[Third Person Pov]
Lucian was leaning down as Medusa tilted her head back to meet him. Their lips were brushed against each other more than once—soft, tentative—before pressing together fully. What began as a gentle exploration quickly melted into something deeper, slower, and far more consuming.
Neither pulled away. Instead, they sank into the kiss as if the rest of the world had quietly dissolved.
Lucian's hand cradled the side of her neck with careful strength, his thumb stroking along the elegant line of her jaw while his other hand rested at the curve of her waist, drawing her closer. Medusa turned further in her seat, rising slightly to meet him, her bare breasts pressing warmly against his chest through the thin fabric of his tank top. Her fingers curled into the material, gripping it tightly as if anchoring herself.
Their lips moved together in unhurried, sensual rhythm—slow, deep presses that gradually parted, allowing the kiss to deepen further. Lucian's tongue brushed hers, coaxing a soft, involuntary sound from Medusa's throat that sent a shiver through him. She responded in kind, tasting him with equal hunger, savoring the faint traces of herbs and warm candle smoke that clung to him. The kiss grew wetter, hotter, more intimate, their breaths mingling in shared, ragged sighs.
They were both thoroughly lost in it.
Lucian's mind had emptied of everything except the velvet softness of her lips, the warmth of her skin beneath his palms, and the way her body leaned into him so trustingly. He kissed her like he wanted to memorize every second—slow, reverent, and increasingly passionate—tilting his head to find new angles, drawing her lower lip between his with gentle suction before soothing it with his tongue. One of his hands slid up her bare back, tracing the line of her spine with calloused fingertips, feeling the subtle tremors that ran through her.
Medusa melted against him completely. Her free hand rose to thread through his hair, nails grazing his scalp in a way that made him groan quietly into her mouth. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, the rapid thud of his heart against her palm, and the growing tension in his muscles as he held her. Every slow glide of his tongue, every subtle shift of his lips, sent sparks of pleasure dancing across her skin. She kissed him back with equal fervor—deeper, needier—losing herself in the masculine scent of him, the controlled strength in his touch...
Minutes stretched. The kiss never fully broke, only softened and rekindled again and again in a hazy loop of lips, breath, and quiet sounds of pleasure. Lucian's hand wandered tenderly over her side. Medusa responded by nipping his bottom lip, then soothing it with a slow stroke of her tongue, drawing another low, appreciative rumble from his chest.
They stayed locked together like that—foreheads occasionally brushing, noses nudging, lips never straying far—for what felt like a long, delicious stretch of time. The enchanted quill and ink were long forgotten. The only sounds in the workshop were their mingled breathing, the soft wet sounds of their kisses, and the occasional quiet hum or sigh that escaped them both.
When they finally eased back, it was only by a fraction. Their lips still brushed with every breath, foreheads resting together, eyes half-lidded and darkened with desire.
They both slowly backed away from each other, their eyes widening little by little as the realization of what they had just done finally settled over them.
Medusa immediately covered her mouth with one hand, her violet eyes wide with quiet panic and disbelief.
Lucian had one hand pressed against his forehead while the other rested on his hip, staring off to the side as he tried to process everything. The silence between them was painfully heavy, thick enough to make the entire room feel uncomfortable.
"I…" Lucian stammered, completely at a loss for words. His voice cracked slightly from the lingering tension in the air. He cleared his throat and forced himself to continue. "I think we need a five minute recess before we continue where we left off."
Medusa slowly turned her head toward him, still covering her mouth as she stared at him with a wide-eyed and deeply confused side-eye.
"The tattoo!!" Lucian suddenly blurted out in panic after realizing how that sounded. "I'm talking about the tattoo! Not this—You know what I mean!"
Medusa immediately nodded in realization, silently agreeing with him. She still looked too stunned to trust herself to actually speak.
"After those five minutes, we forget that ever happened. Poof. Gone from memory. Deal?" Lucian asked while dragging a hand down his face, still trying to recover mentally from the situation.
Medusa continued nodding rapidly without saying a word.
Lucian turned around and walked out of the Alchemy room, carefully pulling the door shut behind him and leaving Medusa alone inside.
The second the door closed, Medusa's face started turning redder and redder until she leaned forward and pressed both hands against her forehead. She brushed her hair back shakily before letting out an uneven breath.
"Medea is going to fucking kill me…" she muttered under her breath.
She covered her eyes with both hands before groaning quietly to herself. "What the hell have I done?"
Meanwhile, Lucian was standing outside with his back pressed against the door. His gaze looked distant and unfocused while his thoughts spiraled into complete chaos.
He took a deep breath through his nose before slowly exhaling through his mouth, but it did absolutely nothing to calm the violent pounding in his chest.
Not knowing what else to do, he started pacing back and forth through the halls, repeatedly running his hands through his hair while he waited for the five minutes to pass.
…
Elsewhere, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos sat around a crystal ball in complete silence.
All three of them stared at it with wide eyes and slack-jawed disbelief before slowly turning to look at each other. Then they looked back at the crystal ball again.
None of them said a single word.
…
Five minutes later, Lucian stood in front of the Alchemy room door once again. He inhaled dramatically before slapping both cheeks hard enough to make them sting.
Then he opened the door and stepped inside.
"Ready to continue where we left off?" he asked carefully.
A second later his eyes widened in alarm.
"With the tattoo, I mean!!" Lucian clarified immediately before she could misunderstand him again.
Medusa let out a long sigh. "Just finish it already so I can put my clothes back on."
"…That's what she said."
Medusa slowly turned her head toward him and stared at him with the straightest, most unimpressed expression imaginable.
Lucian immediately looked away, his face turning red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I genuinely couldn't help myself. The opportunity was too good to pass up."
Medusa snorted despite herself and rolled her eyes in exasperation.
After that, Lucian moved behind her again and focused on finishing the last details of the tattoo as quickly and professionally as possible.
A few minutes later, he finally leaned back with visible relief. "There… done."
"Really?" Medusa asked while trying to glance over her shoulder. "How does it look?"
Lucian quickly pulled out his phone and took a picture before showing it to her.
Medusa grabbed the phone from his hand and tilted her head back to get a proper look at the image. A look of genuine surprise slowly crossed her face.
The tattoo was beautiful. It depicted a large serpent curled into a perfect circle while consuming its own tail, its eyes peacefully closed as if resting. The design was elegant, detailed, and strangely mesmerizing to look at.
"It's an Ouroboros," Lucian explained quietly. "The serpent that devours its own tail. A symbol of eternity, cycles, and rebirth."
"Woah…" Medusa muttered softly, staring at the picture a little longer. "It's honestly really beautiful."
For the first time since the incident earlier, both of them momentarily forgot about what had happened.
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