Reason for Attraction
Story (c) JustSnapCrackle
Grand Chase (c) KOG Studios

Chapter 1

"Haa~p!" The blade sliced the air swiftly, almost mercilessly. He drew back the sword and made another swing in the air, sweat flicked off his toned neck forcefully. Cheers began to follow after each movement from the young chasers around him, all too naïve and curious to pull away their gaze upon the black cladded man.

"Hmph. I don't see why those humans think he's that great." A magenta demon muttered darkly, huddled up under the shade and toying with some sort of mutated little black topped mushroom by poking it lightly with a stick. He then proceeded to crushing it into smithereens, with the thought of crushing the said sword wielder running around his mind freely. The demon let a smile grow on his face as he crushed the miniature fungi. "If anything, he's just a lazy ass bastard who should just drop dead right now."

On the other hand, a long eared demon sitting next to him quietly just gazed at the petty performance done. His eyes was following it; the white bladed, black plated sword that they called the Soluna. The one they all claimed to have the power to rival the deities themselves. As it swung around and found itself resting on its wielder's shoulder, he questioned himself.

'Why does it attract me so much?'

From the first time he laid eyes on them, he recalled it was back in Wrym's Maw whilst he was pursuing his all-time sole enemy, he felt a powerful attraction towards the sword. Though he had successfully shoved the sword to the back of his mind after catching wind that his target was nearby, his interest grew once more when he saw the sword again at Hammer's Reach, whilst briefly meeting a group of barbaric and disorganized party whom called themselves the 'Grand Chase'.

After unspoken nonsense had happened, he found himself becoming part of the Chase. For the most part, it was for his own ambitions. And well, he couldn't help but notice how his eyes were always following the gladiator's sword.

A short glance to the tree behind him and he saw his green plated sword, Grandark. Its eye was closed, peacefully sleeping, until it was suddenly disturbed by the same demon who had just obliterated the black mushroom. He sighed. The two were always fighting – or to be more specific, the purple haired demon chieftain just has a natural talent to piss anyone off easily and the sword simply hated everyone who showed no worth to become his wielder.

Now the Grandark was definitely strong– hell, it could send the gods to their knees. That is, if its only wielder, him, Zero Zephyrum, were to allow it. And of course, it was more than just impossible to happen. But back to the main point, Grandark was just powerful. And at the same time - he prayed the sword would never hear him say this, let alone think it -

Both Grandark and Soluna seemed evenly matched.

Zero sighed. What's the point in thinking of meaningless things like that if it'll do naught in his ambition to search for Duel and end his insanity? One thing's for sure, it'll put him into more confusion than he ever felt. He was already still unfamiliar to the human world of Aernas he was currently residing in, no matter how long he had spent in the mortal world wandering around. He needed not to add another problem to it all. An exhale seeped out of his mouth.

"Don't sigh like that. You're still a greenhorn, aren't cha?" A shadow darker than the tree's shade had loomed over the wanderer. He looked up in his steady and slow pace, only to find the black haired wielder of the Soluna with his arrogant smile that stretched from one ear to another. Yet there were no signs of the said great sword anywhere near him. His elven like ears twitched lightly, hearing a noisy hassle made by the younger Grand Chase members just meters away. It told him that the Soluna was left for them to play with.

Zero made a shy grunt, tilting his head away from the man so he could gaze at the far end. He was right; the Soluna had become the grand prize of a bicker between the youngsters. They were yelling loudly and clearly about how awesome they'd be if they could wield the sword.

But oddly enough, the Soluna seemed to have lost that glorious spark it had just a moment ago. 'Then why was I so attracted to it? It looks like nothing more than another ordinary sword.' Unintentionally, his head had tilted, muddled in his own thoughts.

On the other hand, the wielder of the sword, Ercnard Sieghart, didn't seem to have realized he was ignored so easily by the wanderer. The grey haired demon had always been so distant to him, to anyone for that matter that reading his expressions was just too hard, let alone figure out if he was actually making an expression. He didn't even seem as demonic as any other demons he had ever met – being all too reserved, quiet and observant - thus his lack of hostility to the elven eared demon (but he had managed to put a side note to be careful of what he does in front the ever so vigilant guy). He just shrugged and made a makeshift bed next to the wanderer with his jacket then lied down on it.

"I'll be sleeping here for a bit alright, since I've got those kiddies to stop bothering me temporarily. Especially little Miss Red there, hahaha~" The immortal didn't seem to care much if there was a reply from the demon as he shut his eyes close and peacefully snored. Since the arrival of the grey haired demon into the chase, he posed as the mysterious aloof one (He was still the mysterious aloof one even to this day). Nothing useful could be obtained from him unless it was, as he said, allowed by Grandark, which frankly was only a small amount. He shivered in disgust to the fact one could withstand a life of following the commands of another, and from a bossy, talking sword of all things!

Zero was certain that the man didn't hear his protesting grunt. He objected this action knowing a certain chieftain was just close by and already screaming swears and hell knows what other vulgar words he used to bicker with Zero's sword. If the immortal were to be here, it would just add fuel to the fire and create a massive explosion, literally. They'd destroy another training field again. Nevertheless, even if he did do anything to stop him, Sieghart was, from observation, stubborn. Once the man found slumber, he wouldn't move a budge, with the exception of running away from his great granddaughter, taking up a challenge from the chieftain or running away if the Knightmaster ever catches him slacking on duty - or any activity that doesn't require sleeping for that matter.

The wanderer looked over at the relaxed man that had selfishly chosen to sleep next to him. His brows furrowed in confusing after just gazing at him. There was always this unique charm possessed by Sieghart that perked the demon's interest. Actually, it could tickle anyone's fancy at first glance. Then again, the gladiator was naturally charismatic. Even so, upon closer inspection, he noticed Sieghart had shown the same kind of appeal that the Soluna had albeit stronger – if it was possible to describe it that way.

Could it be that it was never the sword but Sieghart himself that had attracted him?

Speaking of which, the gladiator's special flair around him really stood out compared to the rest of the members in the Grand Chase. Obviously, it must be because of his flamboyant personality that makes him so eye catching by all. Zero sighed to the fact this 'all', miserably enough, may have included himself. Who wouldn't notice him? His long black bangs were just mystifyingly enthralling, always hiding a sneaky smirk of the devil. When brushed away that hair of his, the handsome face of a genuine man was there. He thought it wouldn't be such a surprise to know that the immortal had more than just one woman in his life with those looks alone. Add in his charisma and the amount of women held by him had just multiplied tenfold.

"Actually, it's fine and dandy with me if you staring at me when I sleep, but touching me is a different matter…"

The wanderer retracted away immediately just at Sieghart's voice. Zero finally noticed his hand had actually caressed the gladiator's cheek, already brushing off some of his bangs. Baffled by his own unintentional actions, Zero stared at his own hand. "Ah… I'm sorry….?"

Sieghart looked at him, an eye still closed, the other half open and entirely concerned. Truthfully, he had never felt the need to care about the wanderer. He knew that the wanderer was capable of taking care of himself – especially when he had that sword of his always next to him (so the only time he felt being a responsible adult around Zero was when shit gets serious). But this was something he felt was an entirely different situation. Zero simply appeared confused just because he had involuntarily touched him.

That and something had perked the immortal's interest.

He reluctantly sat up, his eyes slowly widening, still fixed at the demon's face. The demon's child-like baffled face. Well, despite the mask, this expression seemed much obvious to figure out considering he hardly ever revealed any form of real emotions. Sieghart made a light chortle. 'This is an interesting discovery! And here I thought the only thing he could do was to make a little grin for his sword.'

"Heheh.. Maybe you've finally fallen for my charms as well." Sieghart intended to joke around to see whether the wanderer would make a different reaction, but unfortunately for him, nothing bizarre happened. All Zero had done was to revert back to his emotionless state, gazing right back at him.

A few long seconds seemed like hours. But that had been enough for something to finally click for Sieghart.

'Wait a minute… The kid's staring at me… Blankly?' The mask may have covered his eyes, but Sieghart could tell an empty expression anywhere. Hell, after living for 600 years, he's seen thousands of expressions to know how each would look like in spite of the presence of a mask. Although, he admits that Zero was a tough cookie to figure out, he won't deny that Zero's stare made awkwardness grew inside the guts of the immortal. "Zero?"

Another pause intervened before Zero looked away from him. "… I find that suggestion likely…"

'W-what?! He actually considered it?!' Shocked, the gladiator stared at him in disbelief, blinking twice just to make sure he was actually wide awake in this reality.

"Your personality is quite flamboyant that it easily catches anyone's attention. It wouldn't be a surprise to say I find myself fascinated by it at times."

"O-oh.. I knew that…" A dry laugh came from the gladiator. This time, Zero couldn't help but feel mused. He had always assumed that the man was not only charismatic, but also had a cool composure to back it up. Yet somehow, the cool and charismatic Sieghart was feeling ruffled up so easily by simple yet easily misinterpreted words.

He was also amused at the fact that there is a numerous amount of colours that Sieghart had yet to openly show – the other sides of Sieghart that had been hidden. Then again, he was always wearing that silly optimistic mask of his in front of everyone, being carefree and boundless. But whenever no one was looking, the immortal would look up to the sky sighing, jealous of the clouds that actually had real freedom that he longed for.

No…. It wasn't when no one was looking… Zero saw those moments. Heck, he had to if he knew them. He had seen how the immortal's smile would just crack into a terribly broken grin. It was coming out as twisted feelings of suffocation and depression. He was aware of how much the man carried upon his back quietly. Sieghart was restrained down to the responsibility of the lives around him as a highlander, a prime knight, a senior and a great grandfather. He was to live on for the rest of his life, knowing he will never enter death's door, and watching his companions, relatives, descendants, leave him behind alone again and again.

Despite being a demon, and artificial for that matter, Zero thought that Sieghart deserved better. No one had to go through something as painful as what the man had gone through.

Something tingled inside him. The sort he had never known existed before that enticed him to do something. That he had to do something to the gladiator. To protect him? No, he was aware Sieghart needed not of such a thing. One thing was for sure, Sieghart would find it awkward that he, an immortal, was being protected.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before. Not even towards Grandark. Heartbeat gradually quickened in anxiety to this alien emotion. The first thing that had come to mind was to calm himself down. And so he did by slowing his breathing pace. Surely it couldn't be too harmful.

"W-well, just goes to show it." The light blush on the gladiator's face faded away and replaced by his smug grin. "I'm so awesome, even demons are attracted to me!"

Zero grunted – almost rolled his eyes. He figured that Sieghart would easily regain his usual act so quickly. But the word 'attracted' had brought Zero to think to himself about his questions. Why was he attracted to the Soluna in the first place? And why did that attraction disappear so suddenly? And why did he feel attraction to the immortal instead? He had even touched the immortal involuntarily and brushed his hair off to take a good glimpse of his face! He groaned to himself silently.

It was not by his own accord that his own body that expressed such gesture. And it was not by him that the strange awareness had begun to develop in his core.

Was it possible that he was-

"Hey Zero. What are you thinking?" The gladiator suddenly asked. Sieghart thought he was seeing things, that he had saw the wanderer twitch just for a little bit. But then again, the wanderer was particularly chatty with him that day and that was already something new. Zero was one of the few rare people that was definitely hard to make a conversation with.

Not that Sieghart needed to talk to him all the time. In fact, sometimes it was just enough to have eye contact with the wanderer. When there were times the gladiator had another of their normal fights with his great granddaughter – he was forced into hiding completely until she cooled down – he'd sometimes find himself in his time of loneliness attracted towards the peaceful air around the wanderer.

Everyone else who approached him in this period would either insult him harshly for being an asshole for picking fights with his great granddaughter or talk some sense into him into becoming a better person. Sieghart had heard the same lecture again and again to the point he was simply sick of it (it was easy for them to forget that the man was in fact, an immortal, and heard it all. But due to his carefree nature, it was easier to disagree that Sieghart was centuries old).

But Zero remained indifferent, no matter what Sieghart did. He would give a glance to the immortal and give the usual nod. They'd make small talk when they felt it was necessary but the demon didn't do anything more or less that would add stress to the immortal. That made Sieghart felt comfortable enough to think on his own of how to deal with his descendant.

Only at rare times did Zero question the immortal. But even then, it had nothing to do with Elesis and was related to a whole different story. It definitely took Sieghart's mind off of the rage that had built up in him and for the sake of his pride, he would cool down and make small talk with the demon. At those moments, Sieghart would think that the demon was either great in negotiations or was ignorant of the situation and simply wanted an opinion voiced by the immortal – to which Sieghart enjoyed. Either way, it always helped him clear his mind to think of a further action in dealing with his great granddaughter.

Maybe Sieghart had unconsciously asked that earlier question as a means of paying back the demon. Maybe he asked the question as a gamble, to see whether Zero would continue to be chatty enough for the immortal to make a proper common ground with him. Well, for starters, it did worry the man that Zero was acting a little edgy from his normal self.

On the other hand, Zero looked at him. The immortal didn't usually possess any concern towards him. Sure, Sieghart seemed to always feel like he was responsible for all their lives, but he was also fully aware to how Zero was fully capable of taking care of himself. He was one of those who the immortal acknowledged for their maturity in life, and thus, earned his respect. Being worried over by Sieghart felt rather new to him. It actually intrigued the demon. In retrospect, there had never been anyone who would worry over him in the first place.

That sensation tingled once more. To Zero, it was no doubt that this was caused by anxiety was building up again. By why on Aernas was this happening? Telling Sieghart the facts was obviously no better than telling it to his great granddaughter. Sure, it meant that he was risking secrecy since it had become apparent that the Sieghart's had a habit of letting information slip out once in a while. But one thing was for certain was that they were honest and loyal with their words.

Zero was aware Sieghart would never betray the demon without reason. And there had never been a reason for Zero to outrage Sieghart to induce that betrayal. Well, nothing that had put him on opposing grounds of course. So what was that anxiety? Fear? Distress?

This was Sieghart we're talking about. It can't be all negative, right?

"… I think I'm broken…."

Sieghart blinked at the demon.

"… Come again?"

"Sieghart, I think I might be broken."

Sieghart stared at the demon with utter bewilderment as his jaw fell. He felt everything coherent he knew just shattered immediately. He wasn't close to the demon, but he knew enough that Zero wouldn't admit to his weakness so easily and so straight-forwardly.
It entertained him that Zero actually showed emotions and he could even get over the fact Zero might not be as perfect as he thought. But what he couldn't take in was the fact Zero had doubted himself.

Well, maybe the fact that the talking sword isn't around could be the reason the demon was able to say such a thing. Grandark looked like it was the over protective type when it came to the image the wanderer had to possess. It wasn't obvious, but the glare the sword makes gave it away to Sieghart. But would that not mean Zero had exposed himself on purpose to him?

Or maybe, the demon actually trusted him, just a little?

A giddy feeling grew inside the depths of Sieghart's stomach. Sure, he had always gained the trust of many over the years he lived as an immortal so knowing that another person had placed their trust in him was something that had become 'normal' to him. But there was something about Zero that made him feel different.

Whatever it was, Sieghart had to put feelings aside for now. There was nothing normal when someone says they're broken. No one even uses the term 'broken'.

"Errrr.. Zero…? I don't think it's even possible for a demon – for anyone to be broken… Or are you telling me you're sick? Maybe you have a headache or something?"

The wanderer frowned. Of course he wasn't exactly broken, but maybe something inside of him was not functioning the way it was supposed to be. It started off with that random act of skin contact. And then it lead to the next question. Why would he have started to develop such strange awareness to the gladiator? Sure he was interested in the gladiator's eccentric way of life and sure he was interested in his fascinating skills in battle, but he had always admired the many different ways people – be it demon, human or elf – lived their own respective lives. And each and every one of them had possessed their own respective talents to be admired for.

Or was it possible that there was still no satisfaction when it came to Sieghart? As if he needed something more from the gladiator….

Before Zero realized it, the immortal had reached out to him and tapped his own forehead with his own.

"Oww!" The gladiator yelped after his forehead went to a head on collision to the mask of the wanderer. At the same time, the wanderer flinched back as he felt a little pain from the impact. Sieghart rubbed lightly over his light bruise and groaned. "Ah… I forgot that thing was a mask…"

The wanderer blinked with surprised. Did he intend to feel the wanderer's temperature by his forehead because he had assumed he was sick? Actually, did Sieghart even realize that his mask was on his forehead until now? If that was the case, had Sieghart always ignored his presence and not noticed it? Or had he simply overlooked his being as a demon and with his dense head, he simply wanted to feel the wanderer's heat?

The thought of the latter had somehow appeased him despite the fact even he knew that it was strange to feel light in heart to know that one didn't seem to care whether his existence was a demon or not. But from the beginning, Sieghart did not see him as an artificial lifeform either. The rest of the chasers had already known he was an artificial, even if it was indirect information (Rufus sensed something odd, Ryan sniffed something different – They all had their own ways of suspecting it, especially with Grandark as enough proof that something was definitely amiss with Zero). So they had been a little careful when it came to dealing with him. With the exceptional Dio whom confided to the demon as his only 'friend', being a male demon from Elyos whom he could relate (rant) to.

In fact, what made Sieghart so different was that he seemed oddly intrigued instead, as if he had found a new toy or some sort and was curios to its well-being. That was, of course, a needle through the wanderer's pride but there had never been a time that the gladiator actually bothered to tease him or belittle him. So it was possible that Sieghart was as dense as his great granddaughter who fails to even notice Zero was a demon all along (Elesis seems to be the only one who sees him as an elf because of his elf-like ears and his pale 'human' skin. Even when Rufus came by whom looked nothing like the demons she had already seen, she still saw him as an elf…).

Though it seemed senseless, maybe Zero felt 'content' to know someone had treated him differently. Kinder than Grandark's strict and over protectiveness, of course, but perhaps he felt spoilt by the gladiator as well…

Just having the gladiator near him was enough. To feel the slight heat of his breaths, to smell the free breeze-like scent he carries….

Yet at the same time, Zero felt it wasn't enough at all. That same sensation from before had begun to squirm inside of him, tempting him to push on. To what, exactly, remained a question that restrained Zero. What else was making him feel this absurd anxiety? It was as if there was something 'missing' that Sieghart possessed. Something he seemed to have wanted.

Something he thought he actually craved…

"Sieghart…"

The soft whisper of his name made the immortal freeze on the spot. It was neither fear nor horror that he became petrified. Rather, he felt speechless. Because Sieghart, no matter how much he would deny it, actually felt the slightest bit of arousal. Well, it wasn't aroused to the degree where his groin needed friction - but it had stirred a sort of desire inside of him. The sensation wriggled inside of him from the tips of his fingers to the depths of his stomach.

The grey eyes of the immortal fell onto the demon's lips. An old familiar flame, untouched and unscathed for so long, had sparked in the depths of the immortal.

"Y-yeah?!" The immortal immediately retreated onto his bottom, looking away from the demon. He knew his face had turned red, if not, slightly flustered. He cursed himself again and again as the reason for his change of colour of his face was because he actually thought of the unthinkable. 'I can't believe it…! I nearly thought of kissing him!'

The sudden thought of himself licking those lips and biting them teasingly was a pleasing thought. He would have let loose of the sensation inside of him if not for the fact that those lips belonged to a Zero Zephyrum, a demon and a male! How was such a scene capable of entering the immortal's mind? That was left unanswered as the immortal himself refused to discover. What he did know was that such a thing was impossible. There was no way two men, an immortal and a demon for Aernas' sake, could pull it off.

And by that he meant a relationship. He was already having troubles putting up with these demons. As if it was by instinct to make every demon his arch-nemesis (to be specific, Dio was a pain in the ass for him). But to be in an intimate relationship with a demon….

It was impossible, Sieghart thought. Although it was against his policies - he was someone who had never believed in the 'impossible' – this just had to be one of the things that went under the list of exceptions.

But speaking of exceptions, Zero was exceptionally different to most demons anyways….

No! He shouldn't let himself think that way. It was just possible to be impossible.

Even so, without him realizing, Zero had matched his movements. As Sieghart retreated, Zero leaned over him, keeping the distance between them constant – maybe closer. The wanderer's fingers had reached out to the gladiator and softly touched his chin, gently turning his face so their eyes would meet.

"Why are you flustered…?"

"C-cause it's hot?" The immortal stuttered unconvincingly of which he swore to himself endlessly inside. It was obvious that he sounded like he was being dishonest. But Sieghart wasn't entirely lying at all. The immortal had actually begun to feel a little tepid with the sudden closeness of the demon. And Zero was a keen enough observant to see through it.

"You were looking away as well."

"Uh… I-I was making sure… Uh… My Soluna was alright!" Sieghart chuckled dryly, again making another useless lie. They both knew that the Soluna was in safe hands of the younger chasers, or at least, in the hands of those could never utilize it. They were both aware that it could only be used by the prime knight, namely Sieghart alone.

"Sieghart."

Again, that voice soothed his ears and sent chills that shivered down his spine. He had almost arched his back and leaned forward if not for the years of experience that kept him still, underneath the wanderer. Instead, his fingers dug into the ground, restraining himself from any sudden body actions. Deep breaths of his name groaning near his ears come about in his mind as phantasmagorias, accompanying with warm strokes of the wanderer's tongue from his ear lobes and right down to his jawline.

Sieghart shivered at the thought of it – whether it was in disgust or in excitement did not matter. All he wanted was that image out of his mind. He had years of experience in controlling his temptations, why on Aernas was he suddenly so sensitive to the wanderer's voice? Isn't his voice always so deep and low? Was it the position that he was forced into? Probably not because there had been times where things like this happened (all of which were accidental) with both men and women.

His grey eyes raced everywhere, trying not to look at the wanderer at all now. He didn't care if Zero saw this or not, because if he saw even the slightest of the wanderer, something 'dangerously odd' could come up in his mind again. That task alone, however, was too difficult even for the likes of himself as Zero was leaning too close for his likings.

Sieghart had bit his lips, and it looked like he had done so unconsciously from the demon's point of view. He was panicking, judging from the way his eyes are shifting too much and he was trying to detain himself from fidgeting too much. This side of the immortal, it was unexpected and new to Zero.

Submissive Sieghart. It was sounded inappropriate yet somehow… So befitting? A word like that could describe it although Zero felt it wasn't the exact word he was looking for.

Even so, it was also a side of the immortal that made him felt difficult. On one hand, he did find it enjoyable after he's seen this side of Sieghart. He would even admit that he had actually felt tempted to experiment with Sieghart to see what else would make the immortal behave in such a way.

On the other hand, Zero felt something he had seldom experienced. Pride.

It was a normal trait for demons to have a huge ego and this was especially proven by the demons that were surrounding Zero as of now. And it was also part of the norm, in accordance to demonic morals, that those who held more strength overall – be it in physical strength, charisma, social standings or anything for that matter - had the rights to be more egoistical compared to others. Grandark, being a demon sword who showed more wrath in comparison to Zero, automatically became the dominant one in the pair. Leaving little to no second for Zero to feel actual pride.

So it was pride that filled the wanderer when he was able to make the immortal submit under him with not even a single sweat of effort. To have made Sieghart succumb into a state where neither pride nor arrogance was visible and vulnerability and exposure became obvious to him – it was satisfying to a certain degree.

Yet it did not explain the giddiness that grew in the wanderer as that revelation did not seem to have overcome the anxiety that grew in him. In fact, it simply made Zero more restless.

But for the feeling to have accompanied such giddiness, such pride… Would it not be safe to assume it was a positive kind of anxiety?

Excitement. That was a positive way to look at it.

That pretty much explained a lot of blank pages in the book of answers the wanderer searched for. Curiosity must have gotten the best of him initially. It was curiosity that had pulled his attention to the powerful sword Soluna. And from then on, it moved on to one thing to another like a chain reaction - From the sword to its immortal wielder and from an immortal wielder to the arrogant Sieghart and from the arrogant Sieghart to this submissive Sieghart. And after each little discovery from every reaction, the excitement's growth only catalysed further into a hastier rate. It had probably become a festival of emotions inside the wanderer.

A slight cut was made on the gladiator's lips. Sieghart had bit it a little too hard in his panic.

Naturally, the wanderer lifted the chin of the gladiator, looking closely to this petite injury. The grey eyes had coincidentally looked straight into his own cadmium eyes.

The idea of Zero being one who was rarely allowed to be this adventurous had been left undiscussed the whole time because the only reason Zero was made to restrain his behaviour was none other than Grandark and his ego. And blaming Grandark was not something Zero enjoyed, even if it was the truth.

But somehow, just looking at the jittery grey eyes, he heard a snap in that restraint.

As he leaned downwards, Zero saw how the immortal cringed, as if bracing for any worse case scenario. It was not typically Sieghart to behave this way and the attention of the demon he possessed increased only. There were times Sieghart had licked his wounds when there was no water. It was better than nothing anyways. Zero licked the small wound and it surprised the Sieghart.

Why was Zero licking his wound? Sieghart was about to yelp in protest.

Yes. He was about to.

The moment those lips parted ever so slightly, somehow, tongue slipped through them, grazing over teeth brashly. Sieghart blinked, stupefied and unable to comprehend what was happening. And the tongue had actually begun to explore the unfamiliar cavernous mouth, pleasurably tasting the sweet flavour that lurked deep in the mouth, yearning for more of its existence.

Yet those widened confused grey eyes of his had gradually fallen into a hazy serene state, as if Sieghart had finally yielded to pleasure. It was rough and lacked finesse, but who was he to complain when it felt so pleasing. Such warmth inside his mouth felt almost too heavenly, teasing him from the roof of his mouth to the back of his throat.

That flame that resided in the immortal, the desire that he had sealed away deeply in the depths of his guts had been ignited. It happened quite assertively like the flame had charred his body aggressively and soul burned so passionately to no end. And for an immortal like him, such a feeling was so foreign yet so nostalgic and all together, it was just…

He was feeling excited to the return of such a life-taking sensation.

He felt alive again.

When lips parted, they gasped for every air they could inhale. Never had Zero done such a thing, and never had he known it was so pleasing. He wondered why Grandark had never mentioned something as great as this. Maybe it was addiction because certainly there was a sort of crave to have another taste of the gladiator. He even swore there was a tang of sweetness and that was simply unexplainable – He knew Sieghart wasn't a fan of sweet things in the mornings which made it all the more tempting to figure out.

Unintentionally, his fingers were already at Sieghart's cheek and Sieghart was purring deeply to his touch, as if he was begging for more in the wanderer's palms. At the same time, he had begun realizing that there were hands that didn't belong to him that had brushed through his grey hair gently. Sieghart stroked through his hair, gripping it tightly occasionally.

As if the gladiator was begging him for more.

Zero was pulled by the gladiator this time, engaging in another pleasurable session of tongue action. The second time around, he felt the gladiator had become more forceful and entered his own mouth instead. He even felt saliva, who knows from whom, leaking out but who was he to complain when Sieghart seemed to want it enough to drool for it, gradually hinting out his lewd wishes to the wanderer.

Arousing? Perhaps that was a word he had searched for when Sieghart had fallen into the mercy of the wanderer and now latching himself onto Zero as if his life depended on it. Because that anxiousness or excitement or whatever feeling you call it was had driven him into desire instead.

Parting once more to inhale the air, Zero found himself lying below the gladiator. Sieghart's hands were on the wanderer's shoulders. The wanderer was probably pushed down gently without realizing. Their connection was a little too breath-taking for Zero to keep in mind about anything else. All these emotions inside of him were growing at a rate he couldn't keep up with.

And then he saw a burning desire that flickered above the raven haired.

At first glance, the wanderer knew it was his rage aura, fuelled with his hunger to kill. But the expression Sieghart wore told him otherwise, that there was no presence of murderous intent at all. Instead, he seemed as if he was drunk in desire, drowned in pleasure. The grey eyes glowed in pure lust.

Zero simply blinked to this. Although the fact remains that Sieghart had always been so recklessly hazardous whilst his rage aura was switched on, Zero felt no such thing as fear towards it. The wanderer was certain that Sieghart's rage aura was when his inner beastly instincts taking over. And from the look in the eyes of the gladiator, Sieghart looked like he wanted Zero.

Sieghart was craving for him and only him…

However, the demon grew aware of the situation around them. The rest of the chasers were around, and certainly the rage aura of the immortal would catch some unnecessary attention. The immortal had pressed down on his chest, hands gripping the wanderer from running away. His tongue licked his lips hungrily. But complications had clustered up in the mind of the wanderer that…

BAM

"O-OUCH!" Sieghart yowled, jerking away from the demon and reaching out to his forehead, rubbing it lightly. Zero head-butted the immortal and the bruise stung. "Aaaargh… It's stings…!" Withdrawing his hands away from his face immediately, he frowned at the demon. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You lost control of yourself." Bluntly, Zero stated, brushing off any traces of the man, drool included, from himself as he sat up. Without moving an inch, he saw a small glance of their surroundings. Most of the chasers had already stared at them cautiously. They seemed tensed to see the gladiator, suddenly in rage mode and assaulting Zero of all people, who wasn't a usual on the list of people for the immortal to beat up daily.

"Control of what?!... Actually what were we doing again?" Sieghart asked groggily scratching his head as he tried to recall what had happen. This was a side effect of the rage mode that Sieghart had that Zero understood well. Whenever the immortal went into the said state, he loses all ability to think coherently and acted solely on instincts. Basically, his mind temporarily shuts down. And after exiting the mode, his brain takes a while to recover back to normal, though, unable to recover any traces of what he did…. Easily…

The demon sighed. Perhaps something as messy and complex as the unexplainable moment he just had with Sieghart would be better off explained in another time when Sieghart had at least a brief memory of what happened and where place of event was taken in consideration as well. A part of him wouldn't mind, or even care at all whether they would do it out in the open or not, but another wished none of them had caught the slightest glimpse of Sieghart's exposed, vulnerable side. Or how he looked so dazed and wistful.

And perhaps that craving too… It should be that only Zero would see it alone.

"We were engaged in a deep conversation that had stepped on a touchy topic which had your rage mode switched on. My mistake on that part." He scooted away from the gladiator, gradually noticing the stares from the surroundings lessen, understanding the fact that Sieghart was, as usual, never had any control with his rage aura to begin with. But there was still the glare of his sword, piercing his back like his sharp blades. Likewise, a certain stygian's glower was directed to their position, slowly dragging the Grandark towards them suspiciously. On the other side, heterochromatic eyes were dead set on them, stubborn to move away.

Grandark, Dio and Mari.

One could wonder why on Aernas Mari had her eyes on them of all people. Well, Sieghart having a friendly chat with Zero was already something abnormal. She had probably seen the whole thing and simply stayed quiet to observe with full concentration – human behavioural studies, she would call it. Mari would care less of whether the two would end up in a deeper relationship or strangling each other's throats. As long as she had information, it was good enough for her.

Leaving Grandark and Dio to pose as a much larger threat.

"R-really?! I can't remember the details…." The immortal laughed dryly, still trying to render in his mind what had just happened. Lightly, he groaned, "No, wait a minute…."

"Hey, what the shit just happened?!" Dio barged in between them like his pompous self, expected by the grey haired demon that had already scooted a little further away for space, and stabbed Grandark in the ground in the middle of the both of the demon and the immortal. Ignoring him, Sieghart stayed in his sitting position, a finger comically digging into his ear.

"Damn it… I think I'm hearing things again…" He groaned, disregarding the presence of the violet chieftain behind him.

"Don't pretend idiot! You two know what happened and I want an explanation!" The stygian growled at them, and much to Zero's dismay, it had attracted back the unwanted attention once more.

"And what exactly happened?! Cause clearly it wasn't you're business!" Sieghart spat back, rising up to his feet and challenging the chieftain.

"Wait, Dio-"

'Hold it, Zero. I'd like to know his response as well….' The wanderer flinched away from the two powers after being commanded by his sword suddenly. From the way the sword's eye glowed at him, it was definite that he was angry. And at the same time, Grandark wanted to see some sort of divine punishment being sentenced upon the gladiator who had the guts to interact with his wielder without his permission.

"You fucking raped Zero's mouth. That's what happened!" The stygian yowled back as he finally took the attention of everyone in the vicinity and astonishing them all in one go. Especially the gladiator, who not only froze in bewilderment, but had his colours drained from his face.

He blinked once.

Then twice.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Sieghart screamed in embarrassment, having every piece of his memories in his mind in place. "Shit-I-I! That! It was-!" Face now turning red; he was stuttering utter gibberish in his panicked state and having no rational explanation in mind.

It was rare for the immortal to ask for help, with his egoistical personality, but Sieghart had actually made a glance at the grey haired demon, begging for aid in his hellish, humiliating situation. But the fact remains that Grandark had told him to stay out of it.

….

Zero was already in this mess to begin with, so how could it be possible to just back out?

"Dio, it was an accident. I doubt that a mere assault like that would affect either of our performances in battle and-"

"Shut the hell up, Zero. You of all people can figure out what would've happened if he continued with his insane mind." Dio lashed out furiously to the wanderer, very unlike himself. He was one of the few who had considered Zero a 'companion', and didn't really show any intentions to fight, or kill, the wanderer, which was relatively rare for him to do so.

"But nothing complicating happened. I am capable of defending myself too." Zero replied coolly. It was a rare event to have witnessed Dio defends anyone but himself. The stygian would have rather watch a little misery and suffering before he did any sort of protection – a twisted kind of barter trade system. But as said, Dio and Zero were practically 'friends', being the only two male demons – It was as clear as ice that the stygian had no interest in reconnecting with the summoner - coming from Elyos. "Besides, Dio, this is a matter that must be settled between Sieghart and myself. You're just taking every little reason that can be used as an opportunity to fight against him."

Dio glared at him back. Zero was right. The chieftain enjoyed taking every chance that he could find just to make trouble with the immortal and possibly finish his kill once and for all. But this wasn't his fight to begin with. In any case, he began to feel reluctance to continue this charade when the grey haired demon continued to stare at him reasonably.

On the other hand, Grandark watched him quietly, frankly amused to this side of his wielder. The demon had dared to go against his commands and acted on his own accord to help the immortal. Usually, he remained silent under the authority of the sword. Nevertheless, it didn't ignore the fact that Zero disobeyed his commands and was going to get a scolding later.

"Tch… Fine!" The chieftain spat, slinking behind Zero. "But I want to see you two settle this right here, right now! I'm not satisfied with what I had just seen!" Obviously, Dio was one who wouldn't back down so easily. And when he meant he loved to take every bit of opening to trouble the immortal, it included backing out from anything with the condition that he sees Sieghart humiliated in the middle of the Grand Chase.

Meanwhile, Sieghart felt a little relief that the chieftain had decided to give up. But it was for a hefty price, not that there were any other ways to get out of this messy situation. He was still in the centre of attention. Chasers were eyeing on him for the reason of his brash, vulgar actions, eyes inquiring for an answer. If he didn't give them now, they'll surely demand it sooner or later. How was he able to explain about that? And though Zero was the first to move, he remembered clearly that he was the one who got aroused in the first place! And one event lead to another…

The gladiator looked at the wanderer, hesitant and panicky, begging for help once more.

Zero had thought of two choices, say the truth or lie. Lying seemed like the better thing to do in this case. Sieghart would surely cease to fall further in the pits of misery and no one had to bother them further about this incident. Dio didn't have to bother them about that incident anymore. Grandark would scold him for lying though, but that was something Zero was used to (not that he always lied but he was so used to Grandark's scornful personality, he felt abnormal if the sword ceased to yell).

However, it was simply out of the wanderer's nature to lie. There weren't much to gain in lying. And even if there was, it would surely come back and bite his ass one way or another. Mari remained an unexpected variable who saw everything. Obviously she would not object to his lies – again, it would have been for the sake of behavioural studies. But the fact would remain that if anyone asked her privately what had really happened, Mari would tell the facts straight out with her opinions and conclusions. She had never been the type to lie so easily. Not only that, lying felt like running away from the problem and Zero was never the kind to run away with his tail between his legs.

But what could he say about the truth? He knew not exactly what happened either. Every event went on too hastily for the wanderer to make a proper conclusion. However, he knew he had grown a kind of awareness for Sieghart, both mentally and physically. To him, the man was fascinating, as a legendary hero, as a skilled swordsman, as an immortal, as a grandfather and senior, as plain old Sieghart himself. Not only that, there were still secrets behind that happy-go-lucky mask that was still needed to be forced out which only made Sieghart more captivating. And it had probably started the moment their eyes first met in Wrym's Maw.

He was simply attracted to the gladiator. There was nothing that was denying that.

"Sieghart."

"Y-yeah?!" He stuttered in a mixture of surprise and shock to the wanderer.

"I thought I was broken because I had felt this anxiety whenever you are involved and I couldn't comprehend this alien feeling.. But you had resolved my doubts by that… 'Experience'."

"I… Did?" The immortal questioned ignorantly. Now he was confused. He recalled nothing that could help the demon at all. Only the fact that he had actually have a decent talk with him, saw his expression change, joked a little and got shocked after the demon had told him he was broken – the rest was something he did not want to remember over and over again. He couldn't think of any aid that would've helped him with his troubles. In the first place, he didn't even know what had troubled the demon.

But a grim feeling churned in his stomach. He knew with that kind of sentence, he was sure that the demon was going to grab for his sword and strike at him in anger, with his final resolve being he was just some vulgar pervert who doesn't deserve to be their senior (well, that was his great granddaughter's words, so it should sound somewhere similar in those lines).

Before he could back away and run for it to grab his Soluna, Sieghart was in for another shock. And everyone else had their own jolt of their lives.

Zero had grabbed his hands and pulled him closer instead. Sieghart turned red in embarrassment in the sudden contact. To him, men do not just hold each other's hand and face each other like this unless-!

"Zero, don't sa-"

"Sieghart. I now realize that, to me, the moment we first met, it seems as I have been harbouring a feeling of attraction towards you."

Speechless beyond words, the gladiator had a sudden remembrance of how his instincts took over and pushed the wanderer down the moment he felt excited. Oh how the mighty gladiator fell into self-humiliation after losing control of his sanity by just the return of a pleasurable sensation. He merely turned away and brushed the wanderer's hands off of him, speechless beyond words.

But he managed to let out a small stutter. "Nothing…. Happened…."

"Sieghart, that had just-!" The summoner silenced the moment she saw grey eyes glowering in rage.

"Nothing happened, you all hear me!" Finally, he erupted, fumes of embarrassment puffed out of his brains madly. And it increased when he had accidentally made eye contact with the wanderer. Sieghart's face had actually glowed beet red as he stomped towards the group, taking back his Soluna, and started to drag his feet towards his quarters. Even from the back, everyone could see his ears had turned scarlet as well.

He had left everyone in a bewildered state. Then a stygian had unsteadily made his way towards the wanderer, still unsure about everything, circling away from a seemingly furious sword. "Zero… You are joking… About the attraction thing…. R-right…?"

"I don't joke, Dio." With a straight face, Zero replied bluntly, taking Grandark and went after the immortal. No one knew whether he wanted to just go after the man or he just wanted to retire for the day, but they call could see that the grey haired demon was getting lashed at verbally so savagely by his sword.

The summoner hummed in muse though. "Didn't expect Sieghart to be so flustered when he gets a confession… I thought he'd just go with the flow and get laid or something…"

"You're more worried about that instead of the fact that those two guys may become potential mates?!" Dio yowled at her ignorance in common sense. The rest seemed to have cold chills slithering down their spines.

They all saw it.

Zero seemed to have smiled a little.

[Chapter 1 - End]
Chapter word count : 8,784
Total word count: 8,784

A/N:
This is a revamped version of my previous work, also named as Reason for Attraction, that I had to put down due to insecurities and anxiety over many little things. Now I've mustered up a lot of courage to rewrite and post it, as well as properly constitute a plot in the whole series. It will be slow, yes, as my schedule is tighter as ever and my health isn't the very best in the beginning, but patience is virtue and this is one story I want to really treasure as much as I can to get it to what we can call perfect.

-Hishin