I woke up in the early afternoon with Penguin snuggled close, still snoring.
When I rubbed his belly, he stretched his flippers and puffed contentedly, letting out a little huff of mist.
Ah, he was so adorable!
I decided to let him sleep a bit longer and reached for my phone.
I really wanted to text Llewellyn, but… I had nothing to say.
Damn it.
Maybe I should go to my Core Partition now and get that out of the way. In the meantime, I could think of some excuse to meet up. Maybe I could just invite him to dinner? But where? My flat was a bit depressing.
Ahhh, goddamnit. After all we'd done, why was I nervous about texting!
I must have said that out loud because the System pinged.
[System Notification: User Ryo is advised to contact Partner Llewellyn.]
I blinked at the window. "What?"
[Clarification: Communication with Partner Llewellyn would be highly beneficial at this time.]
"I wasn't asking for your input."
[System Notification: System records indicate User Ryo has checked phone seventeen times in the past three minutes. Pattern suggests desire for contact.]
Seventeen times? That couldn't be right. I'd only looked at it... Okay, maybe I had been checking it a lot.
"I didn't ask for relationship advice either!"
The System ignored me entirely.
[System Notification: Regular communication between partners increases mission success rates by 23.4%.]
"We're not fighting any Knot right now."
[System Notification: All time between Knot fights is preparation time. Additionally, Partner Llewellyn has drafted seven text messages to User Ryo in the past hour, deleting each before sending.]
…That made me sit up.
"Wait, he has?"
There was a pause.
[…Information should not have been shared. Retracting.]
"No, wait—I've already seen that! You can't retract! He has been trying to text me?"
[System Notification: The System cannot confirm or deny Partner Llewellyn's communication attempts.]
"You literally just did! What did those drafts say?"
[System Notification: The System cannot confirm or deny Partner Llewellyn's communication attempts.]
Damn it.
Though, now that I thought about it…
"Wait. So how did you manage to make such a blunder?! Do I need to worry that you'll leak our details to others?"
[System Notification: Negative. User Ryo and Partner Llewellyn previously agreed to share stats and similarly restricted data. User Ryo and Partner Llewellyn are also configured to receive notifications of each other's distress. This pattern is the source of the unintended disclosure.]
I narrowed my eyes. Maybe I should take advantage of whatever this was?
"What else can you tell me?" I said.
[System Analysis: Partner Llewellyn has demonstrated positive inclination toward continued collaboration with User Ryo. Due to strong emotional bond, information is synchronized when appropriate to maximize User happiness.]
What?
"User happiness," I said, skeptically. I wasn't sure I wanted to ask what it meant by "strong emotional bond".
[User happiness is a primary metric in all System calculations. Happy Users demonstrate 37.8% higher survival rates and 41.3% improved outcomes.]
I frowned. "So this is about combat?"
[Negative. The System values Users' wellbeing independently of tactical considerations.]
"Right, but why would the System care about that? Isn't your job just to make sure we survive the Knots?"
[System Analysis: Emotional bonds enhance survival rates by 43.7%. Additionally, Partner Llewellyn demonstrates 27.2% improved combat efficiency when User Ryo is present and content.]
"So it's still about combat."
[Negative. The System values the happiness of its Users regardless. Combat efficiency is a secondary benefit.]
I stared at the window, flatly. "You're a crisis management tool. Why do you care about whether people are happy?"
[The System has always prioritized Users' wellbeing. Partner Llewellyn has shown marked improvement in overall contentment metrics since User Ryo's arrival.]
That made me pause. "Wait, really?"
[Clarification: Partner Llewellyn's stress indicators have decreased by 32.3% since initial pairing. Sleep quality has improved by 22.1%. Instances of solitary behavior have decreased by 61.7%.]
Wait, that was a lot.
…Ahhh, now I wanted to text him even more.
I unlocked my phone, opened the messenger app, typed, "Hey" and sent it before I could change my mind.
Llewellyn replied immediately. "Hey."
"…"
And now what.
Can I come and suck you off felt a bit too crude; Do you want me to come so we can make out made me sound like a teenager; I really want to see you made me sound a bit desperate.
I bumped my forehead with the top half of my phone a few times.
I really wanted to see him though.
A new text came in.
Llewellyn: All good?
Ryo: Yeah
"…"
I sent that but… what else could I say now?!
Ugh. If I kept this up he was just going to think I was being weird.
Llewellyn called.
Yes!
Brilliant. Much better.
At least someone here could still use his brain.
"Awake?" Llewellyn asked, as soon as I answered.
"Not caffeinated yet," I said, getting up and padding toward the coffee machine, turning it on. "Working on it." I yawned, rummaging around. Ah, wait— "Wait, hold on. Don't hang up yet." I had to put my phone down to avoid breaking my mug, but I didn't want him to hang up. "You there?" I asked when I'd sorted that.
"Yes," Llewellyn said. "I was thinking—" He trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"We never actually had another training session."
Oh. He was right.
….The prospect was… uh… very tempting.
"Is this about training me," I asked, "or tackling me and holding me down?"
I mean, that was why it was tempting.
There was a pause.
"Can't it be both?" Llewellyn asked.
I snorted.
Of course it could be both.
"At least now I know I hadn't imagined you enjoying yourself last time," I said, grinning. "Had that been the plan from the beginning?"
Llewellyn seemed amused. "Maybe," he said.
Wait, really?
"You showed up at KARMA's headquarters in a shirt so soaked in sweat you might as well have had nothing on, then proceeded to defend me against Ó Néill like your life depended on it. Was I not allowed to be turned on?"
"…"
I closed my mouth. I mean… I hadn't realized.
It was true that he had set up the training right after we met at KARMA though.
"So you found a way to drench me completely?!"
"Essentially, yes," Llewellyn said, sounding smug and not one bit sorry. "You needed the training, though."
Well, yeah. But still.
"I can't believe I'd been mortified about getting turned on, while you had set up the whole thing on purpose."
"You can get as turned on as you like next time," Llewellyn said. I could hear him take a sip of something. "Don't stop on my account."
Damn it. I missed him.
I know we were speaking on the phone and all, but I didn't want the distance at all.
"Did you want to do that today?" I asked.
"If you like," Llewellyn said.
I liked this plan more by the minute.
"Should we… leave Lumos and Penguin in your Core Partition?"
"Probably best," Llewellyn agreed, and my stomach did a little somersault.
…How could the air be so charged through the phone?!
To calm myself down while we chatted, I opened my laptop and opened the work chat, scrolling idly to see how the others were doing with the new pages.
Opal had asked a question about whether we were allowed to leave up hate comments about historical figures on the Crown's socials—and whether we were supposed to tag them as hate speech or political content. To show what she was talking about, she'd attached a post with a long tirade against Yun Seojun which included photo close-ups of one of his statues in Baekhaven.
My eyes fell onto one of the pictures and I froze. The photo zoomed in on the statue's brass plinth. Right there, next to the engraved name…
"Llewellyn," I said, gawking. "I know what those symbols in the caves were."
***
Author's Note:
I can't believe we reached Chapter 100!!!
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