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Laios was hungry.
Being a king was expensive, and he was beginning to realize he wasn't eating properly, and that loud noise behind him was always a short man holding a pot trying to get him to eat. He definitely focused too much on work.
It was night, actually, dawn, and Laios stepped onto the cold floor without caring if he would catch a cold or not. He opened the door to the room and observed the dark corridor; that castle could be even more sinister at night; the bard certainly made it even more terrifying by burying it in the earth. But damn, he was so tired.
The human hurried downstairs to the kitchen, which was placed underground. When he became king, he made sure the kitchen would have a whole floor and plenty of staff, so they would always have food in the castle. Of course, at that moment, everyone was asleep, but if Laios looked, he knew, inside some box or pot, he would surely find food available.
The kitchen was rustic and silent at night, where several people should be working, now there were only a few wandering ghosts and crickets, making the night's melody more comfortable. Laios didn't mind the ghosts at all, much less the crickets, as long as they didn't touch his food.
Humming and dancing among the counters filled with knives, hammers, and other kitchen utensils, the king stopped in front of a pot he knew very well, and the smell was magnificent; it was as if it had been made there, at that moment.
It was a stew of walking mushrooms and it looked delicious. Laios didn't hesitate to grab a plate and a spoon to eat some; damn, he was so hungry.
After all he had been through, he had been noticing something strange about himself, that demon who stole the form of the winged lion, he certainly had a dragon's hunger; so to speak... and now Laios was eating so much, so much, that he could say he had gained a few pounds.
Marcille said it could be dangerous, that by eating demon flesh he could have become a half-human or could have acquired the desire to eat until he died; never being satisfied... Laios wished it were nonsense, but he was a little worried.
A sigh, he looked at the newly empty plate with sadness, wondering if he should have seconds. And if Marcille was right? And if one day he went mad because he would never be able to satisfy his hunger? And if...
The sound of a falling pot caught the king's attention, making him jump off the counter where he was sitting to grab a kitchen knife in the direction of the sound, looking serious at whoever was there. "Show yourself!" he said.
Well, it was just Senshi, the dwarf approached with his hands raised and round eyes with genuine happiness, hoping Laios would lower the knife.
"Oh, it's just you... don't scare me like that," Laios said, grabbing the plate thoughtfully. "What are you doing here so late... or so early? It's dawn, you don't need to start making breakfast yet."
"I didn't come to make breakfast, Majesty."
"Senshi," Laios observed him with a frown, crossing his arms. "You know me, I'm not Majesty when it's just the two of us."
"Of course," Senshi agreed with a smile. They both stayed in comfortable silence until he spoke again, leaning on a counter in front of Laios, looking directly into his eyes. "Aren't you going to eat more?"
Laios looked away, afraid, feeling his heart sink with the question from the man he admired so much. "Actually, I'm not very hungry."
"It's a shame," Senshi approached the pot, seeing that half of the stew was gone, Laios had taken a very large plate to eat that. "I cooked especially for you, my king."
"I don't want to..."
"What are you afraid of?" Senshi looked at the human again, getting even closer with seriousness. Without the helmet, Laios was sure Senshi's hair was incredibly fluffy and soft, he could lie on top of it, wrap himself in it... "What's the problem?"
The blonde blinked as if waking up from a dream, lowering his gaze with flushed cheeks; what was he thinking? Senshi was someone to be respected. "I don't want... I'm afraid of getting too fat, of never satisfying my hunger. Of losing interest in your food, Senshi," he confessed, grabbing the hem of the shirt he was wearing to twist and observe the fabric stretch, not daring to look at the cook. "This has been haunting me since... since I ate the demon."
"Laios..."
"I've been having nightmares," he started to cry a little, blinking to ward off the tears that were pooling on the ground, between his own feet and Senshi's feet; was he that close before? "I dream, every time, with the demon saying that I will never fulfill my greatest wish, that I will die in misery... and I'm afraid."
"Majesty," Senshi called, reaching out to Laios's face to gently hold it, the dwarf's skin was rough and warm, like a long-used pillow; but still comfortable. "Why didn't you say anything before?"
Laios shrugged and said nothing, so Senshi continued. "I don't know your father, but I can say that you are certainly someone unique, that your blonde hair stole the brightness of the stars and that your eyes match the fire I light here every day," he said, seeing the human stop crying. "Laios, you won't get fat... and if you do, what's the problem?"
Senshi looked at himself before looking at the king again, standing on tiptoe and pulling him by the waist to join their bellies, seeing the fabric of their clothes fold with the force with which they came together. "See? We're almost the same, we're both big," he smiled and Laios smiled too, holding onto Senshi's shoulders to avoid falling to the ground. "What do you think?"
"I like it, it seems... beautiful," the blonde murmured, averting his gaze when he managed to focus on Senshi's curly hair with a finger, blushing at the softness. "Senshi..."
"What?" They moved apart for a moment, but only enough to be comfortable, Senshi was still very close to Laios and he seemed to radiate heat somehow. When Laios took a while to respond, the dwarf tilted his head and touched the other's face again, caressing his cheek. "You can tell me."
"If I become an insatiable half-human...," he started, swallowing hard trying to hold back the urge to rest his head on the cook's hand. "Will you feed me to death?"
Senshi gave a little smile, relaxing somehow. "What a silly question," he started, bringing his other hand to Laios's face to pull it down, bringing their lips inches apart. "If one day the food runs out and you're still hungry, I'll tear my flesh, let you devour me, my king."
Laios held onto Senshi's shoulders tightly, squeezing his flesh as he looked into his eyes; Senshi was
like a gem of desires, a shining and delicious diamond, gelatinous but also quite consistent like a biscuit. That's what Laios hungered for.
He kissed and then the proximity between them was completely extinguished, Laios felt Senshi's tongue on his lips, as well as the beard and mustache tickling him. The king ran his hands over the cook's neck, up to the nape and face to have control; he was never very good at this, in fact, he never even cared, but Senshi was different, he was the last gem the demon hid to devour later.
That was Laios's greatest desire and, damn it, it was coming true.
The kiss lasted until Laios tasted blood, he bit Senshi's tongue and lips enough to take a piece, blood dripping between them like tears on the king's face. Senshi didn't seem bothered and that made him unconcerned, did it mean he could continue, right? Was he enjoying it?
Laios sighed as they separated for a moment, chests rising and falling as if they had run a mile, sweat dripping, mixing with the blood that seemed delicious. Damn, he needed to taste it! The human bent his back even more, they observed each other, eye to eye, the same sparkle they had when they were cooking monsters was there now; for Laios, it was like tasting a new dish while for Senshi, it was like cooking, serving, pleasing his king.
"You told the truth," Laios gasped, running his thumb over Senshi's injured lip, feeling the warm blood against his skin. "You'll satisfy my hunger... no matter what."
"If you want, Majesty," Senshi replied, his voice hoarse and ecstatic. "Laios."
"Great," the blonde smiled and then advanced again. Laios licked the line of sweat that connected with Senshi's blood, biting his cheek and then contemplating the mark of his teeth there. He finally decided. "I don't think I want seconds."
"What?" Senshi seemed disbelieving, confused, did he miss something?
"Before you arrived, I was wondering if I should have seconds, you know, eat again," Laios replied with a smile, returning to normal height when he put his hands on his waist and looked at the pot with the mushroom stew. "I think we're going to bed."
"We are?" confusion. "Both of us?"
"I don't like sex, you know, my interests are monsters and food... and I'm an insatiable half-human, right?" the king raised an eyebrow and Senshi looked at him as if asking 'are you?' "That's why I have to keep my food close... I don't want you to run away."
Senshi laughed, covering his wounded mouth with his hand and shaking his head. "I would never run away from you, you know, I have zero survival instincts."
"It's not true..."
Laios smiled, raising his hand to lead Senshi to his room; from that moment on, he had some rules to make, maybe he could get help from Marcille...? They could get married, so Senshi would stay with him forever, well, until the end of his short life... who knows when the insatiable hunger would grow bigger.