Original Sin (MewGulf AU)

🌞Chapter 23🌻

🌻

On the whiteboard that hung on one wall of the office, Gulf wrote 'went home after the meeting' below his name. He finished gathering his things and stood to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sir Makihara."

"Okay. Got a meeting today?"

"Yes, with Mister Mew."

"I see. That's tough. A regular march onto the breach. He's not making any outrageous demands of you, is he?"

Makihara sounded like he knew everything. Gulf shook his head meekly.

"Everything's fine. I've finally gotten used to him."

"Mew's easier to deal with once he gets started on a project."

"That's...true. I had to make all sorts of extra demands this time, so that made it harder."

"Oh, did you ever decide on who you wanted to write the cover review for Bright's book?"

Gulf was startled, but he only gave an ambigous smile, not allowing his reaction to show on the surface.

"Not yet."

"Could you ask Mew? I know he might be too busy to do it, though," Makihara asked him almost regretfully and Gulf nodded, troubled.

Of course Gulf had thought of doing that, but he figured that Mew didn't have a very positive attitude toward Bright. Gulf hadn't felt inspired to test it out. But if he had to explain that to someone else, he might have to reveal his relationship with Mew. Just the thought of that kept Gulf from saying anything.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask. See you tomorrow," Gulf said.

Gulf used to travel the road to Mew's apartment bursting with excitement. But since his last visit, his steps were heavy with listless emotions. Gulf found it impossible to understand how things had come to be the way they are. He couldn't be satisfied with how he and Mew shared their feelings. He worried about his social standing and outside criticism.
Was it wrong for him to have become a man of such insatiable desire? Was he paying for that? The more he thought about it, the less he understood. His thoughts were caged in.

Gulf had visited Mew so often that he managed to cover the distance from work to Mew's apartment with barely a conscious thought. Gulf took a deep breath and stared at the close doors of the buildings entrance. He had made an appointment with Mew, but when he recalled the coldness of the man's voice, it sent him into a mood so black that even he recognized he had hit rock bottom.

Gulf had thrown himself into his work trying to forget his problems about Mew. He had worked so hard that he had finished everything he could. Once Bright's proofreading was over, there would be left nothing to do.

Gulf had even paid Takashima, the biggest headache of all his authors, so many gruesome visits, that he had finally managed to get a finished manuscript with relative ease. When he'd told Boat about it, he had looked at Gulf in wonder and asked what kind of magic he'd used.

🌞🌻

Gulf had pressed the button for Mew's apartment and the maid answered, her voice crackling and artificial. Gulf gave his name and business, and the door opened a fraction of a second later.

Gulf's body seemed to tense with pain and anxiety as he thought back on the sex he'd had with Mew last time. Mew had never relented no matter how many Gulf sobbed, and every time Gulf cried, he felt more pathetic. The worst had been when Mew his semen onto Gulf's face. That was the first time something like that had ever happened to Gulf.

Gulf had noticed something terribly cold and cruel inside Mew. Something that saw other people as nothing more than cogs in a machine. Eventually the time would come when Mew would toss Gulf aside as useless parts, something worthless that he didn't need.