd told him that if he really was an “Ice Angel” who could fly freely, then Gio would be the only sky that mattered to him. It was Gio's turn to go silent for a while before saying “okay” with his face red.

Now, whenever Yu Sungwoon entered his apartment, the first thing he saw was the painting called “Yu Sungwoon,” and Obsidian Sky and Ice Angel hanging next to each other under it.

Also, Gio's body had completely stabilized by now, and he was at the level of a typical healthy man.

Anyways, Yu Sungwoon was heading home once again. Gio's restaurant's open hours were about the same as Collection's, but it was a bit further, so Gio usually got home after him. Because of that, Yu Sungwoon usually handled dinner, and Gio handled breakfast. They alternated on making boxed lunches for each other.

In the year that had passed, Gio and him had shifted from “pseudo-dating” to just simply dating. Like Gio had said, they went on dates, gave each other gifts, and supported each other. They took turns paying for the dates. Yu Sungwoon really wouldn't have minded paying for all of them, but Gio would never let him do that.

There wasn't any huge change from “pseudo-dating” to dating. They just gradually became more secure in the knowledge that even if their experience didn't necessarily match that of others, they loved each other.

As for intimacy, they made out often. Gio never wanted to go beyond that, and Yu Sungwoon respected it. Gio had taken the lead once because he wanted to try doing so, and he enjoyed it, so he sometimes took the lead since then. Yu Sungwoon had definitely enjoyed it as well, but he much preferred being the one pleasuring Gio, so he took the lead most of the time.

Having reached his apartment's door, Yu Sungwoon unlocked it, took his shoes off, and changed into his slippers. He took off his uniform and changed into his pajamas, then put the uniform away. Once he was comfortable, he went to the kitchen and put on an apron to get started on dinner. He decided to make bibimbap.

Just as he'd finished placing the bibimbap on the kitchen table and was untying the apron, he heard the door open. The quiet sound of someone changing into slippers then approaching him told him that Gio was home.

He hung up his apron and was about to head towards Gio when he felt 2 arms wrapping around his waist from behind and a face being buried into his neck.

Yu Sungwoon just huffed fondly and turned his head towards him, putting one hand on top of the arms around his waist and burying the other in the man's hair, tousling it.

“Welcome home, Gio. Rough day?”

“Mmmmm.”

Gio just made an incomprehensible noise against his neck. He was wearing his usual black button up dress-shirt and pants. After a while of just staying like that, he removed himself from Yu Sungwoon and seemed to just register the food on the kitchen table. Yu Sungwoon turned around to face him and Gio smiled.

“It looks great. Thank you.”

“No problem. Are you okay?”

“Yes. Just the usual horrors of the customer service industry.”

“So you're not okay, then.”

“It didn't happen to me, but to one of my servers. It was still awful to see regardless.”

“Change into something more comfortable and you can tell me all about it over dinner.”

“Okay.”

Yu Sungwoon watched Gio go into their bedroom—they've just always been sleeping in the same bed ever since they started “pseudo-dating”—then return a bit later in his pajamas. They both sat at the table and started eating.

Gio told him the story of what happened at his restaurant as they ate. One of his servers had gone to give a certain table its bill, and the man sitting there threw water in her face, saying that the food was disgusting and he wouldn't pay a single won for it. Yu Sungwoon felt disbelief, first of all, while listening to this, because no one in their right mind would call Gio's food “disgusting.” He must've just wanted a delicious free meal, so he put on that show.

Gio continued his story, saying that he heard the commotion and came out from the kitchen. He asked the drenched server what was going on, and she hesitantly explained what the customer had done and said. When Gio told him that he can just leave and never come back if he hated the food so much, and reassured the server that he wouldn't dock it from her pay, he also got water thrown at his face.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“You said it happened to your server, not you.”

“There wasn't much water left in the cup since most of it had gone on my poor server, so I didn't get all that wet. Nothing really happened to me.”

“Gio. Do you remember that man's face? His name?”

“Hyung, maybe get that murderous look off your face first.”

“How would you feel if someone did that to me?”

Gio's face twisted. He looked utterly displeased at the thought.

“…I would hate it.”

“Exactly. I'm the same. Still, if you really want me to leave him alone, I will.”

“Please do, he's really not worth it.”

Yu Sungwoon let out a displeased huff at that but agreed to do so. Gio said that after the customer threw water at him, Gio just stared at him in silence for a while and then he got up from the table and ran out on his own while yelling curses at them. The server apologized profusely to Gio, but he told her that it really wasn't her fault and she could go home for the day and enjoy some paid time off. The server thanked him repeatedly, but he stopped her and told her that she should dry herself as much as possible with one of the towels in the back before going home. They both dried themselves, the server said goodbye to Gio, and he went back to work after that.

“Why didn't you go home too?”

“We had some reservations. I couldn't.”

“Ah, right. You've started taking reservations recently.”

Yu Sungwoon thought it was only inevitable since the line for Gio's restaurant looped around the entire shop at times.

“I'm glad you have tomorrow off, at least.”

It was Friday, and Gio refused to work on the weekends. He said that it was an ingrained habit from his time as an art teacher, and Yu Sungwoon understood.

“What about you, hyung?”

“I'm also off. Collection has been wonderfully quiet thanks to you.”

The influence of the 4 “Gio's Portraits” that remained at Collection made all the Artworks there more manageable, so Yu Sungwoon had been getting more time to rest. He loved getting 8 hours of sleep in a night.

“I'm glad. What about your Garden?”

“It's been really docile, also thanks to you. The snow rabbits you made keep me company whenever I'm there, and you somehow even set up a vending machine.”

Gio had installed vending machines that perpetually refilled themselves with food everyday in as many Gardens as he could about 2 years ago. He even customized them so they blended in with each Garden's scenery. Some Gardeners had vehemently refused to have him add anything to their Gardens, while others were just happy to have something that they could eat while tending to their Gardens without worrying about being absorbed. Yu Sungwoon was part of the latter, he knew the Gardens couldn't do anything against the Eye of the Origin.

“I'm happy it's helped.”

“Thank you for your mercy, O benevolent Eye of the Origin.”

“Stop that.”

Yu Sungwoon laughed at that, and Gio begrudgingly smiled as he watched him.

They continued dinner while chatting, and once they were done, they took the empty dishes to the sink. They'd settled into a routine of Gio washing the dishes and Yu Sungwoon drying them over the last year.

Once they were done, they dried their hands, brushed their teeth, and headed to bed. Yu Sungwoon got on first, and Gio followed him.

“Goodnight, Gio.”

“Goodnight.”

Yu Sungwoon closed his eyes, and Gio turned his face away from him and towards the ceiling. It was silent for a long while. Gio broke the silence.

“…Hyung.”

“Yes? What is it?”

There was a bit of a sleepy slur in Yu Sungwoon's speech.

“I want to have sex.”

That fully woke him up. He sat up and looked down at Gio.

“What?”

“I want to have sex.”

“No, Gio, I wasn't asking you to repeat it. Where is this coming from?”

“I've been curious for a while now.”

“…Curious?”

“Yes. I've mentioned before that I know I wouldn't hate having sex with you, but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, so I never wanted to go beyond kissing because I didn’t want to create a bad experience for both of us, but I've been really curious lately. I like kissing you, so wouldn't I also like sex with you? What would it feel like?”

Yu Sungwoon's face hardened.

“Gio. Just because you like kissing me doesn't mean you'd also like sex with me, you really don't need to force yourself—”

“That's not it. Like I said, I'm curious. I'm curious about what sex feels like, and I would feel completely safe trying it out with you. I know you'd immediately stop if I asked you to, and if I end up not liking it, I know you wouldn't hold that against me. I want to try having sex with you at least once.”

“…That's…”

Yu Sungwoon went silent for a while as Gio and him looked into each other's eyes. He let out a short sigh.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“…Do you want to do it now?”

“Only if you're up for it too, hyung.”

With that, Yu Sungwoon crawled on top of Gio.

“I am. How do you want to go about this? How far do you want to go?”

“Um… all the way. As for how I want to go about this, I really don't know. You can do as you wish, and I'll stop you if I don't like something.”

Yu Sungwoon got up from the bed.

“…? Sungwoon-hyung?”

“Sorry, Gio. I just need to go buy condoms and lube.”

“…Oh.”

Gio's face turned a little red. He nodded.

“Alright.”

“There's a 24/7 convenience store near here, and the health and beauty store which is also nearby should still be open right now, so I won't take long. Give me 20 minutes.”

“Yes.”

Yu Sungwoon quickly changed into outdoor clothes and left. Gio just watched him until he was no longer in sight, and when he heard the door close after Yu Sungwoon, he looked up at the ceiling once again. After his nth attempt to calm down his racing heart, he heard the door open. Yu Sungwoon came into his sight, holding a bag. He changed back into his pajamas and put the bag on top of the nightstand near the bed, then crawled on top of Gio again.

“Do you want to top or bottom? I forgot to ask this before I left, so I got multiple condom sizes because I don't know yours.”

“…What would you prefer?”

“I'd prefer topping, but I'd gladly do either, Gio.”

“You can top.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, then.”

Yu Sungwoon leaned down to press a kiss to Gio's forehead. He smiled at him.

“If you can't speak but want me to stop, just tap my thigh 3 times.”

“…Okay. Do I need to worry about the soundproofing?”

“No, the soundproofing here is great. No one will hear us no matter how loud we get.”

Gio nodded with his face red.

With that, Yu Sungwoon started pressing kisses all over Gio's skin. He pressed one to his cheek, his eyelids, his nose, and his lips. He then moved down to Gio's neck and sucked a mark onto it. Gio gave a soft moan at that. He sucked more marks onto Gio's neck and collarbones, then sucked one behind his ear. He noted that Gio was more sensitive there, considering the slightly louder moan he got in response.

He unbuttoned Gio's shirt and pressed a kiss to the center of his chest. Gio had one hand gripping the bedsheets and the other in Yu Sungwoon’s hair. Yu Sungwoon then took one of his nipples into his mouth and bit it, and Gio arched his back into it with a small whine. Yu Sungwoon repeated the same thing with the other nipple, but he bit harder this time because he liked the whine he got from Gio. He wanted to hear it again, and his efforts were rewarded with a louder one.

Yu Sungwoon smiled against Gio's skin and went lower. He pressed kisses and bit into Gio's stomach and hips. Every bite got him a little whine or whimper in response. He loved it. He took off Gio's pants, leaving him in his boxers. He saw that Gio was hard, and he was glad to know that was doing his job right. However, he stopped for a moment to check in with Gio.

“Gio.”

Gio needed to catch his breath before he could respond.

“…Yes?”

“Are you alright? Can I keep going?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Yu Sungwoon took off Gio's boxers. He wasn't even surprised at the fact that even his dick was pretty. It was about the same length—7 inches—and girth as Yu Sungwoon's.

He put his hands under Gio's thighs and took the tip into his mouth. Gio's other hand flew to his hair as well and his thighs squeezed around Yu Sungwoon's head.

Gio's hands in his hair were hesitant, he was clearly worried about pulling too hard and hurting Yu Sungwoon. Yu Sungwoon took his mouth off him and looked up into his eyes.

“Gio, you can use me.”

“…What?”

“You can move my head as you like, I don't mind. No, I'd enjoy it.”

“…Okay.”

After that, Yu Sungwoon took him back into his mouth, deeper this time. Gio was on the quieter side, so every proper moan he got from him felt well-earned. He wanted to hear more of them. He relaxed his throat and took Gio even deeper, relishing the sting of Gio's hands gripping his hair and the pressure of his thighs compressing his head.

He breathed in through his nose and started bobbing his head up and down. He paid close attention to Gio's every reaction, taking notice of what he liked and what made him moan louder. When he licked the prominent vein along Gio's dick, he got the loudest moan so far in return. He repeated it again and again, chasing that moan, and Gio's sounds got progressively louder and shakier. His thighs were trembling around his head.

“Sungwoon-hyung, w-wait, I'm close—”

Yu Sungwoon just layered his hands on top of Gio’s on his head and nodded at him with his dick in his mouth. When Gio seemed to get the message, he returned his hands to where they were before and continued sucking him off.

Gio started using him just like he'd told him to. He rutted into Yu Sungwoon's mouth, using his hair to move him up and down. Yu Sungwoon loved the sting in his scalp, the struggle to breathe, but most of all, he loved the way he could see Gio's pleasure on his face. His vision was a bit blurry with tears, but he could still see Gio's parted lips, his furrowed brows, and his half-lidded eyes. Gio hadn't taken his eyes off him even once, nor had he taken his eyes off Gio.

Gio got rougher and rougher with his mouth, and Yu Sungwoon could tell that he was almost there. He gave a staggering thrust once, twice, then he spilled down Yu Sungwoon's throat with a broken moan. Yu Sungwoon obediently swallowed it all. He kept swirling his tongue around Gio's dick until Gio let out an overstimulated whine, then he got off him. A few tears fell from his eyes. He crawled back up so he was face to face with Gio and cupped his cheek.

Gio was breathing heavily, his chest rapidly moving up and down. After a moment, Gio's hazy eyes looked at him.

“How was it? We can stop here if you want.”

Gio blinked dazedly at his words before leaning into his palm.

“Mm, good, and I want to keep going… wait. Hyung, I came in your mouth—”

“Yeah, you did. I already swallowed all of it.”

Yu Sungwoon opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue to show Gio before sticking it back in. Gio just blankly stared at him.

“…”

“…Gio?”

“Can I finger you?”

Yu Sungwoon blinked.

“Do you want to top, after all? That's fine, too—”

“No, I'd still like you to top. I just want to see you cum on my fingers before that.”

“…Oh.”

Yu Sungwoon felt his face heat up. He nodded.

“Okay. You can.”

Gio flipped them over so he was on top of Yu Sungwoon at that. He licked away his tears and pressed kisses to the corners of his eyes. Yu Sungwoon giggled.

“Gio, that tickles.”

“I like hearing you laugh.”

Gio pressed a kiss to his forehead, then slid his pants and boxers off. He'd gotten hard from sucking Gio off. Gio stared at his dick for a moment before leaning over to the nightstand and getting the lube. He poured it over his fingers then put it back, then he rubbed his fingers together to warm it up before tracing Yu Sungwoon's rim. He slipped one in, and Yu Sungwoon let out a shaky breath.

“You can also tell me to stop at any time, hyung.”

“I know.”

Yu Sungwoon smiled at him, and he smiled back. Gio slipped another finger in and started scissoring them, and he enjoyed the way Yu Sungwoon's expression twisted in pleasure.

He was only getting quiet moans and gasps, and he wanted to hear more, so he searched around inside Yu Sungwoon. When he hit a spot that made Yu Sungwoon arch his back and let out a loud moan, he paused momentarily.

“Here?”

He curled his fingers into the same spot.

“Ye- Ah! Yeah, t-there. Gio, that feels good—”

Yu Sungwoon's words were cut off by another moan as Gio's fingers kept rubbing the spot that had him curling his toes. His hands were gripping the bedsheets. Gio added a third finger and relentlessly hit the exact same spot, making Yu Sungwoon feel dizzy with pleasure. Gio leaned down and took Yu Sungwoon's dick into his mouth, then unbuttoned his shirt and cupped his chest, rubbing his thumb over his nipple.

Yu Sungwoon's vision got blurry once again at the triple assault. He let out a loud whine.

“G-Gio.”

“You're close, aren't you? You can cum anytime you want.”

Yu Sungwoon whimpered. After saying that, Gio took his dick deeper into his mouth. Gio's mouth was soft and warm around him, the fingers inside him were long and slender and felt so good, and the thumb rubbing at his nipple hadn't stopped even once. Yu Sungwoon was trembling.

Gio took his mouth off him and went up to kiss him. He could taste his own cum on Yu Sungwoon's tongue, but he didn't care. He swallowed every moan that Yu Sungwoon let out. Both of Yu Sungwoon's hands gripped at his hair, and he pulled away from his lips. He stared at his Yu Sungwoon's pleasure stricken face, he hadn't stopped moving his fingers even once.

“Do you want my mouth back on you, hyung? I'd honestly like you to cum from my fingers and my fingers only.”

Yu Sungwoon laughed weakly.

“Gio, d-did you know that— ngh! That you have a bit— ah! A bit of a mean streak sometimes?”

Gio just smiled.

“Really? I didn't know. You'll have to forgive me for this one, you're just really beautiful like this.”

Yu Sungwoon let out another laugh before it tapered off into a whine at a particularly hard press to his prostate. His hands had moved from Gio's hair to his back and were clutching at his shirt. Gio was kissing away the tears that were falling, and Yu Sungwoon's thighs squeezed around his forearm.

“Gio, I'm close, I-I'm really close—”

“It's alright, go ahead. I want to see you cum all over yourself.”

With a loud moan, Yu Sungwoon did exactly that. Some of it even got on Gio's face. Gio paid it no mind and continued curling his fingers into that same spot, letting him ride out his orgasm. He didn't stop for a while even after Yu Sungwoon started letting out soft, overstimulated whimpers. He eventually pulled his fingers out and rubbed them off on the bedsheets, then he looked back at Yu Sungwoon.

The man was still trembling with his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, and his breath staggered. Gio cupped his cheek with his clean hand and kissed the furrow in his brow to make it go away, then continued peppering kisses all over his face. Yu Sungwoon's breath eventually evened out and he blearily opened his eyes.

“Are you okay, hyung? Did I go too far?”

At Gio's concerned tone, he chuckled and pulled him closer by the back of his head to kiss his forehead. He looked into Gio's eyes.

“I'm okay. It felt really good.”

“I'm glad, then.”

“I do have a question, though. Can I be a little mean to you too?”

Gio blinked.

“…If you want to.”

“And you'll tell me if you really don't like it, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Also… you have my cum on your face. Sorry.”

“Ah.”

Gio looked like he'd just remembered that. He collected it with his thumb and put it in mouth, then swallowed it. It tasted bitter and sour, but he liked it because it was Yu Sungwoon's.

“Why would you swallow that—”

“You swallowed mine. Also, you don't need to apologize for getting some cum on my face, I just thought of it as proof of a job well done.”

“…I'm never going to win against you, am I?”

“I'm not sure you even want to.”

“I'm not sure either.”

They both laughed, and Yu Sungwoon took the chance to flip them both over so he was on top of Gio again. Gio just giggled.

“Hmm. I also like hearing you laugh, Gio.”

He pressed a kiss to Gio's smiling lips, not even realizing that he was smiling himself. He lightly bit Gio's bottom lip and licked into his mouth. Gio wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his hands into his hair, and they kissed like that for a while.

They parted, and Yu Sungwoon took his shirt off and threw it to some indiscriminate point in the room, leaving him fully naked. Gio slightly sat up so he could take his shirt off as well, then lightly threw it to the side. Neither of them saw where it landed.

“Gio, we can always stop now if you want.”

“No, I'd like to keep going. I'm sort of looking forward to how you'll ‘be mean’ to me.”

“…You brat.”

Gio just laughed at that, and Yu Sungwoon huffed fondly. He got the lube from the nightstand, poured it over his fingers, then rubbed them together to warm it up like Gio had done. He gently pushed Gio down so his head was on the pillows again then slowly slipped one finger into Gio while looking intently at his face. He noticed the slightly disgruntled look.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”

“It doesn't hurt, it just feels a bit… strange.”

Yu Sungwoon laughed.

“Yeah, that's usually how it goes. Don't worry, I'll make you feel good soon.”

Yu Sungwoon pushed another finger in and stretched Gio, searching for his prostate in the meantime. When Gio squeezed his thighs around his forearm and let out a long whine, Yu Sungwoon grinned.

“I told you.”

“A-Ah— hyung, is this what it felt like for you?”

“Well, that depends on the person, but looking at you, I'd say yes.”

Gio bit his own lip, and Yu Sungwoon leaned in to kiss him. He kept curling his fingers into his prostate, and he thought every muffled moan, whimper, and whine against his mouth was delicious.

He pulled away from Gio's lips and went down to lick his nipple then bite it once again. Gio's eyes looked slightly teary, and he thought it was a beautiful sight. He'd already left plenty of marks all over Gio's body, but he wanted to leave more. He pushed Gio's leg over his shoulder and bit into his inner thigh, then paused when the man twitched. He looked at Gio, and Gio was staring right back at him. He bit into his thigh again, harder than before, and the tears fell from Gio's eyes.

“H-Hyung, that hurts.”

“So you're sensitive here. You've already said that I could be a little mean to you, so you'll have to bear with me, Gio.”

They both knew that Yu Sungwoon would stop immediately if Gio said “stop,” but he hadn't, so he continued.

He licked the bite marks to soothe them, then bit into his thigh even harder, hard enough to draw blood, all while relentlessly pressing into Gio's prostate, and he relished the teary moans he got in response.

Gio was clutching the bedsheets for dear life, looking utterly gorgeous in his pain-pleasure. Yu Sungwoon added another finger and curled all three into that same spot, and Gio let out a mewl.

“I think that's my favorite sound from you so far, Gio. Will you let me hear it again?”

“Is th-this what you meant by being m-mean?”

“Mhm. You're gorgeous like this.”

Yu Sungwoon curled his fingers again, and Gio gave him the sound he wanted to hear. Again, again, again, again.

He loved the way Gio's thigh was trembling against his mouth, and he bit until he drew blood again. Gio's pained moan was music to his ears.

“Hyung, p-please, I want to cum—”

“Shh. You can handle it, I know you can.”

Yu Sungwoon had been pausing his fingers inside Gio whenever he was on the cusp of orgasm, then continuing before Gio could really catch his breath.

Gio squeezed his eyes shut and let out a whine at Yu Sungwoon’s words, and a few more tears fell.

“Please, I-I really can't.”

“You can, Gio. Don't you want to be good for me?”

“I'm sorry, I can't. Please, p-please—”

Gio gave a broken moan at yet another cruel press to his prostate.

“Hyung, w-why? It hurts, please— mmnh!”

“Hmm…”

Yu Sungwoon had honestly been really affected by Gio's begging, and he couldn't deny the man for much longer.

“Okay. I'll make you cum.”

He dug his fingers relentlessly into the same spot, over and over and over again. Gio let out broken whine after broken whine, his teary eyes fixed on Yu Sungwoon. When Yu Sungwoon bit into his inner thigh hard enough to draw blood once again, he came all over himself. It reached Gio's chin, and Yu Sungwoon stared at Gio's body covered in his own cum for a moment. He let Gio's leg down from his shoulder.

Then he curled his fingers once again.

“Hyung, wait, t-too much, I just came—”

Gio, having not even come down from his orgasm, let out a whimper at Yu Sungwoon pressing their lips together to quiet him down, smearing both of their lips with Gio's blood. The fingers inside him didn't stop. Yu Sungwoon leaned close to his ear and whispered into it.

“I want you to cum again for me, Gio. You can, can't you?”

“N-No, I can't, I really can't, ah—”

“You can. You're already hard again.”

“Hyung, please, I c-can't take it, please—”

He sobbed when Yu Sungwoon's fingers just mercilessly dug into him. Yu Sungwoon leaned down to kiss his tears away.

“Just one more, Gio. I'll give you a break after that. You can do it for me, right?”

Gio swallowed and tearfully nodded.

“O-Okay.”

“Good boy.”

Yu Sungwoon bit into his neck and curled his fingers inside him. He went down and took Gio into his mouth once more, and that sent Gio hurtling towards a second orgasm minutes after the first. He came on Yu Sungwoon's face, but there wasn't as much cum as before, considering this was his third orgasm of the night. He collected it all, as well as the bit on Gio's chin, and swallowed it like he did before.

Yu Sungwoon gently pulled his fingers out and wiped them on his thigh, then looked back at Gio. Gio was still struggling with the aftereffects, eyes closed, trembling, tears falling, letting out little whines, and gasping for air. Yu Sungwoon kissed every tear away as it fell and held Gio's waist with his hand then rubbed soothing circles into it with his thumb. He kept doing that until Gio's breath stabilized and he opened his eyes. Gio focused his dewy eyes on Yu Sungwoon.

“Gio. Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

Gio blinked slowly and wrapped his arms around Yu Sungwoon in a hug.

“Mm, hyung. I can hear you. I'm okay.”

Yu Sungwoon sighed in relief and pressed kisses all over Gio's face as he hugged him back.

“I'm sorry. Was it really too much?”

“I never said stop.”

“You didn't, but still—”

“Sungwoon-hyung. I'm okay, and I liked it.”

“…Okay. I'm glad you did.”

He pressed a kiss to the tip of Gio's nose, and Gio smiled.

“I'll go clean up now.”

Gio raised an eyebrow at him.

“Clean up? You're hard again.”

“I can handle that myself, you must be exhausted.”

“I'm fine. I want you inside me.”

“…Geez, Gio…”

Yu Sungwoon huffed exasperatedly. Gio sat up, dragging Yu Sungwoon along with him, and moved his thigh to grind against his erection. Yu Sungwoon flinched.

“Gio, this is a little cruel.”

“You have no right to talk to me about cruelty right now.”

“Hmm, yeah, I probably don't.”

Yu Sungwoon looked into Gio's eyes for a moment.

“…Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“…”

When Yu Sungwoon didn't respond, Gio hesitated.

“…It's fine if you don't want to, hyung.”

“Huh? No, it's not that I don't want to. I'm just worried, you've already had 3 orgasms.”

“And you've only had one, so get inside me.”

“Gio, please…”

“I'll be okay. I mean it.”

Yu Sungwoon went silent for a moment before sighing.

“Alright. But like I said before, stop me immediately if I do something you don't like.”

“Yes.”

Gio gave him a smile, and Yu Sungwoon lamented how hopelessly weak he was against it.

He licked into Gio's mouth and let out a muffled moan as Gio grinded his thigh against his dick again, then he put his hands on Gio's waist and started rutting against his thigh. Gio silently watched him for a while.

“Are you going to cum on my thigh this time? Actually, I think I want to see that before you go inside me, I'm sure it'll be a beautiful sight.”

“G-Gio.”

Gio put his hands on Yu Sungwoon's waist and used them to move him against his thigh. Yu Sungwoon put his hands over Gio's on his waist and whined.

“You're serious about m-making me cum on your th-thigh, huh.”

“You can stop me anytime you want.”

“I-I know, I just don't want to, it feels good—”

Yu Sungwoon let out a louder whine at Gio grinding his thigh harder against him. Gio had full control of his body, moving him back and forth as he wished.

“You're lucky I'm not as mean as you are, hyung.”

Yu Sungwoon weakly laughed at that.

“I would— ah— I-I would beg you if you wanted me to.”

Gio paused his movements. His hands squeezed Yu Sungwoon's waist hard, and he let out a confused moan.

“G-Gio?”

“Beg me.”

“…Ah.”

Yu Sungwoon tried to move himself, but Gio's firm grip was keeping him in place. Gio was staring intently at his face.

He swallowed.

“Please.”

Gio started slowly moving him against his thigh again at that, but it wasn't nearly enough. Yu Sungwoon wanted more, but the hands on his waist were too strong for him to move as he wished. He whimpered. Gio absorbed every reaction with his eyes.

“Do you want me to go faster, hyung? Say it again.”

“Gio, p-please.”

Gio sped up a little, but it still wasn't enough. Yu Sungwoon bit his own lip.

“Please, Gio— ngh— please, faster— ah!”

Gio moved him faster just as he wished, and Yu Sungwoon could only moan helplessly at the electrifying friction between his dick and Gio's thigh. Gio's grip had eased enough that Yu Sungwoon could move, so he moved himself following Gio's guidance.

“Good, that's it. Just like that, hyung.”

“Please, ‘s not enough, please, more, please—”

“So pretty.”

Gio sped up to a ruthless pace, and Yu Sungwoon could only let out little whines and whimpers.

“Y-Yeah, don't stop, Gio, that feels good, please, please— I-I'm so close—”

“Cum, then. Cum on my thigh.”

Yu Sungwoon staggered his hips once, twice, thrice, before doing as Gio told him to. Gio helped him ride out his orgasm, continuously grinding against him until he let out a soft whimper of overstimulation.

Yu Sungwoon caught his breath and looked at Gio. In addition to his own cum covering his abdomen, Yu Sungwoon's cum was all over his thigh.

He pushed Gio down so his back was against the mattress again, then went down to lick it off Gio's thigh. Gio twitched then laughed.

“I was going to ask if you're okay, but I don't think I need to.”

“I'm great. You'll help me get hard once more so I can go inside you, right, Gio?”

Yu Sungwoon moved Gio's hand to his soft dick, and Gio wrapped his fingers around it and started stroking it up and down, digging his thumb into the tip. Yu Sungwoon slightly winced, overstimulated, but it was manageable. It didn't take him long to get hard again, and Gio had gotten hard while Yu Sungwoon rode his thigh.

Yu Sungwoon leant over the nightstand, rummaged through the bag, opened a pack of condoms, and took one out and tore it open with his teeth. He put it on himself and got some lube, then stroked himself to make the slide easier. Gio just nervously watched the entire thing.

Yu Sungwoon noticed his nervousness.

“Gio, you can stop me at any time, even after I get inside you. You're nervous, aren't you?”

He leaned down to press a kiss to Gio's forehead. Gio looked at him.

“…I am nervous, but I still want you inside me. I trust you.”

“Okay.”

He smiled and pressed another kiss to Gio's forehead, put a pillow under his hips, then lined himself up with Gio. He slowly pushed in and put his hands on Gio's waist.

They both bit their lips with a shaky moan. Yu Sungwoon continued, then paused for a moment once he was halfway in.

“Gio, how are you feeling?”

“I-I'm okay. It's just… intense.”

Yu Sungwoon had stretched him out thoroughly, so it didn't hurt, but it felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. Yu Sungwoon kissed his cheek then pushed himself in inch by inch, letting Gio catch his breath every so often, until he was fully sheathed.

They both breathed heavily while staring into each other's eyes, and Yu Sungwoon stayed completely still while Gio adjusted. Gio's chest was rising and falling rapidly, and Yu Sungwoon rubbed soothing circles into his waist to ground him. After a while, Gio broke the silence.

“Hyung, y-you can move.”

Yu Sungwoon slightly pulled out before pushing back in, half-closing his eyes at the pleasure of Gio around him. Gio slightly arched his back with a soft moan.

Yu Sungwoon continued at a slow pace, finding Gio's prostate and making sure to hit it with every roll of his hips.

Gio lightly scratched at his back with every thrust, squeezing his thighs around Yu Sungwoon's waist and letting out shaky moans. He liked the slow, languid pace, but it wasn't enough.

“Faster—”

He whined. Yu Sungwoon, subservient to his Eye of the Origin, did as he asked. He sped up until Gio could barely catch his breath between each thrust.

He put his hand under Gio's unmarked thigh and lifted it up, turning towards it and leaving bloody bites like he'd done to the other one. Gio let out a pained whimper and tensed around him, and Yu Sungwoon moaned loudly.

The shift in angle made Yu Sungwoon hit even deeper. He pulled Gio's other thigh higher so he could leave more marks on the inside of it as well, and he could feel the sting of Gio's nails breaking skin on his back. He loved it.

He bit bloody mark after bloody mark into his thighs while thrusting into him, and Gio whined. His tears started falling again.

“Y-You— ah! You seem to have a— mmngh— a fixation with my thighs, h-hyung.”

“Mm, they're pretty. R-Red looks especially good on them.”

He meant it. The red on Gio's pale skin created a stark contrast that mesmerized Yu Sungwoon. Yu Sungwoon continued leaving bloody marks on them, enjoying every pained moan he got from Gio. He pushed his thighs up further so he could hit deeper, and Gio loudly moaned and drew red lines on his back.

“Li-Like that. H-hyung, exactly like that, p-please—”

“A-As you wish, Gio.”

He continued in the exact position and at the exact pace that Gio liked, and they both got louder and louder. Yu Sungwoon never left Gio's inner thighs alone, and they were covered in hickeys, bite marks, and blood. He moaned against a bite he just left when Gio squeezed around him at an especially hard thrust.

“Cl-Close, I-I'm so close— ah— Sungwoon-hyung!”

“M-Me too, Gio. Can you hold on for me? I want us to cum together.”

“Yes, y-yes, I can— mmngh!”

Yu Sungwoon folded Gio further in half to press kisses to his teary eyes and wrapped one hand around Gio's waist and the other around the base of his dick.

“Good boy, you're doing so well. Y-You can wait a little longer, right? I know you can, Gio.”

Gio, now at Yu Sungwoon's mercy, curled his toes and let out a loud whine. He wanted to cum, but he couldn't with the hand around him. The relentless thrusts didn't stop.

“Hyung, h-hyung, how much lon-longer— ah! P-Please!”

“Just a little more, Gio. I-I'm close, I'm really close—”

Yu Sungwoon let out a long whine as Gio tensed around him again. He rolled his hips, chasing his high. When he went down to leave a bloody bite around Gio's nipple, he released the base of his dick, and Gio immediately came with a drawn-out moan. Yu Sungwoon bit his lip and followed right after him at the hard squeeze around him.

Yu Sungwoon stayed still inside Gio as they both caught their breath after an intense orgasm. Gio's breaths were staggered, and Yu Sungwoon's were the same.

After a while, they finally recovered enough to speak.

“Gio, how are you feeling? How was it? Are you alright?”

Gio breathily giggled at the barrage of questions.

“I'm okay, hyung. It felt good. How about you?”

“I'm okay, too. It felt great.”

Yu Sungwoon gently grabbed hold of Gio's thighs—he paused momentarily to appreciate the red all over them—and slowly pulled himself out. He pressed a kiss of apology to Gio's cheek at the soft whine he got in response. He got up from the bed, threw the condom out, and went to the kitchen. After a moment, he returned with 2 bottles of water. He helped Gio sit up against the bedframe and handed him one.

“Drink, Gio.”

As Gio drank, he realized how parched he was. He finished the entire bottle in seconds, and Yu Sungwoon did the same.

As they settled down, they felt all kinds of dried bodily fluids over their bodies. They both grimaced.

“I think we need to take a shower.”

“…I'm not sure I can walk with my thighs in their current state.”

“…Ah.”

Yu Sungwoon felt a little apologetic at that, he did do a number on them.

“I can carry you.”

“You can?”

“Gio, I've already told you that your perception is skewed. I have plenty of muscle mass.”

“You still need to eat more.”

“Your grandmother's influence truly shows.”

They both laughed, then Yu Sungwoon lifted Gio up by the back of his thighs and hoisted him around his waist.

Gio blinked in surprise and looked down at him.

“Huh, you really can carry me.”

He wrapped his arms around Yu Sungwoon's neck.

“Have some faith in me, Gio. I'm an A-Rank Hunter.”

Gio smiled down at him.

“Yes, I sure am lucky to have a strong and dependable lover.”

“…”

Yu Sungwoon felt his face heat up.

“…Don't tease me.”

Gio giggled.

“I'm not teasing you, I mean it. You're wonderful.”

“So are you.”

With that, Yu Sungwoon carried him to the bathroom and turned the water on. He let Gio down once they were in the shower.

They washed each other's bodies and hair. Yu Sungwoon made sure to be gentle with scrubbing Gio's thighs, and Gio did the same for Yu Sungwoon's back. Once they were done, Yu Sungwoon put on a bathrobe and told Gio to wait while he collected the clothes strewn around the room and the dirty bedsheets and threw them in the laundry, then replaced the bedsheets with new ones.

He returned to the bathroom and helped Gio put on his bathrobe, then they took turns toweling each other's hair dry.

Gio's hair had already been dried, and now he was drying Yu Sungwoon's. As he was doing that, Yu Sungwoon asked him a question.

“What's your verdict?”

“My verdict? On what?”

“On sex. How it feels, if you enjoyed it with me.”

Gio's hands in his hair momentarily paused then continued.

“I enjoyed it with you. It felt good.”

“I can tell there's more, Gio. You can tell me, you already know that I won't hold it against you. I'm just happy you enjoyed it.”

“…”

Gio went silent for a long stretch of time before speaking again.

“…I did enjoy it, but I'm not sure if I want to do it again. You didn't do anything wrong, and it really did feel good, but I just… I don't know. I did like seeing you cum on my fingers and thigh a lot, and it did feel good having you inside me, I was really absorbed in the moment. Still, I just rarely, if ever, feel any sexual urges. I wish I was a better partner, I'm so—”

“No. Stop right there. Don't you dare apologize to me for that.”

His face had heated up at Gio's words, but Yu Sungwoon continued.

“Gio, can I be honest with you?”

“Yes.”

“I still don’t fully see you as human.”

“I know.”

“Yes, and I know you know. If I had to describe it, you're something like the Origin given human form. Do you know what Gardeners are famous for?”

“There're too many possible answers to that.”

“Right, sorry. Gardeners are known for not feeling sexual or romantic attraction towards humans. We're too obsessed with our Gardens.”

“I didn't know that.”

“That's why when I noticed my feelings towards you, I was confused. Are you human? Are you the Origin? If you were human, then it'd simply be me feeling attraction towards a human for the first time, but if you were the Origin, then is it just not an extension of my obsession towards my Garden? Could I truly call that ‘love’?”

“…”

Gio remained silent and listened.

“Do you know what conclusion I came to? The conclusion your view of love helped me come to? It doesn't matter. Maybe it did stem from my obsession with my Garden and the Origin, but so what? I want to wake up next to you, Seo Gio, every morning. I want to eat your food and cook for you, and I want to see you smile. I don't feel that way about a ‘human’ or the ‘Origin,’ but about ‘Seo Gio.’ Regardless of what you may be, before that, you're Gio. The Gio I love.”

Gio blinked rapidly and lowered his head.

“…Gio? Gio, are you crying? Wait, no, this wasn’t my intention, I'm sorry—”

“I'm okay, hyung.”

Yu Sungwoon cupped Gio's face and gently raised it up so they were looking at each other again.

“Yeah, right. You're sobbing.”

Gio was biting his lip with tears streaming down his face. Yu Sungwoon wiped them away as they fell.

“The Gio I love. I didn't say it to make you cry, but to help you understand. It doesn't matter to me if you're a haunted portrait or an alien sent to destroy the Earth, you're my Gio.”

Gio gave a teary giggle.

“I may have been a haunted portrait once, but I'm not an alien sent to destroy Earth.”

“Yeah. My Gio’s just someone who intends to turn everyone on Earth into gluttons, not destroy it.”

Gio giggled again, and Yu Sungwoon leaned up to press a kiss to his forehead.

“I don’t care if you have sexual urges or not. You're Gio, so I love you.”

Gio stayed silent for a moment before speaking in a teary voice.

“If I want to have sex again in the future?”

“Then we will.”

“If I don't?”

“Then we won't.”

“What about you?”

“I'm not some beast in heat. I also have my own hands.”

“…”

Gio just quietly nodded.

“…Okay.”

“Are you feeling better now, Gio?”

Yu Sungwoon peppered kisses all over his face, and he giggled yet again.

“Hyung, that tickles… I am feeling better now. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Gio hesitated before speaking again.

“I love you too, Sungwoon-hyung.”

Yu Sungwoon just softly pressed their lips together at that. Gio soon finished drying his hair, and he hoisted Gio around his waist again and carried him back to the bed. He then left the room. Gio could hear the sound of someone rummaging around for something.

Yu Sungwoon returned a bit later with some ointment in his hands. He put some on his finger and spread Gio's legs then knelt between them.

“This might hurt a little, bear with it.”

He applied it over Gio's rim, and Gio flinched. He grimaced.

“Cold.”

“Sorry, Gio. This is to ease any soreness you might feel.”

Gio nodded.

“I know. Will you let me apply it for you?”

“Me?”

“Your back.”

“Ah. Yeah, gladly.”

Yu Sungwoon soon moved on to Gio's inner thighs with the ointment, and he stayed there for a while. He pressed a few apologetic kisses to the bite marks before he applied the ointment. Once he was done, he got up and sat on the bed, and Gio took the ointment and applied it over the scratch marks on his back. He also pressed a few apologetic kisses to them, and it felt really nice for Yu Sungwoon.

When they were finished, they changed out of their bathrobes and into pajamas, then truly headed to sleep. They laid back to chest, with Yu Sungwoon's back to Gio’s chest and his arms around Yu Sungwoon's waist. Yu Sungwoon's hands were clasped over Gio's, and Gio buried his face into his hair.

“Your hair's really soft.”

“So is yours.”

“Thank you. Goodnight, hyung.”

“Goodnight, Gio.”

They were both exhausted, so it didn't take them long to fall asleep. A deep, dreamless sleep.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

When Yu Sungwoon woke up in the afternoon, the first thing he saw was Gio's sleeping face. He seemed to have turned towards Gio in his sleep.

He traced the perpetual eyebags under Gio's eyes with his thumb. As he looked at Gio, he knew that the feelings he felt were love, and he knew that love was what you made of it. He'd stopped doubting himself a long time ago. The one in front of him was the one he loves, his Gio.