Chapter Text
“I will have order!” A booming voice demands on Idia’s tablet, followed by a loud collision.
“Gyeheheh, that’s right! Eat rock, you can’t bypass my HP build~” The grinning man, curled up with knees to his chest, sat on his gaming chair, tapping the attack button as quickly as possible. “Vortex Vanquisher looks so good, forget meta when your weapon matches your whole get-up. I don’t need a little more ATK just to defeat enemies a tiny bit faster, tanky is the way to go in this case….~”
Malleus, who was visiting Idia, looked up from his book with slight curiosity. Hearing all these odd noises coming from that device…it’s a game, isn’t it? That’s usually what Shroud is doing when he talks to himself… He couldn’t help but silently set the book down and walk behind Idia, leaning over his shoulder to have a gander at his screen. “Hm…who is that human you are moving about, Shroud?” He watched pale fingers with interest, observing how the character reacted with button presses and screen swipes. It looked complicated using both hands at once. “It reminds me of a puppet…”
“Hie!!” The sudden voice beside his head gave the smaller man a start, causing him to swipe out of the game by accident. “Agggh, Mr.Malleus you have to warn me…!! I’m doing a weekly boss, I only have this one chance for loot…! Thank goodness I wasn’t in CO-OP…” Quickly pulling the game back up, he continued his battle. “His name is Zhongli, he’s pretty good imo. I whaled on him hard to make him even better though…haaaah, the curse of gacha x fav character syndrome…~ He isn’t exactly human btw.” Idia didn’t even look up at Malleus as he spoke, too distracted on the task at hand.
Malleus was silent for several seconds as he went over the several strange word usages, trying to understand the meaning of them but failing to do so in most. He was able to pick out one word, however. “Fav…..ah, so this Zhongli is your favorite then? Is there any particular reason?”
“Well, if you don’t mind spoilers…” Idia paused, glancing once at Malleus before snickering a bit. “Pft, what am I saying, this is Mr.Malleus I’m talking to, fuihihi~” He mumbled, the thought of the tech-less fae prince even being the slightest bit peeved about game spoilers was hilarious honestly. He was fairly certain he was safe. “Nevermind, Zhongli is….I mean, to me he’s really strong and cool…kinda ditsy though because of his previous god-like status, he isn’t used to all ‘human customs’ because of that exp. It kinda gives him gap-moe though, so I like it, hihihi~ Oh, also his dragon form is legendary…” As Idia thought back to his ‘dragon reveal’ in game, he sighed out loud. “Haaaah, dragons are incredible, I wish I could have seen him as a dragon a little longer…~”
Strong…cool…? Is that the sort of person Idia liked? Hm?? ...Dragon? As Malleus took a few moments to register what Idia just admitted, a grin settled itself on the tall fae’s features. “Oya, oya…so you believe dragons are incredible in your game world…?” He leaned down closer to Idia, brushing his hand atop one of his armrests. “Shroud, do you not know who you are conversing with right now?” A chuckle rumbled in Malleus’ chest as he manifested his actual dragon tail, letting the tip slide against Idia’s pale cheek lightly. “You have a real dragon beside you right now, do you not…~?”
“Hiiiie!!!” A loud squeak escaped Idia as the tail tickled his cheek gently, causing him to duck further into his own knees to avoid the contact. R…Real dragon…?? W..Wait, Mr.Malleus was probably fuming, praising a rando, digital game dragon in front of a real life one was probably insulting! He was being threatened right now, wasn’t he?!?!
“A-Ah…M-Mr.Malleus…” Idia started, his voice quite obviously dripping in nerves. “I mean, uh…yeah, y-you are a dragon f-fae, right? Are you mad? I…I didn’t mean it a-as like…an insult, I mean dra-dragons are cool, for sure! But not just because t-they’re dragons! I mean…they’re wise and strong…majestic too…! It’s not just b-being a dragon is w-what makes them amazing…!! I didn’t m-mean it so shallowly…!” Seeing nowhere to run away with Malleus on one side of him and his tail on the other side, he panicked further and became a babbling wreck. “3-3D DRAGONS LIKE MR.MALLEUS ARE D-D-DEFINITELY THE BEST—!! I DIDN’T MEAN IT DISRESPECTFULLY AS IN GAMES PROFITING OFF ACTUAL DRAGON-BEINGS LIKENESSES, N-NOT AT ALL! I JUST THINK THEY’RE DEFINITELY THE NUMBER ONE CHARACTER TYPE ALL-AROUND, FOR SURE, IN ALMOST ALL CASES!!”
Despite Idia’s increasingly quickening speech, Malleus listened to him fondly, his smile not leaving his face. “Fufufu, how interesting, I did not know you felt like that, nor have I seen Shroud so passionate about something before now…~” Chuckling, Malleus wrapped his tail around the still-curled-up Idia and picked him up gingerly. “Come, I shall tell you all I know about dragons. There is quite a bit to talk about, including other beings sometimes mistaken for dragons~ You will listen to me, correct~?” He spoke as he began to leave the room with Idia in tow, not waiting for an answer.
“HIIIIIEEE!!” Idia squealed when he was picked up so easily, half certain he was going to be squeezed, but slightly relaxing when the pressure didn’t come. “W-Wait a sec…! I was still in the middle of a boss fight!!!”
Malleus ignored his pleas, too pleased himself to acknowledge them. The fiery-haired man’s charming language from before had certainly worked. Lost in giddy thought, Malleus now looked forward to sharing information with the someone who had caught his eye from years back, as rare as it was. It was certain to be both interesting and beneficial as any conversation with the first timid, but actually quite lovely, Shroud always gave him new insight as well as new words to learn…. or relearn.
As Malleus approached his dorm door, another fear realized itself in the other man. The boss fight was one thing, but being seen trapped in Malleus’ “clutches” was certain to draw eyes…ones that Idia wanted to avoid at all costs. Becoming gossip was the last thing he needed, especially when he was in the same class as Cater. “H-Hey, M-Mr.Malleus..!!! At least take me out quietly using magic!!”
“Fufu, of course. We shall go somewhere quiet to speak…just the two of us, as you suggest, Shroud~”
Idia’s hair turned a bright pink at the ends. He didn’t even bother fighting with the prince, it wasn’t exactly a bad thing…but he didn’t mean it in words like that. Or maybe he was being too sensitive to how it was said…AGH, it didn’t matter…! He groaned, just giving himself into Malleus’ current one-track-mind and was willingly whisked away with his familiar magic, just the two of them.