The Scared God [ManXManXMan]

Chapter Fifteen: Давать клятву - Davat' klyatvu

~Chapter Fifteen: Давать клятву - Davat' klyatvu~

Perun is watching us when we enter the kitchen. I try to carefully tug my hand free from Hors' grasp, fully expecting Perun to rise from his chair in anger the moment he sees our joined hands. However, Hors does not let go of my hand, and Perun's serious expression only softens when he sees us.

My brow furrows at his lack of outrage, but I stop trying to pull away from Hors and let him steer me over to the table. With a little prompting from the sun god, I sit down in front of my half-finished meal. Hors free hand hovers over my food for a moment, his skin glowing faintly with magic that only my magical sight allows me to see, before doing the same with his own bowl, mine now once again steaming.

Hors' hand slips from mine as he repeats the process to Perun's food, which has remained touched since my departure, though it was likely out of respect for Hors, who followed me out. To keep myself from reaching to take his hand back, I beat down the rising unease that threatens to choke me and grab my pant leg instead. It feels nowhere near grounding, but it is better than being empty-handed or making a fool of myself in front of Perun.

They both wait until I start to eat before following suit. Hors keeps a close eye on me the entire time, likely to make sure I finish my food this time, and I can feel Perun's eyes on me every few seconds, though I cannot actually catch him in the act. No one talks, and, despite Hors' suggestion, I do not try to bring up a conversation. It is not that I doubt what he told me – though maybe I should – but...what do I even say?

I glance at Hors, feeling out of my depth, but then quickly direct my attention back to my food. There is no reason for him to help me further. He said his actions were not selfless when I asked him why he helped me through the panic attack about a week ago, and I assume the same can be said for what he just did on the stairs, but that help has to run out sometime. And I am still not even sure why he would help me; he never explained the reason behind it, just that it was not selfless.

When I finish, feeling slightly ill from eating while not hungry, Hors stands up to take my plate with the bowl stacked on top and his own dishes to the sink. Perun stands up as well, following his boyfriend into the kitchen area with his dishes in hand. There is a slight pause where they have a short, whispered conversation before Perun beckons me to follow him as he leaves the room. I am tempted to ignore him, but one glance at Hors tells me that would be a bad idea. So, I reluctantly get up and follow the king god into the living room.

Perun settles himself in one of the chairs after plucking a seemingly random book from the tall storage cabinet in the far corner of the room. I hesitate in the threshold, coming to the realization that I had noticed the cabinet from day one, but I had immediately dismissed it despite never once looking in it to see what it held. For the longest time, I stupidly assumed it just contained decorations or DVDs, like normal household living room cabinets do even though I have never seen a single TV anywhere in the house. It does explain why I never noticed more than a handful of books in their bedroom or anywhere else in the house; they have all been hiding in this cabinet.

I make my way over to the open cabinet, looking at all the titles. Hors joins us just as I pick a book – Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection – and selects a book of his own, though I do not get a chance to see the title before he takes it off the shelf. As he brushes past me on his way to the other chair, he places a hand on my back momentarily to guide me to the couch. I take a seat, but find myself wishing he sat next to me instead of across the coffee table with Perun, as foolish as the wish may be. Dismissing the thought, I try to focus on my book.

We stay like this until it is time for lunch.

- - - - - - -

After another quiet dinner – why would I even want to start a conversation with them? – I return to hiding in my room. While sitting in the living room with them was not altogether unpleasant, it is no less odd to be in their presence for hours on end. And while I am certain they are having some sort of interesting conversation downstairs, I feel like I have had enough contact with them today. Unfortunately, though, Perun does not seem to agree.