Chapter 1136: The Details
Surely, it couldn’t be that easy?
How could this metaphorical door, which by all accounts should’ve remained firmly shut for the foreseeable future, open to someone like Jax in the first place?
And yet it did.
Looking back, Killian eventually concluded that if there was a culprit to be found, then they ought to turn their eyes toward trust.
Yep.
Trust.
Of all things, Killian eventually concluded that this entire mess existed because of trust.
Just blind faith that had long since been distilled into a simple "trust the process," because Killian had learned long ago that things tended to work out far better when he stopped trying to think too hard whenever Jax was involved.
Thinking only ever seemed to affect one party.
Only he ended up wondering why logic wasn’t working.
And in the end, he was usually the one left with an annoying existential crisis he definitely hadn’t been suffering from moments ago, when he should’ve known full well by now that this bizarre breakdown of norms wouldn’t even apply to everyone.
Therefore, if he, too, decided to just jump from a cliff with the confidence that he would be caught by one hell of a draft, then he clearly would be way over his head. For such unspeakable miracles would only work for someone like Jax. Even his younger brother ended up getting banged up that one time.
Unfortunately, as one could tell, all of these sage thoughts came from moral lessons that cost him dearly back when he was much younger.
Thankfully, Killian was the type to learn from the very expensive experiences of others, and most definitely his own. So after enough examples piled up, he eventually decided that for once, at least for this guy, he would simply turn his brain off.
It was gloriously peaceful.
Super effective.
And annoy—err, unbelievably reliable.
No questions, no doubts, just successful results.
As strange as it sounded, if the redhead said jump, Killian wouldn’t even feel compelled to ask how high and would just do as was told.
Not because Jax demanded that sort of trust from people.
The irritating thing was that he didn’t.
Jax never stood at the back shouting instructions.
He was always the idiot at the front.
The first one attempting something that sounded completely unreasonable.
And perhaps that was why following him never felt entirely unreasonable. If their monarchs could be trusted to pursue the most logical course of action, then this guy could be trusted too, if only because he never asked others to take a risk he wasn’t willing to stake his own life on first.
Jax might say the most absurd things imaginable and do things that made no sense whatsoever, but he was also the sort of person who consistently put his money where his mouth was.
Sometimes literally.
Like now.
Or rather, back then.
Back in that moment when, unbeknownst to them, they’d actually taken a high-stakes gamble that normally wouldn’t have worked for people who weren’t even in that kind of a relationship.
And yet, in the most inexplicable set of circumstances, two people from opposite ends of the spectrum somehow met perfectly in the middle.
One was willing to give one hundred percent to everything he devoted himself to, regardless of how ridiculous it appeared from the outside, while the other had long since grown accustomed to accepting the full force of those unhinged moves.
Against all expectations, it worked.
However, one of the things Killian should’ve realized much earlier was just how dangerously addictive this could become.
Because turning his brain off and entrusting Jax with practically his entire being meant that when those lips—now seemingly focused on something other than lending him oxygen—pressed harder against his own, he didn’t think too much of it. Instead, he simply melted into it.
Tilting his head slightly to the side?
Alright.
Those fingers, particularly the thumbs spread across his face as though trying to hold on to him?
Okay.
And those lips, clumsy and oddly hesitant as they sought him out?
Well.
If that was proving difficult, then perhaps he could help.
It was only a small movement. Killian angled his chin downward, creating the largest opening he could manage despite their circumstances. Not that there was much distance between them to begin with, as part of their lips still remained connected, but it was enough.
Enough that when Killian shifted and returned the pressing gesture to the surprised redhead, Jax immediately took the hint, and they somehow ended up right back at it again.
Though saying "again" felt inaccurate.
For how could it possibly be the same when the eldest Nox suddenly found himself confronted by a tongue that came knocking against his lower lip?
Woah, there.
And yet he didn’t think to alter the course of history and simply let it be.
It was clumsy at first—downright unrefined, really. Jax pressed down with a blunt, awkward force, his teeth nearly clipping Killian’s in a haphazard rush that spoke more of determination than finesse.
Yet, underneath that lack of grace was an earnestness so raw and terrifyingly sincere that the young official’s breath caught. It was a completely unguarded enthusiasm, devoid of the calculated mind games he was so used to navigating.
Moreover, it wasn’t exactly easy to disentangle when it felt like he was water for someone who had been trapped in some desert.
And shamelessly enough, that felt quite... exhilarating.
Okay, maybe he too had psychological problems he needed to look into, but thankfully at that point his head was just empty, open enough so he could simply immerse himself in whatever this was.
Yielding to the pull, Killian deliberately parted his lips, consciously allowing Jax entry and meeting him head-on. The redhead, as if overjoyed and hopeful, shifted his weight heavily on top of him, anchoring them both to the hard ground as his lips parted further, deepening the kiss with a ravenous enthusiasm that still caught the official by surprise.
Oof. He sure was solid.
Had someone with a smaller build been under this guy, he wondered whether the weight would feel crushing instead of heated.
But even that was a fleeting thought because before the eldest Nox could even come up with other scenarios, he was pulled right back into the moment.
Jax’s hands, still firmly cupped over Killian’s ears to shield him from the swarm, pressed inward, tilting Killian’s face to lock their mouths together at an even more desperate angle. The hesitant, fumbling start quickly melted away into a deep, bruising rhythm as their tongues tangled and slid against one another, slick and hot.
Clearly, this beast had been bestowed gifts related to his body, allowing him to cope faster than should’ve been normal.
So much for an awkward and flustered stage where everything felt tentative. This one was already a live wire.
Moreover, he didn’t know just what kind of plan Jax had going on, but even someone as uptight as him could admit that it was encouraging his own creativity and spontaneity. So much so that he was simply reacting as he liked.
Yes. As he liked.
Not based on what would be polite, what would be acceptable, and what would be within decorum.
No. For someone with his personality, this was his own version of selfish desires.
__
It was a rare thing for the likes of Killian Nox, and who knows if this was some repressed case, but at that moment, everything felt like it—no, he—could unravel at any moment.
Though it probably had a lot to do with the fact that this wasn’t just his experience.
Instead—
Every frantic breath was shared, stolen right from each other’s lips. The friction of their bodies rubbing together through their clothes sent a sudden jolt of electricity straight down Killian’s spine, making him arch slightly into the pressure, demanding more of the heavy, intoxicating warmth pinning him down.
All around them, the swarm remained a frantic blur of wings and movement, but the chaos that had initially made it hard to breathe was beginning to fade into the background.
Instead, Killian became aware of other things.
The warmth pressed against him.
The stubborn persistence that seemed uniquely Jax.
And beneath all of it, that faint sweetness he’d caught earlier and now found himself unconsciously seeking again.
Just what was that?
Well, apparently it was more than just a passing interest, as the fascination proved strong enough that Killian barely noticed his hands, which had remained occupied elsewhere until now, gradually sliding higher along Jax’s back.
"Mnn..."
Ah, but who would think that such honey came with a price?
For when Killian’s consciousness decided to chase after it, he got too deep into coming after that hightailing smidgen that he didn’t quite realize where he was heading.
Right through someone’s very open but oddly empty spiritual sea.
He just didn’t realize it back then, because of the horror stories that had been told about how for people who didn’t meet the right criteria, it could be akin to going through open-heart surgery without anesthesia. That’s not even counting the backlash for the intruder.
But with this much pleasure simultaneously softening and electrifying his body, how could he ever compare the memory of his mind wrapping around that sweet, sweet thing to something so gruesome?
And if it were anything bad, then how could his actions have resulted in that guy moaning against Killian’s mouth like he’d done something extremely right?
It was as if a switch was flipped.
See, for who knew how long now, the eldest son of House Nox, the same self-respecting man who had always been the one in command, had somehow found himself on the receiving end of this unusual battle strategy. And only because this was his story to tell, all the sounds he was probably making would naturally have to be omitted.
After all, in his current state of denial, such sounds, scratches, and suspiciously distracting nibbles simply did not exist.
Unfortunately, that did very little to change the fact that this was far removed from anything he was used to. He couldn’t even complain about not taking the lead when he could’ve sworn he was the older one.
And don’t bother asking him why. Even he didn’t have an answer for himself.
But thankfully, it didn’t stay like that forever, not after Killian had chased after and successfully caught up to whatever "that" was.
He still didn’t know what it was, and was currently in the middle of finding out.
Also, it wasn’t a physical chase. They were still pressed against each other, doing things he never would’ve imagined himself doing in the middle of some random clearing, and with this person of all people.
Yet it certainly felt like one.
His body felt as though it were in the middle of one hell of a physical activity, even when it was really his mind doing the running, chasing after something frustratingly elusive. Every time he thought he had caught sight of it, it would slip away again, staying just beyond his reach and compelling him to keep going.
But the moment he pushed himself harder than he ever had for an academic exam and finally caught up to it, he realized the payoff was well worth the effort.
A well-deserved moan that got all of Killian’s senses firing off.
Hearing this dingus react like that, and feeling Jax’s body tremble above him, felt like nothing he could’ve imagined.
And maybe he could’ve left it at that.
But the same guy who had always had to think of everyone else before himself was in a rare streak of selfishness and couldn’t stop himself.
He indulged.
And the more he did, the more frantic and heated Jax became in his attempts to reach for him.
Killian let him do as he pleased while doing much the same himself.
The redhead would catch his lip between his teeth, and Killian would feel a sharp sting that had him hissing beneath his breath. Yet even then, he found himself unable to suppress the self-satisfied smirk tugging at his mouth as the same eager, instinct-driven man reacted just as strongly to his own pursuit.
Maybe it should’ve felt wrong.
But in that moment, everything felt undeniably right.
And had he been given the chance to relive that moment, Killian wasn’t entirely sure he would’ve done anything differently when he finally heard an actual sound from the thoroughly swarmed man before him.
"I... more..."
Really.
How insatiable was this brute?
More importantly, how absurdly accommodating was Killian to keep indulging Jax and, well, himself?
Apparently accommodating enough that, had the Elders not managed to locate and identify them within that crazed swarm, a certain someone’s wildly encouraged hands would’ve already found themselves headed somewhere else entirely.
They would’ve touched.
Okay, realistically speaking, they probably would’ve progressed well beyond that, maybe even burned themselves to a crisp in the process, and yet somehow... both of them would’ve still been in complete agreement that it was an excellent idea.
But perhaps that was simply the beauty of not being able to talk to each other properly.
Because in that moment, despite the bees, despite the chaos, and despite the complete lack of common sense involved, everything had felt remarkably simple.
Far simpler than this.
Far simpler than being surrounded by a group of insane cadets who were looking far too interested in hearing about his so-called "experience."
