CHAPTER 572: PREPARATION REQUIRED

Dizzy.

Dazed.

Disoriented.

And definitely damp.

Xavier had to peel off the suit from his wife because Luca didn’t have enough strength left to do it.

If Luca hadn’t insisted that he was fine, he would probably be standing under the showerhead with his husband right now.

The water from the shower poured over him, warm and steady, but all Luca could do was lean forward, pressing his face into his palms as his thoughts circled back to what had happened earlier.

He was mortified. Not only had he been the one to make the suit, but he had also been the one making all those noises while wearing it. The more he thought about it, the redder his ears felt. What was worse was that Xavier hadn’t even gotten the same experience.

Sure, it had been a successful test. Sure, he had gained a lot of insights. But if he was honest, the "insights" paled in comparison to the fact that it had felt so good; he had actually agreed to more tests.

Luca wiggled in embarrassment under the spray, but then straightened with determination. No, he had to push through with his original plan. With all the feedback Xavier had given him, there was no reason he couldn’t make something viable.

Yes. He could definitely come up with something.

That thought was still spinning in his head when Xavier came out of the bathroom after following him earlier.

The prince’s eyes immediately fell on Luca, who was now sitting with his back perfectly straight, staring intensely at the wall as if it had just presented him with a complex engineering problem.

"You okay?" Xavier asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. Luca’s face was extremely serious, his brows furrowed in concentration, but the vivid red in his cheeks told a very different story.

Well... Xavier wasn’t wrong.

Luca jumped in surprise, nearly falling sideways off the bed at the sound of his husband’s voice.

"Oh, yes. I’m okay! Great! Fine!" he blurted, the words tumbling out without order.

The man before him chuckled, low and warm. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Luca answered too quickly. He was fine. Completely fine. More than fine, actually. He was just... busy. Busy running simulations in his head about what he would do later. He was absolutely working. Not thinking about body parts. Definitely not.

And he certainly was not replaying parts of the earlier test in his head. Especially not the very end, when he wasn’t sure what had happened... only for Xavier, just as they were about to leave, to say there was one more thing to check.

"Huh?" Luca remembered his surprise when he thought they were done.

"We promised to note down the temperature, right?"

"!!!"

They had. And he had completely forgotten.

"Don’t worry, we’ll just take one now," Xavier said smoothly. "After all, I thought it wouldn’t be right to take the temperature during that, when ideally you’re going to make changes to the suit, right?"

"Oh... yeah, I guess so." Luca thought about it, trying to ignore how his ears felt hot all over again.

"So we’d have to set a different control."

"???"

Beep!

"Right now it’s at 38.8 °C. As someone who can wield fire, it’s always been rather high for you, right?"

"From the time I managed to awaken, it’s been like that," Luca replied, turning to face Xavier.

"Then, good that it’s normal." The prince’s hand rose to rest under Luca’s chin, tilting it up slightly.

"Then let’s see what’ll happen if we do it like this..." Xavier murmured, and before Luca could react, he pulled him into a kiss.

The little chipmunk froze for only a second, startled by the suddenness, before Xavier coaxed his lips to part. When he asked for an opening, Luca gave it without hesitation.

The kiss was slow and sensual, a drawn-out slide of heat that made Luca’s fingers curl as they gripped Xavier’s sleeves. Their chests pressed close, their breathing syncing, every small movement pulling them in tighter.

The cramped space hardly suited someone of Xavier’s height, but he didn’t care. Even in such a narrow place, breathing felt easier. Even with their lips locked, this was still his most comfortable spot. Right here, with Luca.

They finally broke apart, lips glistening, and Xavier surprised him with a sudden tight embrace. His arms locked around Luca as he pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"I know you’re already here, but even then, I don’t know why... I still miss you," he said softly.

Luca blinked, startled, before wrapping his arms around him in return. "I’ve missed you too."

Beep!

"40.1 °C," Xavier observed, glancing at the display while patting Luca’s waist with the same arm that held him. "I guess we need to cool you down?"

"!!!"

Back in the present, one prince waved a hand in front of his flustered wife.

"Luca?"

"Are you sure you’re alright?" Xavier’s brow arched, and his lips curved slightly as if holding back a laugh.

AHHHHHH! Luca screamed inside his head, realizing he had completely spaced out.

He plopped down on the bed and rolled to wrap himself in the quilt.

Not to escape. No. He just... needed to clutch something before asking what was on his mind.

"?"

"Xavier, I’m alright. Really. But... how about you?"

"Me?" The prince came closer, eventually sitting on the bed beside the bundled figure that was his wife, only Luca’s face and hands peeking out.

Luca nodded.

Xavier’s smile softened, the rare kind that was just for him. "I’m doing great." And he meant it. There was a glaring problem, yes, but it was nothing compared to the weeks without Luca. Laughable, really, considering he could go months or maybe years without seeing anyone else.

But Luca? A week apart had felt like forever. His hand rose to Luca’s flushed cheek.

"Why won’t I be okay?"

"Because earlier you didn’t—" Luca’s voice faltered. He looked down instead, his gaze landing exactly on the front of Xavier’s trousers.

The prince found it adorable. "I managed it earlier," he said lightly.

"But..." Luca’s expression was conflicted enough for Xavier to lean in.

"You can help me another day. For today, I’m okay."

"Another day?"

Xavier nodded, eyes fixed on him. "Because it’s been a while, we’ll need to prepare, don’t you think?"

"Prepare?"

"Yes. Have you forgotten how we prepared?"

Luca’s back went ramrod straight, his head popping out of the blanket entirely in surprise.

He remembered.

Oh, he remembered perfectly.