Arkay sighed as he rolled over, twisting in his sheets, trying to find a comfortable position. For some reason, he just couldn’t seem to sleep properly. Little things were keeping him up, errant thoughts that simply couldn’t wait until he was supposed to be awake.
As Arkay’s arm slipped off the edge of the bed though, something brushed against his hand. Something Arkay didn’t recognise. Immediately, Arkay sat bolt upright, ready to fight and attack whoever as intruding in his private space.
“Hey…” a familiar, calm voice appeared from under the bed. Arkay peered over the edge, noticing a dim, purple night light in the corner. He then caught a glimpse of a small, purple energy tendril. With a sigh, he got up and tugged on it.
“Litvir, what the fuck are you doing under my bed?”
Litvir shrugged, twirling little swirls of energy around his fingers. “You seem upset.”
“Maybe I’m upset because you’re in my bedroom while I’m trying to sleep?” Arkay snapped, nudging Litvir with his feet. “How am I supposed to sleep if you’re lying underneath me? And how the fuck did you get in here anyway?”
A smile curled across Litvir’s face. “You did not lock the door. And I have been practising my size-changing abilities. I sensed that you were having trouble sleeping so I came over to investigate. After all, we are bound together and you and I in particular are both empaths, and when you are struggling, I feel that too.”
Arkay was slightly taken aback by Litvir’s words. “You wanted to check and see if I was alright?”
“Yes. And, well, maybe… offer something else as well…” Litvir was still smiling, but there was a hint of nervousness in his voice. “I will be blunt, I have not been completely honest with you and Retvik, and I am concerned that my lack of honest is affecting you both mentally.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Litvir hesitated, then wriggled his way out from underneath Arkay’s bed, picking himself up and standing up straight.
“It is… hard to admit.”
“You’ve mentioned it now and made me curious, might as well spit it out.”
Litvir’s smile faded away completely. He sighed and sat down on the bed next to Arkay.
“I have been lying to both you and Retvik about… how much of a, uh, stud… I was when I was mortal. To put it mildly, I am only slightly more experienced than you are sexually. And, like you, confusion and strange desires have been keeping me up lately. I have been hiding my emotions behind your emotions.”
Arkay stared blankly at Litvir, not really sure how to respond. “Uh… Does this mean… you want to have sex with us and are scared like I am?”
“Somewhat, yes. But I am embarrassed. Retvik noticed my, uh, lack of skill and embarrassment and suggested I speak to you about it, and now I feel more embarrassed.”
After a moment, Arkay shrugged. “Yeah, I can see why. But I totally get it. We’re in strange and confusing times and our brains are telling us we need to do something natural to get past the confusion. It’s why I’ve been eating so much.”
“We are all more stressed than we would like to admit…” Litvir tutted. “And that is… the final reason why I am here. I needed to get that off my mind in order to be able to give you a suggestion. To help you sleep, of course.”
“What… sort of suggestion?”
Litvir leaned towards Arkay, whispering in his ear.
“Yeah, nah, I already tried that…” Arkay sighed.
“You have?”
“Yeah.”
Litvir sighed too, then frowned. “Sorry. I wish I could be of more help to you.”
“It’s fine…” Arkay smiled a little, giving Litvir a hug. “I genuinely appreciate the concern though. It’s good to know that, well, someone cares…”