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Luca had been haunted by that box all day.

Sitting there. Taunting him.

Andre was a menace.

He could still hear his friend's teasing voice in his head:

"This is sure to spice things up with Damien~"

Luca hated how his brain kept circling back to it, replaying the image of those leather straps. The smooth feel of them under his fingertips when he first pulled them out. The way they smelled expensive.

The way they would look on him. And Damien's eyes on him, staring at him.

Luca groaned, flopping back on the bed. God, I'm an idiot.

But the curiosity.

It was killing him.

His eyes flicked toward the box peeking out from under the bed.

...Just once.

Before he could second-guess himself, he was already reaching for it.

Luca stared at himself in the mirror.

Holy hell.

The chest harness fit snugly, the single strap wrapping under his ribs, accentuating the lines of his torso.

The shoulder straps traced firm lines down his chest, crisscrossing over his back like they belonged there.

And then—

The thigh harnesses.

Yeah.

His face was on fire.

...This was a mistake.

Why did this look good?

No, why did he like it?!

Luca bit his lip, shifting under the soft pull of the leather, feeling flustered beyond reason.

Okay, cool, fun little experiment—time to take it off.

Except—

Right then—

The bedroom door opened.

Luca barely had time to react before Damien walked in.

And stopped dead.

Luca froze.

Damien's gaze dragged over him, slow.

Hot.

Luca felt bare.

Even though he was technically still wearing pants.

For a full ten seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then—

Damien's lips curled.

"Sweetheart," he drawled, voice like velvet. "Something you wanna tell me?"

Luca panicked.

"NO."

Damien's eyebrow lifted.

Luca fumbled to grab a pillow and cover himself, which was useless, because Damien had already seen everything.

"Where'd you get it?" Damien asked, stepping closer.

Luca's brain short-circuited.

Why did he sound so interested?!

"U-Uh," Luca stammered, gripping the pillow tighter. "Nowhere. Didn't get it. This isn't real. You're imagining things. I—I don't even know what a harness is."

Damien laughed.

"Right," he said, clearly amused.

And then—

His fingers curled under Luca's chin, tilting it up just enough to make Luca's breath hitch.

"...I like it," Damien murmured.

Luca's entire soul left his body.

"Oh my God," he whispered, mortified.

Damien grinned, absolutely reveling in his flustered mess of a boyfriend.

"Should I thank Andre for the gift?" Damien teased.

Luca died inside.

"NO."

Damien just chuckled, pressing a lingering kiss to Luca's burning cheek.

"Fine," he murmured, his lips brushing against Luca's skin. "But you're keeping it."

Luca let out a pathetic little whimper.

Damien was going to be insufferable.

Luca seriously needed a reset button for his life.

This was not supposed to happen.

He just wanted to try the harness on for five minutes, take one look in the mirror, and then never think about it again.

But now?

Now, Damien knew.

And Damien wasn't just smirking at him like he'd won the goddamn lottery—he was interested.

Luca could tell.

From the heat in those dark eyes. From the way Damien's fingers were still gently curled under his chin, keeping him still like he was some prized treasure.

Luca felt weak.

He cannot know what this is doing to me.

He swallowed, gripping the pillow tighter to his chest.

"Okay, you've had your fun. Stop looking at me like that."

Damien did not stop.

If anything, his eyes swept over him again, even slower, as if taking his time to memorize every single strap and buckle.

"This really is a shame," Damien hummed.

Luca blinked. "What is?"

Damien's smirk deepened. "That you didn't show me sooner."

Luca's soul ascended.

He immediately spun away, flinging himself onto the bed and burying his face in the blankets.

"LEAVE ME ALONE," he groaned, muffled.

A warm chuckle echoed behind him.

Then—

The bed dipped.

Luca stiffened.

He turned his head just enough to see Damien sitting beside him, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Luca scowled. "You're enjoying this way too much."

"Oh, absolutely." Damien leaned down, lips just shy of Luca's ear. "You're adorable when you're flustered."

Luca let out a high-pitched noise.

"DAMIEN."

Damien just laughed, shifting back into a comfortable sprawl on the bed.

"Alright, alright," he mused. "I'll stop."

Luca peeked out from his fortress of blankets, suspicious.

"You mean it?"

Damien smirked.

"No."

Luca immediately grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked him.

Damien just laughed harder.

It was quite a while later that Luca finally escaped to the bathroom to get changed.

Damien was still grinning when he came back out.

Luca shot him a glare. "Say one more word, and I swear—"

"I like the harness," Damien said immediately.

Luca threw a slipper at him.

Damien dodged, cackling.

Luca huffed, grabbing the evil little box and shoving it back under the bed.

"Great. Glad you liked the show," he grumbled. "Too bad you'll never see it again."

Damien suddenly stopped laughing.

Luca didn't notice at first.

Not until he felt Damien shift closer.

"...What?" Luca said, wary.

Damien leaned down, voice softer now.

"You really won't wear it again?"

Luca blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?"

The teasing glint in Damien's eyes had dimmed just slightly. There was something else there now—something warm.

"I'm serious," Damien murmured.

Luca's breath hitched.

"...You really liked it?"

Damien reached out, running a gentle finger along Luca's wrist, thoughtful.

"It suited you," he admitted. "Not just because you looked... beautiful."

Luca turned red.

"But because..." Damien tilted his head. "You liked it too, didn't you?"

Luca froze.

Damien saw right through him.

He wanted to deny it, wanted to push past the embarrassment.

But Damien's gaze held his. Patient. Unwavering.

Luca bit his lip.

"...Maybe," he mumbled.

Damien's smile softened.

He brushed a kiss to Luca's knuckles.

"Then don't hide it from me," he murmured.

Luca felt his heartbeat stumble.

How was Damien still able to do this to him after all this time?

"...I'll think about it," Luca muttered, flustered.

Damien smiled. "That's all I ask."

And this time, when Damien kissed him—

Luca let himself melt.

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