Chapter 36: Sticky.

’Why is he leaning in like this? Again?’

Ezra’s thoughts scrambled as Helios moved closer, the memory of yesterday in the carriage flashing through his mind.

That time, Lior had been there.

This time, there was no buffer, no excuse to look away.

Just Helios.

Helios had braced his arms on either side of the chair, not touching Ezra, but close enough that Ezra felt boxed in all the same.

Trapped without actually being trapped, which somehow made it worse.

Or maybe better.

Ezra tilted his head up despite himself. Their faces were far too close now, close enough that Ezra caught the familiar scent of pine.

Helios’s scent hadn’t changed.

Pine trees, clean air, something steady and grounding. It was strange how calming it still was, how it always had been.

Omegas were supposed to react differently to an Alpha’s presence, but Ezra never had. If anything, Helios’s presence quieted the noise in his head.

That realization alone made his chest tighten.

“Helios,” Ezra asked softly, voice betraying him just a little, “what is this?”

Helios stopped, hovering just above him, close but careful. His gaze searched Ezra’s face, intent and unreadable.

Ezra swallowed.

He suddenly became painfully aware of himself. Of how close this was. Of how quiet the garden had become.

“Is my… scent still obvious?” Ezra asked in a near whisper, staring at a spot just past Helios’s shoulder. He didn’t dare move. ’If I move, this might become something I can’t take back.’

Helios paused.

“Yes,” he answered honestly.

Ezra winced. “I’m sorry. I took double my suppressants. Fizzy didn’t seem to notice, but you…” He trailed off, embarrassed, turning his face away. ’Of course you would.’

For a moment, Helios didn’t move.

Ezra’s thoughts raced. ’Is he going to step back? Please step back.’

Instead, Helios spoke quietly.

“Whatever the reason,” he said, voice low but steady, “you don’t need to apologize to me.”

Ezra squeezed his eyes shut, heart pounding far too loudly.

’Dead birds. Dead rabbits. Centipedes… puppies,’ he repeated silently, desperately trying to calm himself.

And yet, even as his thoughts spiraled, one thing remained painfully clear.

Helios was still there.

Close.

And not pulling away.

Ezra’s thoughts were a complete mess.

He was flustered, painfully aware of how close Helios still was, and yet Helios made no move to step back.

Not even an inch.

’Why is he still this close?’ Ezra wondered, his heart refusing to slow. ’Where the fuck is this leading?’

His thoughts turned sharp and aggressive, a reflex born from panic rather than anger. Helios had always been like this.

Saying things.

Doing things.

Things that Ezra could easily misread if he wasn’t careful.

Usually, it would get cleared up immediately. Helios would explain, laugh it off, act oblivious.

But now?

Now Ezra couldn’t make sense of anything.

Then Helios lifted a hand.

Ezra froze as warm fingers brushed his cheek. It should have been comforting. Gentle. Familiar.

’He’s touching my face,’ Ezra thought, breath catching despite himself.

And then something felt wrong.

Cold.

Almost sticky.

“What is—” Ezra started, his voice hitching as Helios’s thumb moved slowly along his cheekbone, as if checking something.

His body reacted before his mind could catch up.

Ezra shot to his feet on pure instinct. “H-Helios—!”

Helios blinked, clearly startled. “Ezra, wait—”

The chair scraped loudly against the ground as Ezra moved too fast. His footing slipped, balance lost in the worst possible way.

Everything happened in a blur.

Ezra saw Helios reach out reflexively, felt hands grab at him, and then they were both going down in an awkward tangle of limbs.

“Oh—!” Ezra gasped.

Helios hit the ground with a soft grunt, arms immediately wrapping around Ezra’s waist to keep him from slamming down harder.

“Are you okay?” Helios asked at the exact same time Ezra blurted out—

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—?!”

They froze.

Ezra suddenly became aware of everything all at once.

The solid warmth beneath him.

The way Helios’s arms were still around his waist, steady and firm.

How close their faces were again.

Far too close.

Their breaths mingled.

’I’m going to die,’ Ezra thought faintly. ’Lior, your Maman is about to get himself killed.’

At the face of death, of course, his little boy was his last thoughts.

Still…

His face burned. His heart hammered so hard he was sure Helios could feel it through his ribs.

Neither of them moved.

For a moment that felt far too long, it was just the two of them on the garden floor, tangled together in a way that should have meant nothing.

And yet it felt like everything.

“I’m fine,” Helios said quickly, concerned overriding everything else. His grip tightened just a little around Ezra’s waist, steadying rather than restraining. “Ezra, are you hurt?”

“No,” Ezra answered immediately, then winced at how fast it came out. “I mean, yes—no—I mean, I’m not hurt. Just—” He swallowed. “Sorry. I panicked.”

Helios frowned, confusion flickering across his face. “Panicked?”

Ezra hesitated. His heart was still racing, his thoughts tangled, but something about Helios’s expression made him slow down. He lifted one hand and touched his own cheek.

His fingers came away faintly shiny.

Ezra stared at them. “…Why is my face sticky?”

For a brief moment, Helios looked… guilty.

Not defensive. Not annoyed.

Just like a child who had been caught doing something without asking permission first.

“Oh,” Helios said softly.

“Oh?” Ezra echoed.

“It’s a new kind of ointment,” Helios admitted. “To hide your pheromones.”

Ezra blinked once. Then again. “Ointment?”

Helios nodded, clearly relieved that Ezra hadn’t immediately pulled away again. “I’m still in contact with your doctor. I spoke to him last night about stronger suppressants, but he said the ones you’re taking are already the best available.”

He paused. “There have been cases recently. Omegas having trouble fully suppressing their pheromones. So he developed this.”

Ezra stared at him, his mind slowly catching up.

“…Isn’t ointment usually for bruises?” he asked weakly.

“Yes,” Helios said, a little sheepish now. “But this one is meant to mask scent. I was supposed to apply it to your neck, near your scent glands.”

His gaze flicked to Ezra’s collarbone, then away. “But I wasn’t sure how safe it was to put on your scent gland, so I thought… your cheek would be safer.”

Ezra let out a slow breath.

’So that’s what he was doing,’ he realized, tension easing out of his shoulders bit by bit. ’That’s all it was.’

The pieces finally fit together, and with that understanding, the panic lost its grip.

Even with the odd position.

Even with the fact that he was still very much on top of Helios.

His body relaxed before he could stop it.

Helios noticed immediately.

“Ezra,” he said quietly.

“Yes?” Ezra replied, a little too fast.

Helios hesitated, then asked, gently but directly, “Why did you panic?”

Ezra stiffened.

His eyes widened just slightly, and for a moment he couldn’t breathe.

’Why did I?’

he asked himself, suddenly at a loss.

It didn’t make sense.

This was Helios. The same Helios who had dragged him out of danger more times than he could count.

The one Ezra trusted with his life. With Lior’s safety. With secrets he hadn’t told anyone else.

Even if Helios brought him to the most dangerous places in the world, Ezra had never panicked like that.

So why now?

Why did a simple touch make his instincts scream?

“I…” Ezra started, then stopped.

His throat felt tight. Not with fear. With something else he didn’t have the words for.

’I should know this,’ he thought, frustrated.

But the truth hovered just out of reach.

“…I don’t know,” he admitted quietly, eyes dropping to Helios’s shoulder instead of his face. “I really don’t.”

Helios’s grip around Ezra’s waist tightened just slightly. Not enough to restrain him, not enough to frighten him, but enough that Ezra felt it.

Felt the hesitation. The restraint.

Helios didn’t speak right away. He just looked at him, golden eyes steady and intent, as if weighing something heavy in his mind.

In Ezra’s eyes, Helios was deciding whether to press further. Whether to ask the question he always asked when something felt off.

Ezra held his breath.

Then Helios sighed.

“Alright,” Helios said quietly, and something in the air softened. “We should go. The knights might already be waiting.”

He didn’t push.

Ezra blinked, the tight knot in his chest loosening just a little.

’That’s new,’ he realized, a strange mix of relief and disappointment settling low in his stomach. ’He usually never stops until he knows what’s wrong.’

For a moment, Ezra didn’t know how to feel about that.

Helios’s tone shifted, slipping back into something steadier, more familiar. The prince he knew.

“If you’re alright with it,” Helios continued, “the ointment seems to be working. You should apply some on your scent glands before we leave.”

Ezra nodded a little too quickly. “Y-Yes. That makes sense.”

His movements were careful as he shifted his weight and pushed himself up, painfully aware of how close they still were.

He made sure not to rush this time. Not to startle either of them again.

Helios released him immediately, hands dropping away without hesitation as Ezra stood.

For a brief second, neither of them moved.

The garden felt very quiet again.

Ezra cleared his throat, the sound louder than he intended.

’This is embarrassing,’ he scolded himself. ’Aurethys, pull yourself together.’

He smoothed down his clothes, straightening fabric that didn’t really need fixing, avoiding Helios’s gaze as he reached for the small container Helios had brought with him.

The ointment was cool against his fingers as he applied it properly this time, brushing it carefully against his neck.

When he finished, he capped the container and finally looked up.

“Thank you,” Ezra said quietly. His voice was steadier now, sincere. “For… thinking of this, Helios. You’ve always been helping me. Always thinking of me.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Helios smiled faintly, something soft and unreadable in his expression.

“Anything for you.”

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