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i.
Asuka considers it a pastime of his to listen to Queen.
The band itself means very little to him, but yet, nonetheless, each lyric is tattooed into his mind; he knows the words to every song, knows which songs fall on which albums. He's more of a Japanese Pop Fusion and Bossa Nova fan, but this one group marks the exception.
It's an exception because it was Frederick's favorite band, back when the two of them were close enough to consider themselves a 'band' of sorts on their own.
Asuka has vivid memories of Frederick playing Sheer Heart Attack-- yes, the specific album-- over and over while in the lab. Aria would complain that she was exhausted of hearing Freddy Mercury, and Asuka would agree, but he wouldn't say it because he cared for his friend and thusly, cared a little for his music as well.
These are memories from years long past, eras of his life he cannot physically return to. But they're memories he still loves like a brother, so he still listens to the album when he's in his own lab. Frederick isn't there and neither is Aria to complain, but if he really closes his eye, Asuka can pretend that they are, bickering playfully over *Now I'm Here*.
He can adjust his lab coat and pretend that Frederick is there to comment about how it drowns his "gangly-ass frame".
He can push his bangs from his eyes and pretend that he isn't the reason Frederick *can't* be here.
These are the moments, small in the scale of his nearly-immortal lifespan, that Asuka can't replicate with the Tome of Origin and well-applied biochemistry. He can't rebuild his relationship with his closest friend like a fractured genetic structure. He can't bring Aria back entirely, can't pretend like he doesn't have her blood, along with millions of others', dripping from his fragile hands.
What he *can* do is play Queen vinyls from centuries ago while working on a small, passion project (as if he has passion for anything these days) and reminisce on the good, old days that he used to take for granted.
So, yes, is he a rock listener? No, not at all. But he's a broken, sentimental man who misses his only two friends, which is how listening to the band has become a niche hobby of his. For the runtime of the vinyl, he can live in his head and not think of all of the horrors he's given birth to, all of the--
"Asuka?" A low, callous voice cuts off his rather melancholy train of thought before it can get to the most devastating part, his guilt. "You're thinking too much right now."
Asuka turns around and is, honestly surprisingly, met with the face of a woman with a beautiful head of ebony hair, angular eyes and otherwise sharp features. A mole sits over her deep red lip, her nose is sloped, her bangs are hand-cut and uneven. She wears a casual top that's about as modest as a negligee, the same color carmine as her lipstick, made from leather and golden, circular chains. Her shorts are, well, *short* and pleasantly tight; Asuka isn't a vain person by any means, but truly, her body is lovely and it suits her to wear such comfortable, carefree clothes.
"I-No," Asuka mumbles, trying to avert his eyes but he can't seem to, "is there something you needed?"
"Just. . . checking in." I-No leans against the doorframe of the lab, biting her lip gingerly. Sometime about her tone and relaxed demeanor screams mischief, but when she flutters her lashes, he's rather inclined to see where this goes. "You need to flip your vinyl over or it'll damage it."
Ah, *shit*! In all of his focus on his current project, Asuka had neglected to notice that his music had stopped. Vinyls are very precarious things to maintain; the needle can pucker the disc's grooves and render it impossible to listen to if it's left in the player for a long time after the last track plays.
I-No delights in his surprise, giggling at how he gawks at his own forgetfulness "Don't worry, don't worry. I'll flip it for you so you don't need to stop working on. . . well, whatever the hell you do in here."
"Science," Asuka breathes, almost defensively, as if she had meant to hurt him with her words.
Luckily, she either doesn't hear his stutter or she flat-out ignores it-- the second is more likely, though. Instead, she walks over to the vintage record player in the corner of the lab, sauntering with a flourish that sways her hips in a way that causes the heat in the room to spike. Asuka feels sweat bead against his neck, hidden by his hakama.
"Let's see what you're rocking out to. . ." She smirks, bending over the player precariously to lift up the needle and release the vinyl from its position. "Oh, you like *Queen*? My, that's a surprise. Didn't take you for a rocker."
"I'm not."
"You say that like it's a bad thing. To a woman with a Stratocaster from the 1980s." I-No deadpans. She lifts her green sunshades from her eyes and rests them atop her her head, tsking as she does. "It's unexpected, though."
Asuka watches her with a careful eye. She holds the vinyl in her hands for a moment and admires it. "Got a favorite song?" She asks.
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy," Asuka mumbles.
I-No smirks. "Right, that makes sense. The least punk song they've ever made." She squints her eyes at the vinyl for a moment before looking back at Asuka. "It's not on this album."
"Of course not-- this is Sheer Heart Attack, not A Day at the Races."
"Woah- you know other albums too?" I-No leans against the wall, vinyl still in her clutches. "You're more of a fanboy than I'd thought."
"I. . . Frederick was the fanboy," says Asuka, and honestly, he doesn't even know why. It isn't like I-No gives a damn about him, so why must he put all of this effort into a conversation? She's rough and rigid and cool, while he's timid and pathetic and shapeless.
"God," I-No frowns, setting the record down suddenly with a worried look, "I was right, you *are* thinking too hard. First of all, damn that shitty gorilla for having a decent music taste."
This gets Asuka to let out a soft laugh.
I-No's lip quirks into a grin. She continues, "and second, any part of your mind worrying about him of all people is a part of your mind you gotta turn off. For your own good."
"Your bias is unhelpful--"
"This isn't about me. Yeah, he's a fuckwad of protein powder and toxic masculinity, but ignore that." I-No sets down the record and walks over to where he stands. Surprisingly, she puts one of her feather-light hands on his shoulder, drumming her fingers soothingly. "I worry about you. No, seriously, I do. And when you think about him, you get guilty and distressed. Drop it. You didn't do this shit with the intention of hurting him, right?"
"Intention does not matter here."
"Oh yes it does." I-No's hand travels up his neck to cup a cheek. "You don't give yourself credit. It's pathetic, if you ask me."
Asuka swallows hard.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I like you," says I-No, far too easily, no sarcasm or coy teasing coating her words. With her thumb, she strokes his cheek and the action is, to his knowledge, far too affectionate to be a ploy, even to her. Something about how she sighs and half-smiles over his little gasp of surprise at the touch seems. . . geniune for a moment.
"I'm sorry--?" Asuka's eye widens and he hates that he shudders under her fingerpads, but physical touch is so foreign to him and he's not sure what to do or what to make of what she's doing or, hell, even *why* she's doing it.
And, of course, there's the most startling part: she truly cares for him.
"Asuka," I-No delights at how he tilts his head up immediately to face her, "enough of this sitting around. It might cheer you up to dance."
Dance?!
"I have two left feet, you wouldn't--" he protests, but she waves her finger with a giggle.
"No, I *would*." She insists. "Lemme put on a song."
He doesn't protest, oddly enough. Maybe a dance with the Hard Rock Witch wouldn't be a bad thing; it isn't like he's doing anything better with his time. So, he lets her go, his cheek still warm from her palm.
Asuka sits in silence where he is, following the woman before him with his eye, breath bated, cheeks heated. She goes over to the record player and leafs through his vinyl connection with a manicured finger. (He wishes that it was him again falling victim to her touch.) She bends over and sets a record he can't read the name of on the turntable, lifting the needle with ease.
After a moment, a smooth tune of piano floods the small laboratory. It's light and cheerful and Asuka recognizes it all at once; it's *Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy* and as the tempo rises, I-No looks back at him, characteristically smirking.
*Ooh, love*, *ooh, lover boy-- whatcha doin' tonight*?
I-No, with her timbre voice, picks up the next line in the song, singing over the record with another chuckle. "Hey boy~"
She gestures to Asuka, as if to prompt him to continue the song. Embarrassing as it is, he knows every lyric, so it's second nature to him, easy as speaking. "Set my alarm, turn on my charm, it's because I'm a good, old-fashioned lover boy."
"Cute," I-No squeals, "that was handsome."
"I don't think it was--"
But she takes him by the hand before he can even process the compliment and spins him around, dipping him down suddenly, her muscular arms the only thing holding him from the floor. Asuka reacts frightfully, jolting and flinching with his eye squeezed shut until he realizes the move. She won't drop him, she'd never.
*Let me feel your heart beat. . .*
I-No laughs; she laughs a lot when he's around and he hasn't noticed until now. At him or with him, it's pretty. She lifts him back up and readjusts so her hands are on his hips. He wonders if she notices how thin he is, how he doesn't eat much beyond the two basic meals a day, but she spares his decency by not saying a thing, save for a whispered, "you can keep singing" in his ear.
"I'd like for you and I to go romancing," Asuka mumbles, almost despondent with embarrassment. She moves him around the floor, dodging tables like an expert, and he just droops in her grasp. He's a marionette tied to her fingers, not that he'd have it any other way.
"Say the word: your wish is my command~" I-No sings, giving Asuka a look that emphasizes that she means it.
And in the moment, swept up in her blissful rhythm, two things occur to the scientist at once:
a. She was right in the end-- he's forgotten his sorrows for a while, even if briefly-- because he's listening to Frederick's song, but not ruminating on his face.
b. He thinks he might like to kiss her. Perhaps he's fallen in love.
ii.
Raven brings Asuka a cup of steaming green tea in a delicate, ornate glass. It's a pretty little china set-- a cup and saucer and a little, metal spoon. The pattern is that of doves and, though he won't admit it, it reminds Asuka of his disciple and how he mumbles "mein kleine taube" to him when he thinks he isn't listening.
This is a daily occurrence between the two. Raven reads Asuka like a book and, as such, knows when he is unsettled. He knows that Asuka's feline features are indications of his emotions, which is flattering to no end for the man, but also verging on nerve-wracking.
When his ears twitch sideways, Raven sits beside him with a worried look. When his tail wags, Raven allows himself a pretty smile.
Today, it's something different; something unlike anything else.
Today, Asuka thinks about romance.
To be specific, he thinks about Aria and Frederick. A man and a woman who met and fell in love. What they saw in each other, he will never know. How they fell in love, he will never understand. He just knows that they were two different people one day, a young man and a young woman paired together for a Capstone, and the next, they were. . . something worth fighting for.
He thinks about the two of them and him, still friends, still three of a kind, all sitting together at a little coffee shop, pouring over homework. From the outside, their connection to him would seem unfair; two lovers and their loser best friend who has no others he can properly speak to. Two lovers and their third-wheel because they can't find another student willing to babysit him for the night.
But he never felt it was this. Rather, Asuka felt that it was a privilege to sit beside them, beside such a wonderful example of the human spirit and will to love. He loved them both, not how they loved each other, but in a different way. But he thought about it then and still does now, thinks about what it would be like to have their connection.
They have-- *had* natural chemistry, had sweet romance and soft kisses. They had everything, they were so authentically in love. . . and he witnessed it all firsthand. He got the world's most extraordinary example of the feeling of romantic attraction right before his eyes.
How would that feel, if he were Frederick or Aria? If in someone's eyes, he was someone worth loving and cherishing forever, come what may?
And then, he smells tea and feels someone's gaze upon him and he snaps from his head in an instant. It's unprofessional to do what he does and have the power he has and be pining after a feeling he doesn't quite think he will ever feel. It seems that he's always recklessly loving, never being loved.
(He thinks of I-No and how she holds him, dips him, runs her fingers across his chest.)
"Master, for you." Raven bows his head and pushes the drink forward. His hands are pallid, clammy, and paper-white.
"Thank you," Asuka blanks, confusion and emotion welling up in his chest, "but why did you. . ?"
"You looked pensive. I thought that perhaps something sweet to drink would improve your train of thought."
Oh.
Raven saw him daydreaming, thinking the same thought over and over and over, and concluded that because he looked distant, he needed to be grounded.
"Are you alright?" Raven asks, not timid, but not with confidence. Why is it that he feels he isn't enough to stand next to Asuka? Why does he seem to act lesser, as if he is not a person himself?
Asuka accepts the tea with a shaky hand. His eye darts around the common room, and, upon seeing that he's alone with the taller man, takes a brief sip. "Four sugars?" He asks.
"Of course, Master. It's how you like it." Raven nods.
Raven is the only one not to tease him for liking so much sweetener in his herbal tea. Jack-O nearly had a stroke when she saw him brewing a cup one morning. It's just another way that Raven is his closest confidant, the man he would trust most earnestly with his life.
Asuka can be himself around this particular companion, more naturally than any other. So, he swallows his sip of tea and then, turning to Raven, poses the man with the answer to his previous question.
"Do you think about romance, Raven?"
Raven's pretty, heterochromatic eyes widen. "Romance?"
"Have you loved before, in all of your thousands of years of life? Was it sweet or did it hurt?" Asuka continues, swirling his spoon around in his cup. "Who did you--"
"Permit me to sit for a moment?"
"You don't need my permission and you know that. Sit if you like."
"Thank you."
Raven takes a seat down on the edge of the sofa Asuka himself is reclined on, only inches away from him. His back hunches and his knees bend and spread apart. "I know not why you ask about it, but I. . . have been in love. Quite a few times, though they were all different people from different places."
"Tell me about your lovers."
"As you wish. My first was a woman from my hometown, a young *fraulein* who would do her laundry in the public fountain each week, while I would sit by and watch the waves ripple. Her name was Jutte. She was. . . prettier than I can describe. Wide eyes, shining like the sun, full of ambition. Her body was well-stocked, mature, curvy; her hair like soft straws of golden hay. I began to help her with her chores week after week. . . and the rest just happened naturally afterwards. We danced in the square, sang together in our choir--"
For some reason, this story is both comforting and uncomfortable to Asuka. He feels oddly helpless when thinking about Raven in love with someone, especially someone so lovely and pretty. It's a gutteral ache in his stomach.
"And?" Asuka interrupts him, praying in his mind that he won't give up another detail about Jutte, not with mal intent, but instead, with respect to his own feelings.
"And it was perfect." Raven breathes. "I thought we were soulmates."
"Did she leave you?"
"Too soon. A lung illness stole her from me."
Asuka chokes out a gasp. "Raven, I--"
"But, you see, it always ends that way when you're like me. Mikhail took his own life with a rope, Brigette ran off with another woman, Se Ra told me our affection was physical at most." Raven licks his lip. "I've found that most romance either does not last. . . or is false after all."
". . . How sad," Asuka bows his head, chewing the inside of his cheek. I-No doesn't love him, doesn't feel romantic attraction, so it makes sense, but it makes sense in a way that burns. It's understandable but it still crushes his heart like it's caught in a vice.
Raven raises a brow. "Perhaps. But perhaps I just haven't met my true soulmate. There is a theory that everything happens for a reason in the universe and this. . . could be an example."
"Is that so?" Asuka asks. "Or maybe you've had several soulmates due to the nature of your long lifespan."
"That's certainly a positive twist." Raven's eyes flit closed ever-so-slightly. He's very pretty in the moment, features all askew with nostalgia. "Anything could be possible. But I am certain that time has not limited me to loving once, however you choose to interpret that."
"I see," Asuka mumbles.
"Is there a cause for your queries, Master?"
"I. . ." Asuka looks to Raven and, in spite of himself, slides over just slightly, bumping their hips together. They're closer now, close enough that Asuka can hear Raven's rapid heartbeat and sharp inhales. Raven can, in turn, put an arm around Asuka's shoulder and, with an absent-minded hand, scratch behind one of his feline ears. "*Raven*. . ."
"Hm?" Raven's voice is quieter now, softer and more tender. The weight of his arm is perfectly warm, delightful and grounding.
"Have you kissed one of your romance partners?"
"Another fair question." Raven chuckles lowly. "We did far more than kissing, mein kleine taube. But you have asked me twice without answering my question, you see. What is with the sudden interest?"
"Permit me to ask you one more?" Asuka sighs, head leaning against Raven's shoulder.
Raven laughs again at this. "Too curious for your own good, are you? I am forever at your disposal, Master."
"Kiss me, please, so I know how it feels."
Raven freezes for a moment, hand clutched around loose, silver strands of Asuka's hair. His eyes are blown terribly wide, mouth hung open, surprise painting his every facial features.
Asuka feels his face begin to burn. "I do not know if I am in love because I have never kissed--"
It takes no hesitation whatsoever on Raven's part; after only mere syllables from Asuka's lips, he seizes the collar of his hakama and pulls him in for a rough kiss.
Rough.
Now there's a word that causes Asuka's entire brain to blank; he has never kissed before, but by his standards, Raven's lips meet his with a velocity that would be classified as strong and aggressive under a laboratory manual. A fervour that tells Asuka that kisses are not like this, not without proper want and need.
Needy.
Is it needy of Raven? There is little that Asuka has to go off of, but it feels to him that every helpless press of their lips is wanting of something. Experience? Euphoria? He isn't quite sure. But there's something there that feels so foreign but so. . . *right* when his own hands wrap around Raven's neck and pull him desperately closer. Perhaps *he's* the needy one?
But that would imply that kissing *Raven* is what Asuka craves.
As far as he understands himself, it's I-No that's monopolized his thoughts; it's I-No that's turned him into a pathetic romantic.
But regardless, here he sits with Raven at his side, Raven on his lips, Raven against his chest. . . and it's wonderful. Raven tastes amazing when it truly *should* be I-No and the sentiment is so confusing and overwhelming that Asuka can almost not breathe at all.
Raven pulls him closer, licking his lip. It feels so foreign and too much in too many places, but it also feels perfect. Just enough passion, just enough tender roughness. Just Raven.
Asuka tries to imagine I-No in the position of Raven; he would sit in her lap and she would scratch at his scalp with her sharp nails. . . but it doesn't work.
Instead, Asuka's rather *colorful* imagination thinks of how it would be if I-No was in *his* position, running her hand down Raven's chest while he slowly slides down the couch under her weight. He pictures the two of them turning to him, I-No's legs around Raven's waist, beckoning him to join them--
What is *wrong* with him!?
Asuka pulls back immediately, gasping and panting and almost choking on air.
"Master?" Raven asks, voice higher than usual, audibly tentative and dripping with concern. "Master, are you--"
Asuka can feel the warmth rising from his neck to his face, so he covers his entire head with his palms, chest heaving. He can't let Raven see how flushed he is! He can't let *anyone* because how unbecoming of him to even think something like that? About two of the only companions he has the luxury of having? About I-No and Raven, who would never view him similarly?
"I am fine," Asuka shouts, too forced and far too loud to be passed off as an accident, "thank you, Raven."
"You seem upset."
"I need to catch some air, I- I. . ." Asuka bolts up from the couch and runs for it, mumbling embarrassedly under his breath.
And to his intense dismay, he finds himself realizing another startling thing about himself:
c. Somehow, he has found himself in love with I-No *and* Raven.
Is such a thing possible? Natural, even? Asuka has no experience in the realm of romance, so this is. . . not a question he can answer himself, but he can't help but be curious. I-No or Raven? No, it's both of them and he's absolutely certain. They're both very pretty, very handsome, very alluring.
And he is very allured.
iii.
Asuka is in the middle of systematically buttering a slice of white bread when I-No and Raven both emerge from I-No's small bed quarters.
Together.
At once.
And if this wasn't already too much for Asuka to take, their outfits most certainly are. I-No, as per usual, wears a black bralette, done nicely with lace and satin, and loose, baggy, grey sweatpants. Raven wears one of I-No's graphic tee shirts, oversized enough to hang loose on his thin, gangly frame. His hair is tussled up just so; hers is perfectly straight. He has a smear of lipstick on his cheek, under his eye; she wears the same shade on her lips.
"Mornin', kitten," I-No says, voice still hazy from slumber. She waves lightly at Asuka-- is *he* "kitten"?
"Good morning." Asuka replies, turning his head back to his meal, not Raven's collarbone or I-No's. . . everything. "Did you sleep well?"
"Not a wink," Raven mumbles.
I-No gives him a slap on the shoulder, laughing furiously. "Don't say *that*, you shitty bird!"
Asuka blushes. It's nice to see the two of them. . . getting along, admittedly. He considers himself something of a pedestrian romantically, but the energy in the room is something even he cannot misinterpret and he doesn't mind. The two of them are very handsome and why shouldn't they rendevous?
But why should they be together without him?
"Forgive me, *forgive me*, liebling." He chuckles and at the use of the pen-name, she smacks him again. "You pack quite the punch, mein hexe."
"And I'll do it again!" She groans, rolling her eyes. "Ignore him, he's a brat."
"Ah," Asuka mumbles, quite taken aback by the display, "yes, right."
I-No walks over to him and leans on his shoulder with an exposed elbow. "Making breakfast?"
"Toast."
"Yum." She replies, sarcastically.
"What would you have, then?" Asuka's cheeks puff out; he turns to her with a huff.
Raven sits down at the table beyond the kitchen counter, watching the two of them with a curious gaze. "The blood of sinners in a silver chalice."
"I don't eat breakfast." I-No sighs. "But if that's a serious suggestion, I hope you know that you're first."
Raven snorts.
"But at least I don't have a sole, damn, black coffee," I-No taunts.
"Be bitter, sweetheart, but it will only give you wrinkles."
"Keep talking and see what happens to you."
"Am I interrupting something?" Jack-O drops into the kitchen, wearing cozy pajama pants and a tank top Asuka had gotten for her sometime last year. "Because six o'clock in the morning is waaaaaay too early to fight, you know?"
At her entrance, both I-No and Raven fall silent. Asuka thanks God (or whoever is up there) for looking out for him and keeping his brain devoid of unwanted thoughts. "I agree."
"Good morning, Jackie," Raven nods to her politely. He's always been kind to her. It does Asuka happy to see.
I-No follows suit, but with a biting grin. "Yes, good morning."
Asuka waves to Jack-O. She takes a seat beside Raven and quickly changes the subject to something mundane, something not correlated to how pretty I-No looks or how he, himself, is so smug sometimes that it's unbearable.
It's so unfair; she isn't burdened by these complex feelings and tensions.
But Asuka is. And he has no idea how to handle it anymore.
iv.
He turns to Jack-O. He turns to her because he's desperate and confused and needs someone to talk to.
Originally created in the likeness of Aria Hale, Asuka never expected to see anything beside the life of his old friend in her. She was made to be the same to the tee, same laugh and smile and humor, same cunning and kindness to boot.
And *yes*, Jack-O is lovely and friendly, but she's nothing like Aria, not in any of the ways that would have mattered.
Jack-O is teasing and silly and loose. She has a large smile and a stupid laugh, neither of which belonged to Aria. She's shorter, stronger, and not quite as intelligent; she's a helpless romantic and hyper-talkative and a goof.
But most importantly, the difference between her and Aria that stands out to Asuka is that he *created* her. Aria was older than Asuka, more like a pesky sister of his, but with Jack-O. . . She likes to joke around that he's her father, which honestly terrified and overwhelmed him at first. Fatherhood is not related to him in any tangible way; he neither wanted a daughter nor worked to raise her, so it doesn't stick.
Furthermore, he's young-- or, was young at some point-- and doesn't feel good about thinking of himself as a father because it implies aging. His phobia of passing time and regretting how he spent it combined with his general inability to view himself as any other age than that naive 24-years-old that he was when he started the Holy Wars makes it impossible for him to stomach or accept the title. Though, to be fair, that's a can of worms to dissect under a fine-point lense at another time.
Back to it. Asuka likes to talk to Jack-O despite her little teases because she generally gives good advice. And she's comforting in her own, unique way. It isn't because there's Aria in her words; he isn't so self-important to still view the two as the same person. It's. . . probably because he's lonely and has been for long enough that a friendly face is always something he needs. Her giggles and peals of laughter never fail to make him smile even faintly. She's warmer than a fire, softer than a pillow, better than almost any friend he's ever had before.
He's actually really proud of her and who she has become.
Oh *crumbs*, perhaps he really is fatherly. . .
"Something's on your mind~" Jack-O sing-songs, patting the side of her bed as a signal for him to take a seat. "And I think I know what it is."
"I have my doubts there, Jackie." Asuka mumbles, eye downturned. The thought of 'oh, I am in love with two people and I like them together but they're both so similar and experienced and all too pretty for me so I just sit and fantasize about them' probably isn't one that's--
"You wanna kiss I-No and Raven, dont'cha?"
Asuka's jaw drops.
"Oooh?" Jack-O pokes his cheek delicately, teasingly. She loves being right. "I'm right, aren't I? Aren't I??"
". . . Was it obvious?" Asuka stutters, voice barely above a whisper. His cheeks fill with color, heart beating so fast he can barely regulate his psychiatrist-recommended breath control habits.
Jack-O gives him a catlike smile. "For just anybody? No. But I know you, Asuka, so *obviously* I caught on. You're about as easy to read as a picture book in a foreign language. Like, easy easy if you know the basics, but not really if you don't. And I know the basics of you pretty well!"
"What a back-handed thing to say. . ."
"I mean, it isn't a bad thing. It's honestly just painful, Asu. 'Cause you're all over the place and it's sorta kinda *very* obvious to me, so then I just feel weird because it's like watching your dad try to flirt with this hot couple except he totally sucks at it, which just makes you embarrassed because you know him and--"
"Okay. Let's stop talking about this." Asuka stands up and goes to walk to the door. Shame runs through every vein in his body. How could he be such a pathetic man that even *Jack-O* called him out for it? "I just need--"
"Serious help from a serious romantic!" Jack-O calls, standing to put a hand on his shoulder. "It's sorta in my last name and all."
"Yes, I am *wholly* inexperienced in everything regarding romance, but I do not want you to rub that little fact in my face, Jackie." Asuka frowns.
Jack-O turns him around slowly, gently. "I'm not gonna! I just have good info you might want. . . y'know? About I-No and Raven and what they like and their current relationship and--"
"Tell me, please." Asuka deadpans.
Jack-O chuckles. She guides him back over to sit on the bedside. "That's what I thought! Now, the first thing you need to know is that as far as I am concerned, they're sorta together? Pretty sure they're both dating, which is convenient for you because that just means you have to go up and ask them both out."
"Asking two people out, though. How will that go, I wonder?" Asuka hums.
"Well, they're both polyamorous I think. I feel like they'd sleep with anyone-- which, if you think about it, makes your chances very high! Of course, you don't want to *sleep with* them--"
"But I don't *not* want to." Asuka adds.
"Ew, don't tell me that! Keep it to yourself!" Jack-O wrinkles her nose. "Uhm, so anyway, *disregarding that*, if they're both poly- and at this point, it's pretty safe to assume you are too-- then you just need to go up and ask them out. Easy peasy!"
Asuka slowly raises his hand as if he were a student in a class. "That. . . is the problem. How should I do that?"
"Oh dear," Jack-O frowns, "you don't even know the basics! Okay, listen here, Asu: we are gonna make you the most charming, seductive man this side of the backyard if it's the last thing we do! But it'll be hard to get there, so you gotta work for it!"
"Crumbs. . ." Asuka mumbles.
Jack-O snaps her fingers. "I'll start by teaching you how to flirt! The key is to ensure. . ."
Asuka resigns himself to her tutelage with a nervous grimace.
v.
"You wanted to talk to us, kitten?" I-No asks, smug and sly, sitting on Asuka's bed with a sense of comfortability that one typically does not have with their employer. Raven sits beside her, a hand on her thigh rather obviously.
Asuka stands before them, face flushed and palms more than just a little sweaty.
This is the moment I've been preparing for, he thinks to himself, so I can't butcher this. I'll have an honest conversation and tell them how I feel, just as Jack-O said.
However, it doesn't help his already frazzled nervous system that today, both of his beloveds are dressed so nicely, looking so pleasant and charming-- and this isn't to say that they are not always beautiful because plainly, they are, but there's something about how Raven's hair is tussled up today, something about how there's a smudge of mascara under I-No's eye from yesterday. . . that just reminds Asuka why exactly he's found himself so enamoured with these two.
As per usual, I-No is dressed very lightly; she wears a leather top that functions more like a bra in practical use, a similar leather skirt, and a mesh top with buckles on the shoulders. Her hair is straight as always, glasses off in the place of contacts, feet tucked into black house slippers. She has a magnificent red lipstick on, the sort of shade that Asuka thinks would entirely wash him out, but still wants to try at some point. Bluntly speaking, she has a magnificent *everything*, perfect body, perfect smile, perfect personality.
Raven, beside her, is dressed in a tank-top vest that's unfortunately tight and made of satin. Underneath is a cream-colored blouse and a soft cravat, his usual couture. He wears tight pants and older-looking boots, a few mismatched rings on his fingers, hair fluffed out without the hinderence of his usual pomade. His eyes are accentuated by a deep purple eyeshadow and intense mascara; if Asuka wasn't getting lost in them before now, this would almost certainly seal his fate. He prefers to wear the vintage, historical styles of his times and Asuka doesn't want him to stop-- he's actually quite interested in it himself and perhaps I-No would be willing to try on a corset--
"Master?" Raven's head tilts in worry and his soft hair spills onto his shoulders. Has he let it grow out about his neck? "Don't keep us in suspense now-- what did you wish to say to us?"
"Worried you're in trouble?" I-No snorts, covering her giggles with a manicured hand. "Or, *shit*, would you *like that*, bird-brain?"
*Did I-No mean to imply that. . ?*
"Do not ask questions you know the answer to, mein hexe." Raven's eyes do not meet Asuka's as he mumbles the reply.
Oh.
*Oh-- goodness, that's, uhm. . .*
Asuka's eyes widen at the implication. His cheeks grow hot and he puffs them out, sputtering breaths with a great difficulty. He tries to blink away any sense of surprise or interest as subtly as possible, but with how he bounces his leg and gawks, it's primarily for nothing.
"Don't be so *crass*!" Asuka feels like a hypocrite for even saying it, but he doesn't know how else to respond. "I-- I wasn't going to-- well. . . I don't. . ."
"You broke him, dearest dove." Raven prods I-No's cheek with his finger. "You and your dirty mind."
"*My* dirty mind? Up yours, perv." I-No scoffs. "Asuka, ignore this freak. You've got *my* attention."
"I am also at your beck and call, though that should not be much of a surprise, mein kleine taube." Raven adds. I-No elbows him and he coughs in surprise.
Asuka takes in a deep breath to calm his nerves.
It doesn't do anything, so he takes another. And another. And one more.
"Slow down, you'll hyperventilate." I-No's voice is softer this time, more patient. "Raven and I didn't *honestly* mean to--"
Oh, she's so sweet right now and it's now or never to tell her so.
"I have to ask you a question!" Asuka shouts, balling his fists at his sides. Suddenly, unpromptedly, intensely nervously. His tone wavers in fear.
"Of course. Ask anything." Raven nods him along. "Master?"
"I. . ." What was that romantic line Jack-O had told him was bound to charm every time? Something about the periodic table. . . Oh! "Are the both of you composed of the elements of florine, iodine, and neon?"
I-No raises a brow curiously. "Not to my knowledge. . . why the hell do you ask that?"
Asuka points a stubby finger at Raven. "Are you?"
Raven raises his hands defensively. "I do not believe so."
The bait is on the hook, in Jack-O's words. Now, to add the finishing touch.
"That's strange. . ." Asuka murmurs, lowering his voice.
I-No chuckles. "Not really, kitten."
". . . because you are both quite *fine*." He barely manages, tripping up on the final syllable, the point of the flirt.
Raven pauses. "I beg your pardon?"
"You. . . ah, well, you know. . ?" Asuka waves his hands at his side.
"No, I am afraid I do not."
"This feels like a social experiment," I-No adds with amusement, drumming a hand on her knee.
"No, well, you are both aware of Mendeleev's Periodic Table of the Elements?" He pauses and they both nod along. "Well, each element has an atomic symbol, commonly an arrayment of one to two letters, so it's easier to write down. The chemical symbol of florine is "F". Iodine's is "I". Neon's is "Ne". So, I am letting you both know that you are beautiful--I.E, fine-- through my reference of the chemical sciences. You are FINe in my eyes-- mmph!"
Before Asuka can complete is quite accurate, in-depth explanation of his chosen flirt, his words are stolen from his mouth by I-No, who has, in the span of a second, stood to her feet, cusped his cheeks, and pulled him in for an intimate kiss.
Asuka has *never truly* kissed before, let alone *been kissed* by someone else, so he almost pulls back in surprise at the very sensation of lips meeting lips. Somehow, being held and adored in Raven's arms didn't feel like this-- perhaps because Asuka had to ask for it?-- but here there was no persuasion. Just I-No and her passion and her want, which tastes better than anything Asuka has ever had before.
He melts into her arms as they wander to the back of his head, her deft fingers crawling through his hair, clutching him as though he'll run away if she doesn't. Her long nails scrape at the base of his feline ears and he can't help but purr at how it feels. Everything about the situation is hazy and delightful and. . .
"So selfish, my beloved," Raven's voice rings in Asuka's ear and the scientist's heart rate morbidly increases at the thought of the servant watching them. Together. Holding one another.
I-No ignores him, pulling away gently to get a breath of air once she's been sated proper by the kiss. As she leans back, Asuka notes that his usually clammy skin feels as though it's ablaze, his throat is intensely dry, and he can't look I-No in the eyes.
"You. . Well, you both. . ." Asuka can't think of a single good word to say in the moment. "Er, you--"
"Don't go getting all shy now," I-No shakes her head with a chuckle, licking her own lip, "not when you're this cute."
"I. . . you're *very* good," Asuka mumbles, eye widened with wonder.
I-No grins. "Same to you. Bird-brain, you were correct."
"Satisfying, no?" Raven raises a brow at I-No, who groans and rolls her eyes. "I told you he's so soft, so easy to love on-- and terribly reactive at that."
It dawns on Asuka suddenly; he's technically kissed Raven before. Did. . did Raven tell I-No about their kiss? And did he *have* to include the details, the sensitivities?
"You talked about me?" Asuka gasps, hands nearly shaking. He isn't used to this kind of affection and it's so foreign that it's almost overwhelming, if not immediately satisfying. Having not just one but *two* incredibly attractive, perfectly attentive people love him, speak to one another about him, *kiss* him-- it's almost too much.
"All good things," Raven assures, reaching out a hand to hold Asuka's chin. He tilts his head to face him, smiling pleasantly, his golden iris gleaming with want. "You're *divine*, simply. . . *beyond description*."
"Mmnh. . ." Asuka shudders under his praise, under his love and affirmation and warm look, nearly purring from just the compliment alone.
I-No snorts. "He hasn't even kissed you yet, lover boy. Don't go falling apart in his arms so soon."
"Fall for me however you like," Raven interjects, drawing ever closer to Asuka's face, his nose, his *lips*, "so long as you're mine."
And at that, at how Raven's warm breath fans Asuka's cheeks, the latter can't help but nuzzle his head into the former's hand, catlike in nature, sighing with satisfaction. He hadn't thought of it much before, but he's quite starved of touch and something about being surrounded by two lovely people with silver tongues and warm embraces makes him greedy in his want for more.
"Cute," I-No laughs, reaching out a hand to scratch one of the feline ears atop Asuka's head. Meanwhile,Raven leans down and pushes his lips to Asuka's, stealing away every breath from his mouth.
And *god*, if I-No's loving wasn't enough, Raven's certainly is. His lips are so chapped that he tastes like blood and metal and anguish, but it's delicious and enticing here in a way that it never would be otherwise. His well-worn fingers have callouses all over, but his fingerpads still glide smoothly down Asuka's neck to his collarbone and then even further, causing him to gasp into his mouth.
That seems to make Raven grin; he smiles against him as he holds the two of the closer, wandering hands and naughty fingertips daring to test another confession.
It's almost too much, the heat of the moment and overstimulation of his position causing Asuka to sweat and pant and shiver under Raven's ministrations.
"Pffuh-" Asuka sighs incoherently as Raven pulls away, "Uh, you. . . goodness. . ."
"It seems he's always like this, *mutti*," Raven says to I-No, gesturing to Asuka's shell-shocked, absolutely infatuated state, "even after just one kiss."
"Like what?" Asuka frowns, trying to save the decency and face that are otherwise diminished by his flustering mumbles of nonsense.
I-No runs another hand through Asuka's hair, scratching the base of his ear with a casual, sweet ease. "Adorable?"
"No, no-- well, *yes*, but not specifically." Raven snorts back a laugh. "Almost. . . humiliated? Terribly awkward-- yes, that's it."
"Forgive me for not being more experienced in romance!" Asuka's eye widens and he blurts out. "You were my first kiss so cut me some slack. . !"
"Ah, that explains it!" Raven snaps his fingers, "You're a virgin."
"N-No! Uh, uhm. . . I mean to say. ."
I-No shrugs lightly. "Kitten, it isn't an issue if you are. We all have to start somewhere."
"I'm not some r-romantic loser!" Asuka huffs.
"Right. Says the man who used a *periodic table* adjacent pickup line to confess his love." I-No snickers.
"Be quiet, you!" Asuka swats at her lazily, lacking the bite of someone wanting to hit their target.
"Is that an order?" I-No teases.
Raven gives a fleeting look to Asuka's lips. "Is it?"
Asuka pauses for a moment and, after processing the statement, feels himself grow redder still, blushing furiously with a scandalous gasp. His heart rate skyrockets within his rib cage. "Stop being so. . . *vulgar*!"
"Romantic loser," I-No sing-songs as Asuka lays down on the bed, resting his head in her lap, back pressed into the mattress. He tries to bite back but he's no match, heart overtaken with tender love for her when she rests her hand atop the crown of his head.
As for Raven, he says nothing as he slumps to I-No's side, a starstruck look on his face as he admires his lovers. His lips gleam with Asuka's gloss, hands still tingling from his touch.
The three of them fit together like pieces of a puzzle together on the bed and all at once, Asuka reaches a final conclusion:
d. He's precisely where he needs to be.