Though Noah had asked Levi what happened, even after a long moment, he received no response.

Of course he received no response! What could Levi possibly say to explain all this?!?

‘I saw a photo of you straddling Trey that drove me batshit crazy, so I had a nightmare and ended up destroying half the house??’

‎(ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ ┻━┻

Fucking hell! He was better off not saying anything!!

Noah was getting more and more restless by the other’s sluggish lack of response. He mobilized his soothing full-force and placed his hand on top of Levi’s forehead to check for fever.

Levi, feeling a warm satin-like smoothness gently touching his cold face, let out a husky groan.

Ah, it was so comfortable!

His darling’s warmth enveloped his entire being, chasing out the dark chill, filling his insides with pure honey. Simultaneously, a refreshing cool stream trickled into his flesh and mind, making the fatigue and pain ebb away like the receding tide.

Warmth and coolness that should have been complete opposites, like magic mingled together harmoniously into an absurd perfection. It was a wonderful feeling that brought forth an unprecedented sense of fulfillment. As if his very soul was being gently embraced by his baby. As if every inch of his skin was covered by his darling’s soft air kisses.

Levi involuntarily let out another deep moan, and caught Noah’s retreating hand with his, placing it back on his face. Noah, with his ears flushed pink for reasons he himself couldn’t understand, avoided Levi’s unfathomable blue eyes.

This brother-in-law of his really lacked self-awareness! Doesn’t he realize how lewd those moans sounded just now?? Even he, this asexual little virgin, felt his heart skip a beat!

Ah, forget it, it’s okay as long as he knew what his brother-in-law really wished to express. He had produced such a satisfied hum because Noah’s warm hand felt comfortable on his cold face that had been exposed to the chilly outside temperature.

Sigh~ This poor adorkable brother-in-law! Not only did he probably spend the entire night working, but he also didn’t remember to take proper care of himself!

Blackie opened his virtual mouth to correct his host whose mind was in the clouds, but realized he really didn’t know where to even begin. It would seem that… nothing his host said was technically wrong?

Yet how come he, an AI system without face or palm, had this strong urge to facepalm?!? ಥ‿ಥ

Levi closed his bloodshot eyes, making a forlorn image under the soft morning light.

Yet, what this very pitiful brother-in-law was thinking was: ‘Baby, that’s not how you measure temperature! It’s supposed to be forehead to forehead!’

Feeling truly wronged because his baby didn’t even know how to measure temperature “correctly”, Levi rubbed his face into Noah’s palm like a puppy begging for attention from his owner, further cementing his lovable image in Noah’s mind.

Noah: ‘Gosh! (／≧ω＼)❤ Really like a big puppy dog!’

Levi: ‘Ah, ah, my baby is so lovely!’

(⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄

Levi contentedly inhaled Noah’s pleasant clean scent and felt his tightly wound nerves loosen.

Ah, ah! His baby was so, so lovely! In every way! From his personality to his scent, to his appearance, to his voice, to his demeanor!

It was as if he was made just for him, Levi! ❤

Ah, he was so lovely Levi didn’t know what to do!

He could only release a complicated sigh laced with infatuation, fatigue, and relief.

Noah’s eyebrows furrowed deeper, his lips unconsciously pouting. It was impossible for his soft heart to not ache for this big miserable puppy in front of him.

“Brother…” Yearning to comfort the other, yet not knowing how, Noah unconsciously moved the hand currently resting on Levi’s cheek to gently stroke the other, “Go back home and rest properly.”

Shivers went down Levi’s spine at the soft, feathery touch. To receive the privilege of his baby’s gentle caress… the suffering of last night and this morning…

Totally worth it! 10/10 would do it again!

Levi’s parents, peacekeepers, army, reporters, Astar mansion workers including the housekeeper recuperating in the hospital: ‘Please… begging you on my knees, please don’t!!!’ QAQ

With worry etched on every corner of his face, Noah eyed Levi up and down once again, “Maybe it would be better to just rest in one of our guest rooms? Going back home in such a state…”

Levi’s eyes lit up, his eyes conjuring up a farfetched fantasy of snuggling his baby to sleep, “…what about you?”

Noah paused. What about him? He should probably go to the peacekeeper station as agreed upon and work towards solving the power rampaging cases.

But taking into account how he promised not to leave Levi’s side just yesterday…

Accurately recognizing the thoughts running through Noah’s head, Levi’s lips pursed, and he unhesitatingly and firmly shot the idea down, leaving no room for compromise, “No. Together or nothing.”

“Brother, there is nothing more important than your health,” Noah patiently coaxed, “You can rest assured leaving the case to me for today and recuperate properly. I’ll be just fine under Trey’s shield.”

Levi felt a mouthful of blood rising up his throat. What case?! Screw the case!!! It was leaving his baby alone with Trey that he was worried about!

Even if his baby’s safety was ensured and Trey kept himself in check, what about the love rivals that his baby was picking up left and right?!?

Without his baby by his, Levi’s side, let alone getting rest, he’d be lucky enough if he didn’t end up hospitalized by the end of today!!

“I’ll just take a quick nap in the Magcart,” to avoid raising the other’s defenses, Levi reluctantly let go of Noah’s hand, with much difficulty resisting the urge to kiss it.

Noah naturally put down his now freed hand, yet even though he was no longer touching Levi’s face, his fingers still tingled.

There was a strange, unfamiliar emotion roiling in his chest.

Levi finally walked through the gate of the mansion, stopping next to Noah, to intimately pet the other’s fluffy head.

To avoid his baby’s further attempts of coaxing him into going back to rest, Levi attempted to divert Noah’s attention, “B–” Levi swallowed down the words of ‘baby’ that were about to spill from his mouth and instead turned it into, “Breakfast? Have you had breakfast yet?”

Noah nodded docilely, “What about you?”

Levi’s response was interrupted by the arrival of Trey. Or rather, the other’s shocked cry and double-take upon seeing Levi’s miserable sight.

After recognizing Levi, he eyed him warily and stepped forward, as if to stand protectively in-between Levi and Noah.

Levi’s blood pressure instantly skyrocketed, ‘What do you mean by standing between us protectively only NOW that you’ve recognized me?!?’

With the warm, and what Levi thought to be a lovey-dovey atmosphere ruined by the addition of this annoying third wheel, Levi ground his teeth and, in a fit, spun on his heel to leave the mansion.

***

Soon enough, the trio boarded a Magcart to the peacekeeper station.

Only when the Magcart set off did Levi remember, fuck! He needed to talk to his fiancée and break off the engagement!!

Damn it! Got distracted by his lovely baby again!

○|￣|_

Blackie: (눈_눈) ‘…No, actually, you got distracted by the appearance of your “nemesis” Trey…’

‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ Levi comforted himself, ‘We have a lunch appointment in a couple of hours. I can break it off then.’

Author Note:

We have a discord channel for Soul Shard Captor where you can chat with other readers about new chapters and theories, ask me questions, give suggestions, etc:

lucypandora.com/discord

You can find the link again in the Info chapter.