Little Pink Starfish

Even with eyes open or shut, I always thought of your voice and your laughter, your warmth drove me mad with longing—how could I possibly forget you?

“You’ve grown so thin while I was away. I heard rumors, but if I had known you’d be like this, I would’ve come sooner.”

A large hand cupped his cheek. Firmer than before, a little larger than the last time it touched him.

Fingertips gently brushed near Ishar’s eyes.

The person before him wasn’t a dream, nor a hallucination.

No illusion could make the warmth of a hand on his cheek feel so vivid.

Ishar still couldn’t blink or move, just stared up at a face more mature than the one from his memories.

The youthful softness was gone, replaced by a man who looked to be in his early 30s. The one he thought he had lost forever had returned, even more grown than before.

Veloan.

My disciple.

My beloved disciple.

“I knew Zischka was plotting something foolish. Still, I thought it’d be fine. I was wrong. Thinking back, you were always soft when it came to me, Master.”

Ah. That smile was just the same as before.

Dazed, Ishar watched that smile as Veloan slipped his arm beneath Ishar’s shoulders and gently lifted him.

“In all things you were composed—but only with me, you let yourself be vulnerable. You smiled, you wavered, you opened your heart. You have no idea how happy that made me.”

Ishar, still bound by manacles and shackles, couldn’t balance himself. As if expecting this, Veloan held him close.

Good grief.

Even in this situation, being embraced by his disciple left him flustered. His body was hardly that of a woman’s, and yet, Veloan’s arms felt strangely natural.

“Master.”

“Mmph.”

He couldn’t speak due to the gag. Ishar shook his head, pleading with his eyes for Veloan to remove it.

There were so many things he wanted to ask.

How are you here? Did you really stay in the Abyss thinking I abandoned you? I never abandoned you.

He had so much to explain, so much to ask, so much to say—like how much he missed him. His thoughts were tangled like threads.

But all those words eventually condensed into just one desperate plea:

Please, tell me with your voice that this isn’t a dream.

He couldn’t speak, yet he never took his eyes off Veloan. Then, he noticed—

The hand supporting his waist was steady, but the other hand, brushing sweat-damp hair from his face, was oddly delicate.

Before he could decide whether he was imagining things, Veloan’s fingers began trailing from Ishar’s cheek to his jaw. Familiar—but not the same.

This touch… it was unmistakably laced with something intimate.

Veloan’s eyes, too, were not normal. Tender, heated, drunk on the sight of Ishar like he was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Why is he looking at me like that… like he’s admiring me?

As Veloan’s face inched closer, Ishar twisted away in a panic.

But Veloan’s arm tightened, holding him firmly. When he continued to squirm, Veloan’s hand slid lower—gripping his hip.

Hrk. The touch was clear, the heat of Veloan’s palm searing through the wet fabric of his clothes.

“―?!”

Ishar jerked his head away as Veloan’s face closed in. But it was useless.

Why… why is he biting my ear?

Before he could recover from the shock, something even more alarming followed.

“Mmgh! Mmph!”

He’s licking my ear?!

Wasn’t now the time to talk about where he’s been these past three years?

Even if they were overwhelmed by the joy of reunion, this was a bit much.

His disciple, whom he hadn’t seen in three years, was now licking and nibbling his ear without saying a word. Even Ishar, as calm as he was, couldn’t help but be thrown off.

“Haa… I’ve waited so long for this moment…”

The husky voice was filled with unmistakable desire. Veloan’s breathing, once calm, was growing heavier—and Ishar’s mind spun.

Every time Ishar turned his head, Veloan followed—licking, nibbling, caressing his ear. It was utterly incomprehensible.

Still… since I can feel it, this definitely isn’t a dream. …What is he touching now?!

When Ishar glared at Veloan in warning, the tongue left his ear—only to begin licking near his eyes.

“…! Mmph!”

Panicking, he shook his head violently, and thankfully Veloan pulled away.

It had to be a misunderstanding.

“Master… this feels like a dream to me.”

“Nggh, ngh…!”

With a blissful smile, Veloan leaned in again. Ishar tilted his head as far back as he could, but it didn’t help. With Veloan holding him, any attempt to dodge was futile.

“―Mm!”

Then Veloan’s lips touched his neck. A soft, hot tongue pressed and slid along his skin. Ishar flinched.

Veloan gazed at him with wet, longing eyes.

“Hrk!”

Then, suddenly, he began nibbling and sucking at Ishar’s neck. It didn’t hurt—it was almost… affectionate. Ishar trembled.

Seriously, what the hell is going on?!

Veloan said it felt like a dream—maybe it was a dream for Ishar too. But his sharpened instincts screamed otherwise: This is real.

Then Veloan pulled back slightly, whispering in a syrupy voice:

“Do you feel the same, Master?”

No! Get off! Why?! WHY?! Why are you harassing me after three years?!

He couldn’t speak, so he just shook his head with all his might.

“Ah, so that means no? Ahaha… Master, I know you’re shy. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”

Shy, my ass. Ishar internally cursed, utterly thrown by the whole ridiculous scene.

And still, part of him wondered: Why is he doing this to me?

When he turned away again to dodge Veloan’s lips, Veloan cupped his jaw and gently turned him back.

Unlike Zischka’s harsh grip, this touch was gentle—yet strangely irresistible.

Their eyes met. Veloan’s smile faded, replaced by serious intensity, and Ishar flinched.

Wait… is he mad?

Those crimson eyes, glowing like moonlight on water, locked with his—and Ishar swallowed reflexively.

“When I became your disciple, you made me a promise. I believe you’ll keep it now.”

A promise. The one where Ishar said he’d give Veloan the throne. Hearing that again, Ishar—forgetting the current mess—nodded enthusiastically.

Of course. Of course, he’d give him the throne. Veloan had grown so well. He wanted to hand it over immediately.

But Ishar’s thoughts shattered like brittle twigs with Veloan’s next words.

“You said that when I surpassed you, you’d take me as your Empress.”

“…Mmph?”

Ishar’s nodding stopped dead.

Then Veloan, with gentle hands, removed his gag and continued:

“I’m overjoyed to be your partner.”

His voice trembled with joy. Ishar spat the gag aside and stared, stunned.

“Wha… cough, cough!”

A fit of coughing followed, his throat burning like it’d been scraped with a knife. Eyes tearing up, he barely noticed Veloan tenderly dabbing his lips with a handkerchief and patting his back.

Then—

“Why the hell did you… lick my eyes, cough!”

Before the tears could fall, Veloan had licked them away like sweet honey.

Horrified, Ishar reeled back. Veloan smiled sweetly, pressed a kiss to the corner of his eye, and said:

“Ah… I’m sorry. It’s just… seeing you again after so long, you’re so… adorable. May I kiss you?”

*Why would you kiss *me*? You should be kissing *Jin!—

The words rose to his throat, but he knew better than to blurt them out. Instead, he quickly changed the subject.

“No. I mean—Veloan, wait. Let’s talk.”

“Aren’t we talking right now?”