Another Family Visit

There was no change in Solis's memory and the only change in him was the insignia on his chest. Noir kept checking him over several times a day for the next two weeks. When nothing happened, and Solis didn't feel even the slightest bit sick or uncomfortable, Noir finally relaxed his guard and stopped grabbing Solis's hand compulsively every two hours or so to check on him.

Solis wasn't sure if he was happy that Noir had finally relaxed, or he was disappointed that Noir had stopped grabbing his hand all the time. Noir still continued to check him once in the morning and once at night, though, so Solis still had something to work with. But he did miss the frequent contact – however, he was afraid to initiate it, in case Noir found his clinginess a little too annoying.

Solis had underestimated Noir's perception, though.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you seem down? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?" Noir asked soon enough. "You've been a little morose for the last few days…"

Solis flushed, too embarrassed to tell his fiancé the truth.

Noir was immediately anxious, thinking that the insignia, or the sealed memories were causing Solis pain again. He immediately went over to Solis and cupped his face in his own hands, peering at his face worriedly. "Are you feeling unwell again?" he asked, concern pooling in his chocolate brown eyes.

Solis shook his head. "I'm fine," he murmured.

"Are you sad?" Noir pressed.

Solis froze. "I don't know," he said honestly.

"What's making you sad?" Noir demanded immediately. "Tell me, Solis, and I'll fix it for you!"

Solis couldn't resist pulling Noir into his arms. "I just miss you," he whispered in Noir's ear, and buried his face in Noir's shoulder, too embarrassed to look at him.

Noir was stunned. "Miss me…?" he repeated, confusion colouring his voice. "But…am I not always with you?"

Solis buried his head even deeper into Noir's shoulder, if that was possible, and resolutely refused to look up at his fiancé. His ears were burning red by now.

A light bulb finally turned on in Noir's head and he burst out laughing, making Solis turn even redder than before.

"Oh, love," Noir said at last, rubbing Solis's back comfortingly. "You just have to tell me if you like me being all sticky with you. I've been holding back because I thought you were getting annoyed with all my fussing," he confessed in a soft voice.

Solis finally looked up. "Really?" he asked, his grey eyes soft and filled with a child-like innocence that melted Noir's heart.

Noir nodded and kissed his fiancé on the cheek.

"You weren't annoyed?" Noir asked.

Solis shook his head vigorously.

"But you don't like people touching you, right?" Noir asked. "I thought you were barely tolerating my touch."

Solis shook his head even more vigorously.

"You're not people," he said childishly. "You're you, and you can't compare yourself with other people," he declared.

Noir beamed at him. "Then, you won't get annoyed if I'm sticking with you all the time? If I want to hold hands for no reason, or if I want to play with your hair or if I want to…"

Solis interrupted him by pulling him into a kiss. When they broke apart for air, he whispered in Noir's ear, "You can do whatever you want with me. I'm yours."

It was Noir's turn to flush red.

Unfortunately, their romantic session came to an untimely end by the arrival of Jovis, who had somehow managed to evade their security and dropped into their bedroom from the window.

Sensing an intruder, Noir immediately jumped in front of Solis, shielding him behind his back, and ready to draw his sword at any moment. Solis wasn't helpless, either; he, too, instantly, drew a gun from a conveniently built side pocket on the bed.

When both of them realised that the intruder was none other than Solis's half-brother, they were stunned.

"Why are you here?" Solis asked with a deep frown. "And why are you breaking in like a thief? What if we shot you?"

Jovis laughed and threw up his hands in the air.

For the first time, Noir noticed that out of all the half-siblings Solis had, Jovis was the one who resembled him the most. Especially when he laughed just now.

"Sorry," Jovis said, smiling at the two of them. "Your people weren't letting me in, and I didn't want to go to either Rosea or Chaos Demon for a personal matter."

Solis sighed. "All right, what do you want?" he asked bluntly.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me and my mother," Jovis said quietly. "Especially after what she has done all these years."

He stepped forward, trying to get closer to Solis.

Noir narrowed his eyes and blocked Jovis immediately. "Stay where you are," he said dangerously. "There's no need to get any closer to Solis to express your thanks."

Jovis laughed again. "You are very protective of my big brother," he murmured.

"Of course," Noir replied promptly. "I love him."

Jovis smiled wryly. "Would you believe me if I said I cared for him as well?" he asked.

"No," Noir said without missing a beat. "If you cared for him, you would have stopped your mother. You clearly knew about the toxins in the mushrooms that she had been feeding Solis over the years."

This revelation startled both Solis and Jovis. Solis had his suspicions, and he had discussed them with Noir, but he didn't know that Noir had already determined this conclusively. A pang of sorrow whipped through Solis. Was there something wrong with him that his family kept wanting to harm him even though he tried his best to keep away from them and not to interfere in their lives?

"How on earth did you know?" Jovis asked, his face turning very serious all of a sudden, a complete about turn from his earlier joviality.

"I have my ways," Noir replied mysteriously.