Bermuda

A whispering voice, yet laced with caution. It was unmistakably his boss’s voice. But... he was not alone?

With the back of his head pressed tightly against the wall, Ero blinked, then slowly craned his neck out like a turtle. He had instinctively hidden himself, but now he was unsure—had his boss sensed him and asked just to confirm?

Still, the tone and voice he had just heard were completely unlike anything he had heard before. It felt like... something he should not have heard.

“Don’t worry about it.”

What—.

At the low voice, Ero snapped his head back and clamped a hand over his mouth. For a moment he thought he had misheard, but there was definitely someone else in there. And that low, settled voice sounded strangely familiar.

“How can I not—mm....”

A muffled, nasal sound slipped out as if being suppressed. It did not sound like an ordinary conversation at all. Then came a series of suggestive noises that stirred the imagination—soft, wet sounds, like droplets falling into a shallow pool. Clear, yet indecent enough to make the entire space feel heated.

“It’s fine. No one’s coming.”

This does not sound fine at all, sir!?

Ero’s eyes spun as he crouched behind the wall, drowning in all sorts of wild assumptions. Every instinct he had from running errands in the back alleys told him one thing: he absolutely should not be here right now.

As panic set in, sweat beaded on his forehead along with the humid air. Looking around frantically, he nudged the stack of towels beside him with his ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) elbow. Letting a few fall deliberately, he scattered them loosely across the floor with the tip of his foot.

Just as he was about to step on them and sneak away—

“Ugh... that hurts.”

Leonardo’s groan slipped out like a sigh.

Ero, who had been about to scurry off like a rat, froze in place.

“That hurt again?”

Again?

Someone said he was in pain, yet the man’s voice carried a hint of laughter.

Ero’s expression twisted as he listened intently.

Is that something to laugh about right now?

Annoyance flared up in him for no reason. Then he suddenly remembered his boss saying his wrist felt stiff.

A man would endure pain without groaning... even in agony. Maybe he had been pretending to be fine in front of the team, but the injury could actually be serious. He had taken immense impact throughout the match, and the envelope of medicine contained all kinds of drugs.

Following that line of thought, the possibility that he had misunderstood began to creep in. He needed to check whether this was an emergency or not. Besides, his boss had told him to bring painkillers—so even if he left, he still had to deliver the medicine first.

Just a quick look. Just a quick look.

Convincing himself, Ero slowly turned his body. He did not know what drove him, but he found himself creeping forward, sticking tightly to the pillar leading into the powder room. Moving like a shadow, he edged right up to the corner.

Stretching his neck, he glanced toward the mirror angled in front of the sink—and the reflection revealed the two figures perfectly.

Ghk—.

It was unclear where it came from, but a hazy steam filled his vision, and at the center of it, two men tangled together. More than anything, they were pressed so close it was as if they might become one.

His face flushed instantly, as though he had just witnessed something forbidden.

W-what is this.

This was far too intimate to be checking an injury. Ero barely managed to shut his jaw before it dropped open.

The one in a gown was seen only from the back, but he had the same blond hair as his boss. And though he was clearly standing and leaning forward, the man receiving him sat below—yet his shoulders were so broad that it looked as though the blond figure could be swallowed whole by those long, solid arms.

On top of that, the other man was even larger than his boss. The hand supporting the back of that blond head, the size of the shoe-clad feet—everything about him was different.

A uniform?

Ero leaned in slightly, trying to see more clearly. But the moment he spotted the wristwatch beneath the cuff, the man who had been indulging in that golden-haired figure lifted his head slightly.

Then he looked straight at the mirror.

...!

Ero felt his entire body freeze.

Those piercing blue eyes met his own—perfectly, instantly.

And yet, the man showed not a single trace of surprise. Instead, without looking away, he buried his mouth and nose into the damp blond hair.

Then, as if deliberately, he bit into the exposed pale skin and cast a glance.

As though saying, Look properly.

Ero knew that face all too well.

Click—

From beyond the wall, in the locker room, came the sound of a door settling into its frame. Leonardo, who had been pressing his lips against a firm jawline, jerked his head up. His pupils shrank sharply within his golden eyes as he shoved Hugo’s shoulder away and tried to move toward the direction of the sound.

If Hugo had not caught his arm, that was.

“You told me to open it. Then focus.”

“Didn’t you hear that just now?”

Leonardo asked, his tone clearly uneasy. Hugo’s expression hardened slightly as he rose from the counter he had been leaning against.

“Stay here.”

Pushing Leonardo behind him, he walked ahead into the locker room and swept his gaze around. The moment he turned the corner, something caught against his foot with a dull tap.

“......”

It was the spray painkiller and various medicines scattered across the floor.

The aluminum can he had nudged with his shoe rolled away with a soft clatter, but the towels spread across the ground absorbed the sound like a rug. Raising one eyebrow, Hugo bent down and picked it up.

Then, with a flick of his hand, every door connecting the locker room to the corridor locked shut.

Shaking the spray can a few times, Hugo turned back and held it up toward Leonardo.

“Looks like someone was here. They just left.”

“Someone was here? Then why—.”

The moment Leonardo recognized what was in his hand, he froze. He pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a quiet groan.

He had assumed it was Ero when Agrizendro arrived, yet why had he not even considered the possibility that the brat might actually come in?

Ero was quick-witted and perceptive. Even if the door had been locked, getting a master key through staff would be nothing to him.

Damn it... did he see? Ha... what the hell is wrong with me lately.

He had been far too careless. How was he supposed to explain this? It was not as if he could say he was involved with a Council commander. The kid was not loose-lipped, but he was not someone he could trust completely either. What if he leaked information to a reporter for money?

Leonardo stood there blankly, staring at the spray, before suddenly lifting his head and shooting Hugo a glare.

“You said no one would come. Didn’t you lock it properly?”

“I said they wouldn’t come this far. And they didn’t.”

Hugo tapped the floor lightly with the tip of his shoe. At that shameless reply, Leonardo ran a hand through his hair in disbelief.

“Why are you so calm about this? What if he saw?”

“That wouldn’t be so bad.”

“What?”

As Leonardo shot back in disbelief, Hugo stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“If possible, I’d rather your teammates heard about it.”

“...?”

“More importantly, were you actually hurt somewhere? What’s this painkiller for?”

Changing the subject, Hugo slid a hand behind his thigh and lifted him up effortlessly. Suspended suddenly in the air, Leonardo’s legs kicked slightly in surprise. Hugo carried him over to the mirror and carefully set him down on a wooden table nearby.

Left sitting there like some expensive ornament, Leonardo braced his arms behind him and stared at Hugo.

“What are you doing?”

Perhaps he was trying to read his intentions, but the sight of him like that—clothes disheveled, brows drawn together—was unexpectedly provocative. Hugo approached the subject he had placed like a piece in a composition and cupped his cheek.

Then, without hesitation, he captured his lips and brushed his nose against his. A low hum of dissatisfaction escaped him, but the voice, shaken by the moment, was pleasing.

As his tongue slipped inside and teased the one he had been holding back, Leonardo’s lashes trembled in response. Meanwhile, Hugo’s other hand slid beneath the gown, roaming along his loosened thigh.

Gripping it firmly, he kneaded the flesh, the muscle tightening under his touch, leaving clear handprints behind. The indecent path crept higher and higher. There was less than a hand’s breadth left before—

“Wait—.”

Leonardo, who had been responding with half-lidded eyes, turned his head aside with a shallow breath. Hugo’s lips slid along his jawline, then finally caught his earlobe between his teeth before pulling away. Having been interrupted several times now, Hugo’s eyes narrowed in irritation.

Still, he spoke in the gentlest tone he could manage.

“I should check where it hurts.”

Leaning back against the mirror, breathing unevenly, Leonardo looked down at him with a faintly arrogant gaze.

“Sorry, but I’m not in the mood to play doctor right now, Your Grace.”

Then, lifting the leg caught in Hugo’s grasp, he pressed the sole of his foot firmly against the duke’s lower abdomen. Applying just enough force to create distance, he tilted his head slightly and asked,

“You knew, didn’t you? That someone was outside.”

He had thought it was strange the way Hugo kept biting at his ear and neck. He had assumed it was just a preference—but now it seemed more like a way to dull his senses. Hugo could be reckless at times, but today especially, his behavior felt unusually unrestrained. Leonardo could not understand it at all.

“That it was one of my teammates.”

Blue eyes flicked down to the foot pressing against him, blocking his approach. Taming a beast required a certain price, but each time, the dignity of a noble seemed to erode in a new way. Still, the precarious display beneath the loosened gown was not a bad trade.

The droplets clinging to that pale skin, the streams gathering into a small pool on the wooden surface... the shifting reflections there—

It was undeniably obscene.

Sensing his gaze, Leonardo lowered his leg slightly and asked again,

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

Meeting his eyes, Hugo slowly bent forward and covered the backs of both his hands, which were braced behind him. Then, his warm breath brushed aside the damp blond hair falling over his face.

He pressed a kiss to his forehead, then to the sharp line of his brow.

And with a faint smile, he answered calmly—

“Yeah.”

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