Chapter Text
Scara knew exactly what he was doing.
He knew what he was doing, posting that picture of Sethos, one that he would probably, maybe see. At the same time he was unsure if Sethos would even see it at all - he rarely interacts with him online lately. He just goes to sleep, assuming nothing might even happen.
So when he wakes up to a knock on his door, he doesn’t expect to see Sethos on the other side. Especially not while he’s half-asleep in his Sethos Delta concert T-shirt which (because it is now stained) he’s wearing as a pajama shirt.
He blinks at the other, very puzzled. He hears Mona come out of her room, and she gasps when she sees them. She quickly runs back into her room, then comes back out and shoves a pair of shorts into Scara’s hands. “Please greet guests with pants on .” She says through a tight grin.
Scara feels his face blow red. “He’s my friend, I’m sure it’s fine…”
She gives him a look, and he sighs before quickly pulling the shorts on and addressing Sethos.
“I’m so sorry. I just woke up. What are you doing… here?”
Sethos stares at him, not in the face. Although, his own face shares the same blush. “...You’re wearing my merch. From two years ago.”
Scara pauses. “...Why don’t you come inside?”
Soon, Sethos is sitting at his table while he makes some tea, still in his pajamas. He’s trying really hard to be nonchalant about this whole thing, but he can’t help his embarrassment from tainting his cheeks and the back of his neck. He can really feel Sethos staring at him.
“You’re Kabu.”
Ah, so he saw it already.
He hands the cup of tea to Sethos, then heads to his room. He pauses at the door, glancing behind himself at the tanner man. “Come.”
Sethos immediately stands and follows him. When he steps into the room, he freezes and looks around at the decor. “Oh. Wow.”
Sitting on the bed, Scara nervously adjusts his shirt. “Yeah. It’s kinda embarrassing now, but… I lied to you. I’ve always been… a huge fan.” A pause fills the room, so he continues. “And yes. I’m Kabu.”
Sethos sits down next to him, taking a sip of his tea and gazing at the posters and drawings and merch. He sets the cup down on the nightstand, “Wow. That’s… a lot to take in.”
“...I’m sorry I lied to you.” Scara goes on, the guilt really washing over him now that he’s letting himself think about it. “I didn’t realize how close we would get. I’m not a fangirl, I never wanted to use you or anything and I definitely don’t want to now. Now I- I really see you as my friend first, rather than ‘renowned singer Sethos Delta.’ And I hope that instead of a fan, I’m still your friend. I really…”
“Hey.” Sethos takes his hand. He freezes, because usually he’s the one grabbing Sethos’ hand. And something about this sends electricity sparking up his body. “Scara, it’s okay.”
“Huh…?” He blinks, focused on the calluses in the guitar-loved hands that are so warm around his own.
“It’s okay. I mean, it would've been weirder in different circumstances, but you are my friend. You’re my closest friend! I- I really like you.” He stammers, “And being around you, I mean! And… I think if you were anyone else it would be different. I mean, I understand your guilt ‘cause I would feel bad lying too - but I promise I forgive you. And because you’re Kabu, I feel… really glad.”
Scara can’t help but stare at him. His expression, his words, they are so soft. The rosiness on his cheeks, the warmth in his gaze… He feels as if an invisible string is tugging him closer to the other, but he resists. And he bats away the thought of kissing him. He’s trying embarrassingly hard not to act on his impulses.
“Oh. Well, um…” He can’t even find the right words. “I’m glad too. I was worried. I do… really like you, too. And being around you.” He smiles, repeating Sethos’ words back to him. “I like it a lot.”
Sethos chuckles, though seeming even more embarrassed. “That’s good then.” He glances at Scara, at his lips, then away so quickly that the latter isn’t sure he really saw it.
…
Why is this so awkward?
Scara continues staring at Sethos, who in tandem continues looking away. Of course they both expect something, right? He’s nervous, obviously, but doesn’t quite understand why he didn’t do anything while he could…
Oh no, did I miss my chance?
“S- Sethos.” He blurts out, without any sort of plan. But he nears closer, making sure the distance is not too much for Sethos to close it. Every move is calculated, but he definitely has no idea what he’s going to say next.
The other turns to him, surprised. “Hm?” From just the small sound, Scara is suddenly reminded why he fell in love with that voice. Fell in love with Sethos. “What’s up?”
“Please kiss me.”
…That wasn’t it.
Whatever I was about to say, that was NOT it.
He feels himself go bright red. No more faint cheek blushes, just full on humiliation. His words try to come out, though he can barely get a syllable in the right language. Sethos just stares at him, wide eyed and equally red.
“...Really? You want me to?” Sethos asks, his voice tender for the second half after regulating himself. He’s good at that. When he brings his hand up to Scara’s cheek, everything in him freezes.
Oh.
“Yes. Please.” He whispers, embarrassment replaced with a mixture of surprise and longing. Again, he feels that pull become ever stronger.
Sethos brings him close, closing his eyes and slotting their lips together carefully. Though he seems to be calm about it at first, Scara realizes how nervous he is at the trembling in his hands. So he tries to relax himself, and melts. He knows Sethos feels it because he, too, softens just a little.
He has kissed people before, not like this though. It’s just soft, a perfect first kiss. Barely any movement until Scara kisses him back once, and they pull away but remain close. Sethos gazes into his eyes, and Scara finds himself getting lost in them. He’s breathing slowly. This didn’t take his breath away, didn’t breach any areas he was hesitant to open, didn’t go beyond that intimate spark.
And that was the best part.
.
Scara can hardly believe that this is real, but when it hits him, he feels overcome with excitement.
He goes for a jog just to get his energy out. He rolls around in his bed, hugging himself and grinning. He changes his contact name for Sethos to “bf,” then changes it back after realizing how corny that is, plus the fact they haven’t even really made it official yet.
He and Sethos go out on a date together after some talking. They decide on an aquarium, which Scara finds the idea nice. He isn’t highly interested in sea creatures - and he suspects Sethos isn’t either - but a place like that just sounds really cute. He really loves being able to love cute things like this.
When they talked, Scara asked for permission to be affectionate with Sethos in public, to which Sethos agreed. So while they walk around the dimly lit exhibits, Scara keeps his arm linked around the other’s.
It’s pretty dark, but Scara still watches Sethos. They stopped to watch since the man seemed fascinated by the small sharks. Illuminated by the blue lights in the water, most color is drowned out except for his eyes, which are strikingly green as always. Scara leans against the other with a smile nothing else could bring out of him.
“Excuse me, are you Sethos Delta?” A voice from behind startles both of them. Scara puts a little distance between them as they look back, but doesn’t exactly let go of his arm.
The person seems to be a fan, and his friend (who is DEFINITELY a fan) stands beside him with wide eyes. Sethos puts on a smile, though Scara can read the nervousness in between the lines in his face. “Hi, what’s up?”
The boy looks back and forth from Sethos to Scara. “Um… Nothing. We just wanted to ask for a picture, if that’s okay.”
“Oh, sure! Can my friend be in it?” Sethos asks, pulling Scara a little closer.
“Yeah, that’s alright.”
A quick picture is taken between the four of them. When they’re done, the boy is about to head off but his friend stops, turning to Sethos.
“Are the rumors true? Were you a cultist?” She asks, her voice unusually bright. Sethos stiffens, and the young boy’s eyes widen.
“Dude, you can’t say that-!” He hisses, grabbing her by the arm. Then he turns to the two of them again, “I’m so sorry. She has no filter.”
“I just wanna know!” She pouts.
Scara watches the conversation happening, feeling Sethos’ grasp on his hand continue to tighten. He gently rubs his thumb over the other’s fingers. He hides that stuff, right? How did his fans find out?
“Excuse me,” Sethos starts, “Who’s saying that stuff about me?”
The boy sighs, pulling out his phone. “There was this guy on Youtube, I don’t remember his name. Here.” He shows a video that Scara recognizes to the two of them.
Sethos stares at the screen, though the video isn’t playing. “ ...That’s so creepy .” He bites his lip, forgetting to cater his expressions to the two fans. Then he blinks and comes back to reality for a moment, “I’ll look later. Thanks so much.”
The two of them walk off, and Sethos stares off absently. Scara watches him, observing his expression. It’s just blank.
“Hey, is everything okay?” He asks quietly, squeezing his hand in a reassuring gesture.
Sethos remains quiet for a moment, before he sighs, relaxing his shoulders. His voice is a murmur as he turns back to the glass, “I don’t know.”
Scara hums, “Talk to me.”
A laugh. “It’s stupid. I’m just overly stressed. With the Temple of Silence somehow becoming the talk of my fans, and if we start dating… I’m really scared what will happen to me if things are found out.” The green-eyed man stares forward, into the deep water and away from everything else.
He watches, exercising the same patience Sethos so sweetly offered to him in his own times of need. “What makes you think bad things will happen?”
“You know how people are. I dunno. I’d probably get relentlessly made fun of. I’m not incredibly proud of being a part of a cult. Even though I loved my grandfather, and it didn’t seem like a bad thing for a long time… I don’t know. It just seems like a stain on me now.”
“You didn’t really have a choice. To be part of it, I mean.”
“That’s right…”
Scara looks forward as well, trying to offer a solution. “I think it’s okay to talk about as a victim. It’s not like you can’t make it about your… musical journey or something.”
The other nods, but doesn’t say anything. Scara keeps his eyes forward. He honestly doesn’t know what the right time to address this one thing is, and for sure doesn’t know if that time is now. Nevertheless, he keeps going.
“I like you, and I really do… want to be your boyfriend. But if you- I mean, if we do date, if you want to keep our relationship secret, that’s fine with me-”
“I love you.” Sethos interrupts him. “I want to be your boyfriend too. And I don’t want that to be a secret.” He sighs, resting his head on his hands. “I just don’t want to have to worry so much about what other people think. There are so many eyes on me.”
Though the declaration is a surprise, he looks a bit past it. Taking his hand once more, Scara nods. “Y- Yeah, I understand that. I guess it comes down to… who you want to be seen as. I’ll stay by your side, though, no matter how long it takes for you to decide. That won’t bother me.” He smiles towards the other.
Sethos meets his gaze, returning a small smile. “Thank you.”
“...I love you too.”
.
“Woah. Who took you to bed last night?” Heizou quips as soon as Scara sits down across from him and takes off his scarf. (He doesn't usually wear scarfs, but Sethos had insisted it was too cold to not wear something, and gave his.)
Mona looks at him and gasps, seeing the marks on his neck for the first time “Oh! I didn't see those… WAS THAT-!?”
“Yep.” Mona gapes, and Scara smirks mischievously. Kazuha frowns at his expression, so he goes on. “I now have a boyfriend.”
With that, he opens his camera roll and shows the others the best picture he's ever taken. Pictured is him sticking his tongue out at the camera while Sethos kisses his neck, giving a side-eye in the camera's direction.
His friends’ jaws drop.
“Is that… that one singer??” Heizou asks.
Kazuha corrects him, “It's Sethos Delta. Oh my gosh.”
Mona doesn't have any words to say. She looks like she might scream, actually. He can’t help but laugh. The reaction was perfect.
“This might actually be the cover for his next album.”
“Wha-?! Lucky!!”
Scara is more than happy with what they have. When he reflects on himself now, he notices some things are different. He’s letting himself be affectionate, show his love in ways he wants to, and express himself when he’s happy. It’s not like he’s perfectly fixed now that he has a boyfriend, but Sethos and him are healing together.
He never really knew if he could love like this again after everything that happened to him. Scara remembers when they first met - how he had flinched when a stranger barged into the changing room. He didn’t have time to dwell on it then, but how funny that they went from that to this.
They visit Bamoun’s grave in the countryside where Sethos grew up. He brings flowers, and Sethos speaks a bit to the headstone. He introduces Scara, who beams proudly. He hopes that somewhere, Sethos’ grandfather will approve of him. Somehow knowing what he’s thinking, Sethos tells him, “He’d like you.”
Sethos uploads his newest album, containing both of the songs that Scara helped him with. One of them is a song titled Love on the Line (Call Now) that Sethos bashfully admitted writing about Scara. But the album also includes a revision of one of Sethos’ old songs, the one Scara told him he had history with. He plays the new version when he’s alone, remembering how this very song got him through life several years ago. And instead of crying in isolation to this song like he used to, he smiles to himself.
Online, the speculation about Sethos’ relationship has skyrocketed, since they have yet to confirm anything despite the hints. But Scara feels very proud that he’s the one who Sethos loves. Sethos seems proud, too.
In the meantime, Scara tends to spend the night at the other’s house. He sees his drawing on Sethos’ wall, and knows he couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Sethos falls asleep in Scara’s arms with his face pressed against the latter’s chest, embracing him tightly. Scara loves spending time together like this, hugging Sethos’ warm body against his own, feeling the slow rising and falling of his breath, running his fingers through curly locks and breathing in the scent of honey.
And asleep in each other's arms, everything feels like it might just be okay.