Defeating Sinclair King

Ainsley soon found himself in the in-ground hot tub of the ensuite bathroom. The megayacht had left the mountain, and they were headed to the city again. However, the experience was haunting him. The warm water was not even helpful in calming him down.

He placed his hands on his face. The flashes of what happened in the dining hall came to bother him as soon as his thoughts fell silent. He could still recall the surge of water that destroyed everything, and the only reason why he survived was that the green dragon heart pulsed magic to protect his human skin. Without it, he would have died.

Like normal, Sinclair wasn't there again.

Force accompanied his hands as they wiped down Ainsley's face. He wanted to forget the innate fear that was etched in his mind. He would never forget this, and this would always be the one thing he would remember about Lupin. What was his name again? Full Moon Lupin?

"Ainsley, how are you feeling?" Sinclair entered the bathroom without knocking, and Ainsley was visibly spooked by his sudden presence. He sat on his ankles near the spa and reached out to check the temperature of Ainsley's forehead. "You've been there for minutes. Are you not getting sick?"

"Are you racing here to poop? Why else would you come inside like that?!" Ainsley growled a little and tried to hide his body with his arms. Even if he was wearing underwear, he was still bothered by his flabby body. After all, with someone so chiseled, he couldn't help but compare.

"I don't need to go here to do that." The hand holding his forehead flicked at it. Sinclair then dipped the same hand in the water, making grumbles under his breath as he felt its hotness. Even if he liked water, warm water didn't sit well with him. Soaking in hot water…? Was he trying to get cooked? "You should probably leave. It's getting hot."

Ainsley raised a brow before making his way deeper into the tub, even switching seats, to avoid Sinclair's reach. He figured Sinclair wouldn't go into the hot water. "Of course, it's getting hot. What part of 'hot tub' do you not understand?"

Sinclair grumbled again. "How is that supposed to be relaxing?"

With a grin on his face, Ainsley waved his hand and beckoned the other. "Why don't you give it a try? Come on, it won't hurt. You have installed it here in the first place!" He then chuckled darkly to himself. 'Rascal, I will cook you. It's not every day that I can find a weakness of yours. Hot water, hot water… let's see how effective this is…'

"Fine. Take responsibility for everything that will happen." Sinclair was also plagued by the sudden turn of events. However, there was only so much that he could do while on his megayacht. Since Ainsley was said to be relaxing in the in-ground hot tub, maybe he should try it.

He quickly tugged on his long-sleeved shirt and pulled it overhead, uncaring of the sudden show he was giving. Ainsley's vengeful grin froze as his eyes stuck to that body that was getting bared at every movement. With the water pulsating heat all over, Ainsley's face reddened uncontrollably.

What on Earth was he doing? Ainsley stared wide-eyed at Sinclair from start to finish. When the other finished stripping down to a single piece of apparel, that was the only time he noticed the murderous glare hidden in those wide eyes. However, he only smirked down at Ainsley.

"Show-off!" Ainsley swatted his hand up and splashed water at Sinclair. The other only endured the water's heat and waded through the tub to sit down next to Ainsley. Just like in the carriage, he also wrapped an arm around his friend. However, as a counter-attack, Ainsley began poking his firm side. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Hey, your finger hurts." Sinclair wanted to laugh at the other's misery, but he was busy enduring the poking. "Your nails are long."

As if finding a way to annoy Sinclair, Ainsley yelled in his full-on weab voice as he jabbed his fingers at different spots repeatedly, "Eight trigrams, sixty-four palms!"

"Ouw, hey!" but he laughed at Ainsley's face. Really? Were they supposed to fight like anime characters now?

It only lasted for a few seconds, as Sinclair was strong enough to grab Ainsley's wrists together. The human was even shocked to find himself in such a hold. However, Sinclair only used his vacant hand to hit the back of Ainsley's head, effectively wetting it in the process.

He then released Ainsley from his grip. "You're centuries too early to think that you can defeat me."

"Dammit." Ainsley huffed before crossing his arms on his chest, leaning against the wall of the hot tub. He didn't mind that Sinclair's arm was around his neck now.

"Oh, yeah… I'm sorry about what happened in the castle." He dropped his arms at his lap and moved to lean on Sinclair. "That was your home, and I couldn't even stand to stay there for one day. The next time, I'll try to be braver. I just… I was just scared… I mean, those people aren't you. They would probably be less forgiving…"

Sinclair only turned to look at Ainsley. "It's alright. You did well in trying to save yourself. I don't think they'd find it strange that you wanted to leave. After all, Father almost killed you in a snap."

Even if he already heard it from Sinclair, Ainsley still felt off for leaving things like this. The next time he stepped into that place, he surely would be able to stand unfazed. He secretly nodded to himself. He didn't have much of a childhood home, so he didn't want to disrespect that of Sinclair.

Oddly, he was starting to feel sleepy. He then realized that it was Sinclair's body heat that was lulling him to sleep. As if not caring about anything else, he moved around to hug the other and tried to find a position where he could sleep. With his eyes closed, he endured the weight of Sinclair's gaze. As if this stone teddy bear could stop him.