Solo For Two

As the carriage jolted, Sasha glanced surreptitiously at Karel. Karel had his head turned, staring out the window, avoiding eye contact. This made Sasha realize how much he had taken Karel’s kindness for granted and how painful it was to be ignored.

Lord Picton’s estate was located in the middle of town, farther from the beach. Though the entrance seemed modest, the inside was more spacious than expected. As Sasha took in the view of the garden, a servant came out to greet them.

“Are you Julian Ludwig?”

“Yes, and this is Karel Clements, my sworn brother. We are traveling together, so he came along.”

Hearing himself introduced as “Karel Clements,” Sasha felt even more nervous. Karel’s walk, manners, and speech were flawless, but Sasha doubted he could imitate him well.

Sasha rolled his eyes, following Karel inside.

Lord Picton, the estate’s owner, rose from his seat at the head of a long dining table, warmly welcoming Karel. Seeing about ten people gathered at the table made Sasha suddenly halt, unprepared for the presence of others. Lord Picton greeted Karel, who clearly appeared to be a distinguished member of the upper class. Sasha instinctively half-hid behind Karel.

“Julian Ludwig? You’ve grown a lot… haven’t you?”

“It’s been a while.”

Karel responded calmly.

“And this is your friend, Karel Clements….”

As people’s eyes turned towards him, Sasha panicked, worried that his foreign accent might slip out even in simple greetings. Just as Sasha struggled to form words, Karel intervened.

“Ah, Karel cannot speak.”

“Oh…!”

“And he has some hearing difficulties as well. He can understand a bit but can hardly hold a conversation.”

“What an unfortunate situation….”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

With Karel’s perfect explanation cutting off any unnecessary conversation, Lord Picton’s eyebrows furrowed sympathetically. Though the expression was fabricated, it seemed convincing enough. After Lord Picton returned to his seat, Sasha glanced at Karel, feeling a mix of surprise and confusion.

Karel had essentially declared publicly that “Karel Clements” had a disability, but Sasha, unaware of Karel’s indifference to his own name or honor, felt uneasy.

As Sasha pulled out his chair, it made a squeaking sound, drawing everyone’s attention. Flustered, he quickly sat down, noticing the beautiful young woman across from him staring intently. She wore a sophisticated blue dress, her tanned skin and curly brown hair giving her a cheerful appearance.

Facing such a beautiful woman made Sasha nervously fidget with his hands on his lap. He worried about using the fork and knife properly.

“Do you know how many dishes can be made with roses?”

The woman in the blue dress addressed Karel.

Karel raised an eyebrow. Julian had mentioned Lord Picton’s hobby had shifted from carrots to roses, but he hadn’t expected to eat rose dishes.

“Roses can be eaten?”

As he responded to the woman, Karel’s attention remained on Sasha, curious about his trembling hands.

“Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“…Hindu mythology says that the god Brahma created Lakshmi with 108 large and 1008 small rose petals. There’s no reason roses can’t be food….”

The woman burst into laughter at Karel’s reluctant response. Sasha watched her laugh at Karel with an affectionate gaze.

Sasha kept glancing at the woman in the blue dress. Noticing his gaze, she occasionally smiled at him, causing poor Sasha to avert his eyes and hastily shove food into his mouth. Despite Sasha’s clumsy table manners, the woman seemed to find him endearing, her expression warm and amused.

Karel quickly regretted bringing Sasha along.

“Karel, you’re called Clements, right?”

Another woman in a pink dress pushed a rosy jam toward Sasha, who was sitting in the middle of the table.

Sasha quickly looked up.

“Try this too.”

Sasha felt his tension ease a bit at the woman’s kindness. In fact, Sasha was already nervous because every time his hands shook, his cutlery clinked against his plate, drawing unwanted attention. He gratefully accepted the timely kindness and took a bite of the unfamiliar jam the woman offered. Though someone found it odd that Sasha scooped the jam with a soup spoon instead of a teaspoon, he didn’t notice their expression. The jam was shockingly delicious.

“This is rose jam, made by simmering soft rose petals with sugar. How do you like it?”

Sasha, captivated, scooped more jam. It was as delightful as its vibrant color. The cocktail with rose water was also a striking flamingo pink.

The appetizers, made with a unique variety of rose used like vegetables, the tagine spiced with dried rose buds, and even the butter had a hint of rose fragrance. The thin muslin wrapping the butter had a pale pink hue, suggesting it had been buried in rose petals.

Finally, as he kept eating rose preserves with chocolate, Sasha felt glad he had come with Karel.

Before they left the mansion, a woman in blue escorted Karel and Sasha to the exit. She stayed close to Karel, engaged in a private conversation, and Sasha could easily tell she had a romantic interest in him.

Following the two slowly to avoid interrupting, Sasha felt a vague sadness. Seeing Karel being kind to someone else made his heart ache for some reason.

“Karel?”

It was then that a small sound was heard nearby.

Karel stopped at the call of his name, but the approaching woman was looking at Sasha. It was the woman in the pink dress who had offered the jam. Sasha suddenly remembered that he had been introduced as “Karel.” She handed something to Sasha.

“It’s rose wine. You seemed to enjoy it, so I brought some….”

Sasha took what she offered. The bottle of liquid felt heavy. He almost said thank you but, sensing Karel’s gaze, flinched.

Sasha responded with a smile instead. ‘Take it home with you,’ the woman said, then walked away.

While Sasha watched her slender figure flutter away, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.

Sasha whispered urgently, but Karel, either not hearing or ignoring him, kept a firm grip on his wrist and hurried out of the mansion. As Sasha was dragged along, he looked back. The woman in blue, who had been conversing with Karel, looked bewildered, not having received a proper farewell.

“Karel, Karel!”

Thinking they were alone, Sasha whispered Karel’s name.

But Karel headed straight for the carriage without responding. He roughly pushed Sasha inside.

“Ouch….”

Sasha dropped the gift, and the bottle rolled on the carriage floor. Karel, who immediately climbed in, shut the door harshly while Sasha quickly retrieved and hugged the bottle. Bubbles rose inside, but fortunately, it didn’t break.

The carriage started moving.

Sasha thought Karel had something urgent to say, but Karel remained silent for a long time, staring out the window as if avoiding Sasha.

Was it because he had talked to the woman? Karel was always kind but only when Sasha was submissive.

Sasha grew tense again. He hadn’t even apologized but had already angered him. Feeling anxious, Sasha thought it was time to initiate a conversation.

What should he say?

Should he apologize for slapping him? Or thank him for taking him today? Whatever he wanted to say seemed stuck in his throat. Besides, his words wouldn’t come out smoothly enough to convey his thoughts properly.

Hesitant, Sasha finally turned towards him, rustling.

But at that moment,

“Damn it!”

Karel spat out a curse through gritted teeth. Sasha was so startled his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

Sasha, usually poor with words, had intended to lightly kiss Karel’s cheek to seek forgiveness. From past experience, expressing affection first had never worsened the atmosphere.

But now, it might be different.

Whether Karel noticed Sasha’s fear or not, he spoke abruptly after a moment, still not looking at Sasha.

“I don’t like other people showing interest in you.”

It was a confession like that of a teenage boy. Sasha didn’t understand.

“I wanted to feed you something delicious because you like such things… but.”

“……”

“You stand out wherever you are. I should have realized that if you catch my eye, you catch others’ eyes too. I was a fool. My treasure.”

Sasha couldn’t understand everything, but he grasped the last word.

“Treasure.”

“Yes, Sasha.”

Karel’s eyes were pitiful and gentle as he looked at Sasha. Sasha could tell that his words were sincere.

At that realization, all the worries that had kept him up at night vanished like a lie.

Instead of replying, Sasha nestled close to Karel. Then, as he had resolved earlier, he placed a brief kiss on Karel’s cheek. Just then, the carriage jolted, causing his lips to land slightly off target, near the corner of Karel’s mouth.

Karel’s hand dropped lightly.

“…How do you always manage to be so adorable?”

Karel sighed and swallowed Sasha’s lips. When he couldn’t contain his jealous, impatient heart, Sasha initiated the kiss. It seemed foolish to him, but just the fact that Sasha kissed him first made everything else fade away. The slap, the ensuing sadness—it all became insignificant, like a dog submitting to its master.

Karel kissed Sasha, burying his hand in Sasha’s soft hair and messing it up. Sasha, relieved, opened his mouth and responded to the kiss.

When the kiss ended, Karel was smiling like a boy again. The two of them held hands tightly all the way back home in the carriage.

By the time they returned to the villa, the sun had set. The water in the swimming pool shimmered under the lights and moonlight, and the palm trees swayed gently.

Seeing the peaceful scene, Sasha suddenly felt like he was truly home.

Walking beside him, Karel felt more like a friend or protector.

“I thought Lord Picton was just a plant-obsessed eccentric, but he might be quite the gourmet. If Julian had come this time, he might have changed his mind.”

“……”

“Seeing you enjoy the food made me feel full too.”

At the door, Karel intertwined his fingers with Sasha’s and played with his hand for a long time. His actions were filled with a reluctance to let Sasha go. Sasha wondered if he should invite Karel in, and if so, what they could do together inside.

In any case, it didn’t seem like Karel wanted to leave.

After deliberating, Sasha held up the bottle of rose wine, and Karel smiled silently.

“It’s a gift you received, Sasha.”

Karel gave Sasha brief kisses on his forehead, nose, and lips before stepping back.

In the end, Sasha entered his room alone. The beautiful linen bedding looked different from what he had seen in the morning. The diligent servants must have changed the decorations, saying the weather was nice.

After his shower, he plopped down on the wrinkle-free mattress and opened the bottle of rose wine. The bubbles slowly rising gave the wine a pale pink hue. He took a couple of sips directly from the bottle before lying back on the bed. The high alcohol content quickly made him feel light-headed and dizzy. He unbuttoned his shirt, feeling a sudden sense of suffocation.

Now might be the time.

By the time he finished the entire bottle of rose wine, the bed he was leaning against felt extremely comfortable. Sasha staggered to his feet. He walked down the corridor barefoot, not even realizing it.

Without knowing what he was thinking, Sasha burst into Karel’s room without knocking. Karel was lying diagonally on the bed.

“Sasha?”

Startled, Karel sat up. The guest room’s bed seemed too small for Karel, and his surprised expression was a bit dazed, unlike his usual self. Sasha found it amusing and couldn’t help but laugh.

As Sasha wobbled, Karel sprang up and approached him. Leaning against him, Sasha realized he was more drunk than he thought. Karel’s chest was warm, and he smelled good, a mix of cologne and his natural scent.

Sasha wrapped his arms around Karel’s neck.

＊＊＊

Sasha, who had suddenly barged into the room, seemed to be in a good mood. His rare, childlike smile made Karel feel equally cheerful.

But Karel soon noticed something odd.

“Are you drunk?”

Sasha responded to Karel’s question with a silent smile. Karel grew confused. Sasha was maintaining eye contact for an unusually long time while smiling and clinging to him, his arms wrapped around Karel’s neck.

A faint scent of rose wine wafted from Sasha’s close face. He had clearly drunk it like juice, thinking it was sweet.

“Oh, Sasha.”

“Karel.”

As Sasha called his name, a warm breath with an unknown sweet scent wafted from his parted lips. Karel gently laid Sasha on the sofa, holding him by the back. He planned to wait until Sasha fell asleep here and then move him to the bed once he was fully asleep.

Karel traced Sasha’s face with his fingers. Sasha giggled as if it tickled.

“I won’t touch you. Just sleep.”

Sasha’s face, seen from above, was red around the eyes and still smiling.

Sasha slowly closed his eyes. As the thin skin of his eyelids covered his pupils halfway, one of his arms, which had been draped around Karel’s neck, lost its strength and fell. When Sasha’s eyes fully closed, Karel felt a slight sense of disappointment.

“Well, you fell asleep too quickly.”

“Mm…”

Karel chuckled and gently tapped Sasha’s nose. It was hard to believe that the peaceful face he saw had been clinging to him, drunk, just moments ago. Bringing his ear close, he could hear the gentle sound of Sasha’s breathing through his nose.

Why does seeing him sleep so peacefully make me want to bother him more?

Breathing in the sweet, warm breath, Karel carefully brushed his lips against Sasha’s. Perhaps Sasha was lightly asleep, as he responded with a hum, vibrating through his nose. When Karel’s tongue grazed the roof of Sasha’s mouth, Sasha shivered.

“Sasha, do you dislike this?”

“Mmm…”

“Do you like me a bit more now?”

Since Sasha was half-asleep, Karel decided to indulge a bit more. He placed both hands around Sasha’s chest, feeling like he had captured an unresisting prey.

As he kissed Sasha, deliberately licking the sensitive spots inside his mouth, he felt Sasha trembling through his whole body. Under the thin shirt, he could feel Sasha’s erect nipples against his thumbs, and Karel gently pressed his knee against Sasha’s center.

Sasha was clearly responding. Fighting the urge to reach further down and torment him, Karel continued to kiss him tenderly, contrary to his own desires.

“Sasha, can you hear me?”

“Mm… yeah…”

When he kissed Sasha’s closed eyelids, Sasha only laughed as if it tickled. Even as Karel’s lips moved to Sasha’s temples and ears, Sasha didn’t open his eyes. As Karel traced the contours of Sasha’s cheeks with his lips, he hesitated.

“You’re drunk… so I’ll stop here. It’s such a shame…”

“…….”

“But why did you come to my room while drunk?”

Karel took a deep breath, trying to hold onto his composure. In truth, he was already struggling to contain his excitement, which had reached its limit.

Karel thought it might be better to quietly leave the room. He knew that even if he went to another room, he wouldn’t be able to sleep and would probably end up masturbating while thinking about Sasha….

“…Karel?”

“Yes, Sasha.”

Sasha had opened his eyes at some point and sat up, kissing Karel on the chin. It was cute to see him drunkenly kissing wherever he pleased, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for Karel to control himself. Moreover, Karel wasn’t sure if Sasha would still smile if he faced Karel’s unfiltered desires.

When Karel tried to stand, Sasha followed and lost his balance, swaying. Even as he buried his face in Karel’s chest, he kept laughing as if something was amusing. Sasha seemed to become more giggly and affectionate when drunk. Karel sighed inwardly, thinking he should monitor Sasha’s drinking from now on.

Mumbling, Sasha nestled his face comfortably into Karel’s body. Stroking his back, Karel sighed. Sasha’s skin temperature was pleasantly warm.

He must be craving body heat. Karel tried to think rationally and gently kissed the crown of Sasha’s head. The sweet scent of Sasha’s body mixed with the familiar fragrance of his shower cologne. His hair was still slightly damp, indicating he had recently showered.

Soon, Sasha wobbled and pushed Karel away. For a moment, Karel felt a pang of disappointment as Sasha pulled away, but then he watched in a daze as Sasha began to undress himself.

With uncooperative fingers, Sasha fumbled with the buttons until his shirt fell to the floor. Sasha had never been particularly shy about nudity. Karel had always thought it was a trait of someone who used their body as a tool.

“Are you hot?”

Karel asked absentmindedly, staring at the half-naked Sasha. In his drunken state, Sasha seemed oddly prone to laughter and gave the impression that he would accept anything Karel did.

As Karel ran his fingers through Sasha’s hair, he unconsciously gripped the back of Sasha’s neck a little tighter. Stroking the long, delicate neck and sliding his hand down revealed beautifully defined back muscles. Karel caressed Sasha’s sculpted back repeatedly, eliciting a moan from him. When Karel’s hand traced the dip of Sasha’s spine, Sasha arched his back, pressing closer.

Every time Sasha tensed his body, Karel could see the muscles of his buttocks clenching. Karel kissed Sasha’s forehead and squeezed his eyes shut.

I want you.

“…Can I?”

At those words, Sasha slowly lifted his head, meeting Karel’s eyes.

He stared back without saying a word. Karel knew he couldn’t restrain himself from what would follow.

“If you don’t want this, refuse me now.”

Karel genuinely wanted to misinterpret Sasha’s actions.

Sasha had entered his room drunk, initiated kisses, and even stripped off his clothes when Karel tried to leave. Even so, Karel waited for Sasha’s response, considering the possibility of rejection.

“Do it.”

Sasha’s reply was short. Then he spoke in a familiar foreign language.

Karel had heard that phrase once before and now understood its meaning.

Without hesitation, Karel took off his shirt, never breaking eye contact with Sasha. As soon as he discarded his shirt, he embraced Sasha’s bare body tightly. The sensation of their warm, bare skin touching, chest to chest, flat bellies pressing together, was electrifying.

Karel roughly caressed Sasha’s soft skin, which he had always wanted to touch. Sasha, being sensitive, moaned at the mere pressure of Karel’s grip or the brush of his skin. As Karel’s hand moved down the concave line of Sasha’s spine, lower and lower, Sasha swallowed dryly and clung to him.

“Are you scared?”