The road home from this worthless area took exactly twenty minutes. Hades sat, leaning back in his backseat. He did not take his eyes off the reflection in the darkened glass, where blurry silhouettes of streets, store signs and rare passers-by appeared every now and then. But his thoughts were not about the city.
"You were so close to me all this time" - flashed through his head, and the corners of his lips crawled up.
He quietly tapped his fingers on the door handle with a feeling of impatient pleasure. Imagination returned him again and again to that sweet moment when his arms wrapped around Rava's thin body. How his light body trembled.
"So he still remembers."
"He will never forget me," Hades said out loud.
This smug man, who had almost never known defeat, could confidently say that he controlled the entire situation one hundred percent.
He leaned forward slightly, bit his lower lip and ran his finger along the glass.
"That little face..." he repeated in his mind, remembering Rava's face, his restrained reaction, his cheeks flushed with emotion and that almost imperceptible trembling exhalation that he had caught so clearly. It made his pants feel tight.
He clenched his fist and pressed it to his lips, hiding the smile that had spread. He wanted to have fun again and subdue at least some easy prey.
"Maria," he said without turning his head.
"Yes, sir?" the secretary answered in an even voice. She did not look at him, but her hands on the steering wheel tensed slightly. She felt his mood swings better than anyone.
"Turn the car around. I want to go to the club." Without asking any unnecessary questions, the car smoothly changed lanes and turned around at the nearest intersection. Hades felt the familiar thirst for power spreading inside him.
He put his hand on the armrest, closed his eyes and said with an exhale:
"Today is too good a day to go home."
Although his thoughts slowly developed towards what kind of alcohol to drink and what kind of hole to fuck, he still returned to the pathetic image of Rava.
Rava sighed silently, got out of bed and went to the bathroom. When he returned, there were traces of moisture on his face, and a small first aid kit was lying in his hands.
"Give it to me," Blaine said quietly, holding out his hand. "I'll do it." At first, Rava wanted to refuse, but then, without knowing why, he sat closer, turned sideways and allowed him to touch his swollen cheek. Blaine's fingers were warm. He leaned a little closer, carefully examining the damage, and, having treated the cotton pad with antiseptic, began to carefully touch the skin. Rava's eyes did not know where to hide from embarrassment.
"I knew it wasn't the girl who did it," he said calmly, almost casually, but with a slight pressure in his voice.
Rava shuddered. His ears instantly filled with heat. "This is not what I want to hear right now!" The shameful memories of him admitting he was gay immediately flashed through his mind.
"What makes you think that?" Rava breathed out, trying to remain neutral.
Blaine glanced at him, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Because you wouldn't endure pain for a girl. But for a man..." he didn't finish, smiled lightly, chuckled, and continued to treat the wound as if nothing had happened.
Rava's face was burning. He pulled away abruptly, stood up, as if he needed to do something urgently. He put the first aid kit on the shelf, removed the empty food boxes from the table, folded the napkins. His movements were too abrupt. Blaine watched his every move and laughed casually.
"Go take a shower. I want to sleep," Rava muttered and stuck his head in the refrigerator to cool down.
Here Blaine couldn't hold back and laughed as hard as he could, which got him hit in the face with a pillow again.
While Blaine was washing himself in the shower, Rava managed to wipe the floor sticky from the cola and make the bed. He knew that he would offer him the bed - not because it was polite, but because he couldn't sleep next to him - it seemed too intimate.
"It's too early" - thought Rava and lightly slapped himself on the unswollen cheek.
When Blaine came out of the bathroom, he was in Rava's old T-shirt and a towel on his shoulders. His wet hair stuck to his temples, drops of water ran down his neck. Rava turned away, pretending to set the alarm on his phone. Blaine's curls were so cute and his eyes so bright that Rava again raised the thought of declaring his love in his head.
"Good night," he said, getting out of bed and heading to the soft carpet where the blanket had already been laid out.
"Are you sure?" Blaine asked, pointing to the bed.
"Yes." His voice was even, but everything inside him was collapsing. "I'm comfortable here." The light went out. Only the neon sign from the window shone faintly into the room. The air between them rustled in a whisper.
"Good night, Rava."
"And you too." Rava couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Scenes that weren't there were spinning in his head. His lips seemed to still feel warmth. His heart was beating in a strange rhythm. He didn't know when he closed his eyes. But sleep came... and with it, those hands again.
In the middle of the night, Rava felt movement. At first, as if someone was breathing nearby. Then he saw a shadow. It was standing above him. He opened his eyes without moving. Everything inside him was clenched. His heart began to beat, giving off a rush to his temples.
A man's silhouette loomed over him.
Blaine?
He didn't move. He just stood there. And looked. The silence was thick, almost frightening. Rava wanted to speak, but his lips wouldn't obey.
He blinked.
And the next moment - nothing. Light flooded the room, the late bright morning was already breaking through the window. The birds outside were chirping loudly. And the passing cars were clearly in a hurry to get to work.
And Blaine... Blaine was asleep. Still on the bed, face in the pillow, hair disheveled, breathing evenly.
"Oh, my God," Rava exhaled, sitting up. He looked at his watch.
And then he screamed:
"We overslept! Damn, it's almost lunchtime!" The echo swept through the entire apartment. Blaine jumped up in a panic, and Rava was already jumping around the room, grabbing clothes, a phone and trying to figure out if that look in the dark was reality... or just another dream.