Endemic Love

"Hold his body down. If he convulses…"

Le An began guiding him. He increased the flow slowly, trying to stabilize the chaotic energy inside Taras. Espers in this condition were like wild animals, desperate and violent.

As expected, Taras' body began to jerk violently. Am I pushing him too hard? Or does he need more? Le An closed his eyes, trying to focus on his energy. Inside, there was nothing but a storm. It would be a battle of endurance. Like pulling on opposite ends of a rope, the esper lunged for more while the guide resisted.

Le An was already starting to feel tingling in his arms. If he could bring him down to level four, the risk would drop drastically.

"I can't hold him!" the man grunted, using his full weight to pin Taras's thrashing body.

"Is this normal?"

"Yes," Le An replied breathlessly. "But don't hurt his arms."

"Pretty sure he wouldn't care about a broken arm after coming back from the dead," the man muttered sarcastically, out of breath.

Le An shook his head. "If you trigger his pain sensors too much, he might wake up mid-rampage. Then we're all in danger."

Le An pulled his hand back for just a second to check the energy level and was immediately kicked by Taras in the shoulder. "Ugh!"

The impact sent him falling backward, his face twisting in pain. His shoulder hurt like it had been dislocated. Nevertheless, he crawled back toward Taras.

"Should I use my esper power to pin him?" the man asked. Taras's bloody body and arms kept slipping from his grasp.

"No! That could make it worse." Le An's eyes darted across Taras's body. "I need to make more direct contact."

His shirt had been slashed across the stomach, blood still flowing from a deep wound. Without hesitation, Le An pressed his hand into the wound, applying pressure and resuming the guiding.

His palm warmed in the pool of blood, and his body shuddered as Taras's body began to fully absorb the energy.

Seconds later, Taras slipped from the other man's grip, suddenly moving on his own as if he knew exactly where he was and what position he was in. He grabbed Le An by the arm and neck. Just like he always did.

Pinning Le An to the floor, Taras growled as if savoring the very source of his survival. His eyes remained shut, but his unconscious body was gasping for air. His lips were parted like someone searching for water.

"N-no, help!" Le An struggled and turned to the other man for help.

But his voice cut off as Taras's bloody lips crashed against his own. "Ha! Unh-"

A thousand thoughts flashed through Le An's mind in the span of a single second. His breath caught, and time froze. The man on top of him, Taras, was now blindly groping for his face, both hands squeezing to hold his cheeks still.

The man was kissing him.

Le An pushed him away by the chin, panicked. "N-no-"

Taras grabbed Le An's hands with one hand, pinned them down. And again, he held his face, this time tighter.

The kiss was relentless. Violent. Le An tried to push him off, but Taras's hands were locked onto his face like they had been fused there. The guiding flow surged out of control, being drained far too fast.

"Ugh… hngh…" Each gasp Le An made only deepened the kiss.

As Taras tried to slip his tongue into the parting lips Le An used to breathe, Le An clenched his jaw. A growl escaped Taras's unconscious lips. "C-come... here..." He mumbled unconsciously.

Taras shoved his thumb between Le An's teeth and finally forced his tongue into the open mouth. It was just an instinctive move, done only to access more body fluid to enhance guiding absorption.

Le An, with tears slipping from his eyes, clenched his aching jaw, and then… he let him. He didn't know how to respond to a kiss. Because it was his first… He watched Taras' face as he gave in completely.

When Le An's strength gave out, all he could do was hope, hope that Taras would stop. Hope he'd wake up. He continued to guide him. Taras was now pressing down Le An's tongue with his thumb and licking his upper lip. And from time to time, he was releasing his lips, only to suck on it again, as if inviting him.

He then started to suck on Le An's tongue as he ran his thumb across his lower lip. When Le An reflexively closed his mouth at the weird sensation and pulled his tongue back, Taras shoved his thumb back into Le An's mouth.

And for a brief moment, Le An's tongue wrapped around Taras's thumb, as if sucking his finger. Blushing, Le An pushed him again, turning his head in panic. But it didn't work either. Taras groaned as he pressed Le An's body with more force.

The wet, messy sounds of the kiss echoed in the room for what felt like minutes. If he disrupted the current rhythm, the esper might enter a threat detection mode and attack him, or anything around them. In short, Taras had won the tug-of-war. And now Le An had no choice but to let himself be dragged.

Eventually, the pressure softened. Le An stopped resisting completely, his body trembling from both the drain and the contact. And the moment his resistance disappeared and the kiss was returned, Taras tightened his grip again.

He pinned Le An beneath him, licked the saliva from his chin, and slowly pulled away… Only to return and lick his lips once more.

"Damn," the other man muttered. "Turns out our Taras is a good kisser after all."

Flushed with embarrassment, Le An abruptly shoved Taras off. Taras' body didn't resist. He was still unconscious, but that terrifying energy inside him was subdued.

"Level two," Le An whispered. "He's stable… ha…"

"But he didn't wake up," the other man said, narrowing his eyes. He shook Taras lightly.

There was no response.

"He will," Le An assured him. He placed his hand over the damp feeling on his lips, then lay on his back completely to gather his breath. He repeated.

"He'll wake up. Let's wait."