Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 55

Oso's relaxed position caught me off-guard, partially expecting him to be extra attentive to his surroundings since Jyushi had passed this way not too long ago.

The oldest naga let his hands and arms hang freely by his side, the familiar smirk resting on his lips as he waited for my answer to his question. I quickly looked him over before noticing that there were no new wounds or marks on his skin, telling me that he had let Jyushi pass without a fuss.

"Where would this walk end up?" I slightly raised an eyebrow, still a little tense from the discussion about an hour ago.

"Wherever you want it to go," He held out his right hand to me, the smirk shifting into a smile, "I could also just be quiet and escort you directly to Jyushi's territory, because I know that's where you're going."

"No," I took his hand while shaking my head, "You don't need to be quiet. It's just...I still have a debt with you last I checked."

"Ah, that."

Oso released my hand after gently tugging me forward to walk next to him, his coils shifting as he moved alongside me. There was a long moment of silence between us as we walked, the long grass soothing to listen to with the morning breeze blowing through it.

"I'm not holding any of my grudges against you anymore."

"But you said--"

"It was wrong of me to put all of the pressure onto you, but I didn't think there was any other option," He raised a hand to brush his bangs away from his eyes, focusing on me after taking a breath, "I used you in any way that I could, knowing how you felt about me through your scent and taunting you to make sure that you did as you were told."

I stopped walking as he did, looking right at him without flinching at his words.

"You've done much more than I ever thought you would, and it's only been recently that I fully realize that you were never like the other humans that came here before. You never approached us with an ulterior motive or false words, blindly hoping that we'd follow your every whim because you had 'gained our trust'," Oso closed his eyes for a brief moment, opening them and shifting his head up to look at the sky, "Because of you, we were taken from our home...but also because of you, we're back on our island and alive. I don't have any words that could describe what it felt like to crawl on this grass again, to leave that flying machine and know that it'll be the last time I'd see that contraption ever again.

"I know you've said that you were interested in being our shared mate, but I don't feel like I deserve anything from you, especially after everything I've done. The pain of fear, the terror of death..." He sucked in a breath between his teeth, the spaces where his fangs would fold down made obvious as his top lip pulled back a little, "I've waited a few days to tell you this, since you were busy with...other things...but I don't want you to become my mate."

My heart thudded in my chest as Oso slightly pulled away from me, a light blush rising in his cheeks while I took a step towards him, a distraught look on my face.

"Oso--!"

"I mean it, (y/n)!" He backed away from my outstretched hand, my fingertips missing the scales on his upper arms as he twisted out of my reach, "Don't make me regret this."

"You're the one who looks like he regrets what he's said!" I took wide steps to catch him, wrapping my arms around his chest and pressing my cheek into his shoulder, "I know you can tell how I'm feeling, how fast my heart is racing...If you really don't want me as your mate, then push me away yourself."

I waited for Oso to lower his arms, tensing for the motion that would shove me back and out of reach.