He was on the verge of dozing off when a sudden thump against the door made him sit up and look around for threats. Moments later, he heard the dull sounds of the pin pad on the other side, and Gray finally burst inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Shadow wanted to greet him with open arms, but then he noticed his rapid breathing, the unruly hair, and most of all, the sweet scent intermingling with the aroma of fresh sweat.
Shadow swallowed, shrinking on the inside. “What have you done?”
Gray’s breath so shallow he was practically choking. “You need to take it,” he said, jumping on the bed with his boots still on and fishing in his pocket. Shadow didn’t even need to ask what for. The scent of the Pigeon Heart was as clear as Gray’s own aroma.
Shadow stalled, afraid of the selfish direction in which his senses pushed, but his mouth was already salivating. “This is insane! I can’t possibly take it. Won’t the whole world collapse without it?”
Gray looked back, and once Shadow focused on the sounds coming from beyond the door, he too recognized the many footsteps. So Gray didn’t just silently take the ruby. He’d been discovered and only had a handful of seconds on the other patches.
Gray licked his lips, once again locking his gaze with Shadow. He pressed the ruby to Shadow’s lips, tempting him with the promise of its full flavor, with the power radiating off it and already tickling every cell in Shadow’s body.
“I don’t know. No one knows. But you know what’s certain? That we might not find anything for you on time, and I’m done with everyone else’s needs coming first,” he whispered, still flushed from the running.
The fact that Gray wanted him to stay badly enough to risk the existence of the whole world made Shadow’s heart swell with love, was listening to Gray’s pleas really the best thing Shadow could do? Would it be fair on their friends if he just took the Pigeon Heart as his own in an act of selfishness that would ultimately doom everyone to the mercy of Baal’s swarm?
The tiniest lick of the ruby sent unbearable cravings through Shadow’s body, but he still wasn’t ready to make his choice. Once they got caught, because they would, Shadow might have to hurt others over this. Was he ready to fight his new friends to save himself and Gray?
“We can still give it back. Go looking for more even now. Pack and go. This is only worth the risk when everything else fails,’ he tried to reason with Gray, even though it was obvious that once the Pigeon Heart was back in Beast’s hands, they would never again have a chance to even look at it, no longer deemed trustworthy.
Gray groaned, flinching when someone rapped at the door with such aggression even Shadow felt uneasy at the thought of those fists against his flesh. “But why? You told me I’d have memories if we didn’t succeed. But I want to make so many more with you. I want to have you at my side when I’m old and my hair is gray again,” Gray whispered and popped the ruby into his own mouth with a pleading expression.
Shadow was powerless in face of such desperation. His instincts screamed at him to do anything to make Gray feel better. But swallowing the ruby with his unnaturally expanding throat would be selfish too. He craved to be at Gray’s side and aid him when he was old, to have so many memories of their love that his brain couldn’t hold them all anymore.
So he leaned down and opened his lips for a kiss that would truly be life-giving.
“Gray, open the fuck up!” Beast yelled on the other side of the door, repeatedly slamming his fist against it.
Gray’s fingers traced Shadow’s jawline as they leaned closer, sending burning lines all the way down Shadow’s body. Their noses met, and then fit together when Gray slightly tilted his head, but with his open lips pulsing with raw energy, Shadow pulled him close and captured them in a kiss.
It was as if an electric charge had sealed them together. For once there was no space left between their bodies, and Gray’s heat enveloped Shadow when the joyous weight of the ruby rolled from Gray’s tongue to Shadow’s.
The Pigeon Heart was irresistible once in Shadow’s mouth. Its presence was a straightforward question—did he wanted to live or die? The answer was obvious. So he swallowed the massive rock, and it didn’t hurt him, didn’t slice his throat open. His body invited the gem and as it travelled deeper into him, he could sense it slotting into place.
Once it did, there was no going back. The ruby took root inside of Shadow and wouldn’t let go even if he were cut open. He could sense its power everywhere, flooding his insides with energy so pure he saw a glowing red color even when closing his eyes. It drizzled all over him, inside him, like thick, sweet syrup that was rapidly becoming one with him.