Shot of Silence

Chapter 3: Skill Test

"Right. So, before we eat, here," Heath said, handing the blond man a piece of paper and a pen.

"What's this?" Confusion was crystal clear on his face, but Heath only sat there, smiling innocently, without saying much.

The blond man couldn't help but feel slightly alarmed as he witnessed the pure smile on the brunet's face, considering the recent downfall the younger had experienced. A tingling sensation in his head urged him to run. However, despite the warning signals from his fight-or-flight instincts, curiosity grew even stronger, ultimately winning over. He finally made up his mind and took the paper and pen offered to him.

"Write your full name there," Heath instructed curtly.

Still suspicious, the blond man gazed at Heath and asked discreetly, "My name? What's this for?"

However, the brunet didn't give him a moment to ponder further and pressed a bit, saying, "I'll tell you once you write it, so just do it."

"Tch. I swear, if this is some kind of prank," the jade-eyed individual muttered under their breath, yet they complied with Heath's request before returning the items.

"Don't worry~" The grin was meant to have an assuring effect; however, a second later, it turned creepy as Heath whispered the rest of his sentence, "The paper is simply a means to test the dark magic that I learned during my times alone in my room."

"A-A what...!?" Wide-eyed, those dark green eyes filled with anxiety and fear.

"Well, that's what you get for trashing me around earlier~" The brunet snickered. "I've been curious ever since I bought it on the black market, you see. But I'm too young to become a murderer~ So you just played yourself there."

"You dipshit!" Panic was evident in his tone before the former royalty burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! Oh goodness, look at your reactions!" Heath laughed heartily. "You've been indulging in too much fiction, man! Magic doesn't exist~!"

Well, that part is a lie. He actually infused a bit of Dark Magic into the ink used. It's nothing too intense, though. If the ink were used to write lies, the paper would simply spark into fire.

So why did he say what he said?

Well, he needed to find out if this man knew about magic, especially considering the high likelihood of him being related.

As his face turned red, the taller male threw his spoon at the brunet, who purposely didn't dodge it for the sake of appearance.

He couldn't be any more suspicious now.

"Ow—!" Heath yelped, though it was quickly followed by another chortle when he heard the blond sigh.

"Haaaaa, you. If only you weren't drunk," the taller one groaned. "What's with that anyway? How the fuck did you go from being a reserved otaku to this?" He gestured.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, reserved otaku?" Heath didn't fully understand the term, but based on the context alone, he shot the blond man a faux offended look before giggling, further fueling the other's belief that his strange behavior was due to alcohol influence. However, deep down, he felt a sense of relief that it seemed he wouldn't have to work too hard to uncover more information about himself. It appeared that this guy was quite talkative himself.

"A loner nerd who only has me as his only friend— No, actually, how are we still friends?"

At this, the brunet scoffed. "I would love to know that." He rolled his eyes. "How come someone as fabulous as I am befriends a barbarian like you?"

A growing tick mark could be seen on the latter's head. "Heh, this barbarian you're talking to has kindly let you stay in a room for what— three months now? Should I kick you out and see what you can do about it, you leech?"

Upon hearing this, Heath halted.

Three months.

'I see. So, my current situation is nowhere near as good as it was then. Depressed, possibly jobless, with no place to call home and very likely no money either. Goddamn, and his headaches didn't help whatsoever.'

Once he snapped out of his reverie a minute later, however, the blond was no longer seated across the table from him. Instead—

"What are you doing?"

"I..." the man said somewhat awkwardly as he hugged him. "I'm sorry, okay? Shit, I didn't mean what I said. Not a single word. So don't... don't find another way to—"

He trailed off, likely thinking about the scattered bottles in his room earlier and the fresh cuts on Heath's arms. From the sounds of it, he was biting his lips now.

"Just... don't dwell on it, Please?"

At least it seems like the blond isn't such a bad guy.

Heath smiled.

"I won't," the brunet said, returning the comfort by gently stroking the other's head, sensing the genuine tremble of desperation in the blond's embrace.

He didn't know what kind of relationship he had with the man—siblings? cousins? friends? or perhaps something more?—but whatever it was, the guy had been kind enough to take him in. So, at the very least, what he could offer in return was a sense of reassurance.

"I won't ever tread down that path again. I've learned my lesson. So rest assured, okay? This time, I'll keep my promise. I won't leave you behind." He whispered the last sentence, the bitterness lingering on his tongue.

It was the only promise he had both broken and tragically fulfilled with his late family.

With the thought of them, Heath unconsciously tightened his grip on the older man.

"Heh," he chuckled dryly, "Getting overly sentimental here. It's not like me at all, damn..."

Thankfully, this time the blond chimed in with a lighthearted chuckle. "Yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I actually miss your chaotic side, despite how annoying you could be."

Heath rolled his eyes as they finally released their embrace.

"Well then," he smirked, "better not hear any complaints from you when I make a complete turnaround from this point onward. Let's see how long you can keep up."

The blond snickered, "Challenge accepted."

And with their moods quickly patched, they resumed their breakfast.