[Mature content for much of the chapter. Explicit but not particularly graphic.]

The precautionary measures made by Junior included dismantling every department of the head quarter that could be outsourced. A lot of the non-essential staff had left before the end of the day despite what official employment contracts allowed. There was no point in keeping anyone from fleeing after what had happened.

So it came that Ren didn’t meet a single soul on his way back to the bedroom. He moved slowly as to not drop any of the puddings he carried. Fifteen cups, three flavors.

No one from Nuest was going to be able to find back to sleep anyway. But if they were going to take on the Shadow tomorrow in earnest, being tired wasn’t going to help. A full stomach could probably turn him sleepy.

After the encounter with Lady Luck he had decided to raid the cafeteria’s fridge for the week’s ration of sweet treats. It wasn’t as if anyone was going to ask for them now that the organization was reduced to a skeleton crew. And it would be a shame to let those puddings go past their expiry date.

Balancing his cargo carefully, Ren leaned against the door to his room and hooked his elbow into the handle to press it down without having to use or move his hands. It took three tries but eventually he managed to let himself in.

Junior would be long done showering and was probably sprawling on the bed . Whether Ren would eat his heap of dessert first or later would be a spontaneous decision depending on what Junior was willing to do to trump a truckload of pudding.

But all Ren found was a room devoid of anyone else. There were traces of a struggle. The bed was disheveled, Junior’s bathrobe was on the ground and everything on the nightstand had been brushed off.

Ren dropped one cup – chocolate flavor.

After a second of terrible quiet, Junior and Baekho popped back into reality. The latter vigorously impaling the former and grunting at every . Their bodies glistened with sweat.

Ren dropped two more cups – both vanilla. The sight wasn’t technically uncommon, but he had always given explicit permission to the two, usually on the condition to watch or occasionally join. It was an unspoken agreement that the three had, or at least Ren had thought there was an agreement.

After about ten more s, the muscular boy on top of Ren’s boyfriend realized that they weren’t alone and even though he grinned innocently for one second, the white tiger’s mind seemed to jump to the right conclusion quickly.

Junior whined softly and twisted under the bigger boy, but as soon as he noticed where Baekho was looking, he too saw Ren and his eyes widened.

“We, uh,” Junior said, slowing down his breathing. “We thought, because…”

Another cup fell – chocolate again – and Ren got over his shock, changing into angry boyfriend mode. He didn’t feel like this counted as cheating but the duo had definitely gone behind his back.

“Look,” Baekho said, “It’s my fault. I didn’t want to wait. He told me to, but after ten minutes we thought you were probably staying in the mess hall, eating yourself into a food coma. We didn’t think…”

Junior looked up at the boy who was still inside him. “I think you should leave.”

“Right, okay.”

“Wait, not like-“

Baekho shifted, thus leaving the leader’s body and the room.

Suddenly empty, Junior shuddered. “Whoa! That felt weird. …So Ren, ready to take over where tiger boy left off?”

Ren dropped all cups except the one in his hand – pistachio – and tore off the lid before throwing the container at his boyfriend. Of course, Junior could see it coming but he had the decency not to move away. The green gob hit the precog in the chest and exploded across his torso, spattering drops on his face.

Ren huffed. “Just because I can tell exactly how guilty you feel doesn’t mean you don’t still have to apologize.”

With deliberately slow gestures, Junior wiped some pudding off his stomach and it off his own fingers, never breaking eye contact. He leaned back until he was laying down, supported by his elbows. His legs were spread wide. “You won’t let this go to waste, right?”

“The pudding or you?”

“Yes.”

One last time, Ren threateningly narrowed his eyes, before deciding the opportunity was indeed too good to stay mad. He had to extract a proper apology from the slender boy. There were a few techniques he could think off. Maybe he’d even have to call Baekho back in. Either way he’d have Junior beg for mercy. The boy knew what was coming but this was no obstacle, it was a challenge.