How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 53: Chapter 53

The morning light didn't wake Kaden from his peaceful slumber, caged in a stern, relentless pair of arms that refused to let go.
He'd stayed outside late considering, and with a certain insomnia repellent beside him, thought he would sleep deep into the day. It would be a waste of time, but his body felt dizzy and ill.
He'd awoken, because a pair of legs had swung over his own curled body, neatly pressed against the wall. Kaden was the sort who leaned as close to the wall as possible. Much as he was fearful of cramped spaces, he didn't feel safe in those too large either.
Kaden groaned softly in the blinking of waking, feeling stuffy underneath the blankets. First, he felt the arm tightly wrapped around his waist, securing him in spot.
And then, he felt the new addition of the heavy weight of a leg over his.
"....." Kaden stretched his neck slightly, peering down at the limbs over his body and wondered at what point he'd been reduced to a human pillow for the dragon.
He felt a little amused at Noah's sleeping habits, always proud and cold, but secretly clingy, sticking to his body like glue. He thought about it, and decided that it was true that dragons were cold-blooded, enjoying heat and warmth.
How much of the information in books were true, of Noah's genetic makeup? Of course, stereotypes were foolish to believe in, but there were habits engraved into dragons, or so the pages told.
Kaden struggled to roll over, facing the face settled right in front of him.
The curls of white-black hair, brushing tanned cheeks. Noah was easily tanned, and if he spent too long inside, the tan would fade to reveal a lighter shade. In that way, it was easy to tell whether the dragon had holed himself in the library reading, or not.
The dragon's eyelashes cast rich shadows along his cheekbones, his often angry eyebrows smoothened with dreams. He looked quite comfortable.
'I should ask for payment for him to use my body like this.'
Kaden's lips twitched with laughter at the thought, feeling amused with himself. Look at that, Noah was so interesting that Kaden could be amused even when the other slept.
The half-awake man squirmed in the other's embrace, leaning closer. It was a rare opportunity to observe a typically stern specimen up close!
Noah's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his arm tightened around Kaden's waist as if to quietly scold him for moving too much. Kaden stilled immediately, not wanting to wake the other.
The morning light spilled into the room, and distantly, Kaden heard the laughter of Holly and Nicola downstairs.
He hadn't heard Niklas, and considering that energetic fool was often the loudest, it was safe to assume he was still sleeping.
Unknowingly, Kaden had burrowed closer to Noah. He was unable to lean back, trapped, and instead moved closer. His head lowered, thinking.
While he was distracted, a narrow pair of eyes sleepily cracked open.
Noah slowly blinked as alertness took its time filling his mind, waking him from his comfortable slumber. He was first greeted with silky, pale pink hair as he lowered his gaze.
Still barely awake, the dragon lazily hugged the bundle in his arms tighter. Kaden hadn't noticed, chalking it up to Noah's sleeping habits. Like an animal seeking affection, Noah bent his head and rested it atop Kaden.
The scent of fresh leaves and nature wafted in the air—they had freshened up after their exploration, but were both far too exhausted to wash up entirely.
Noah yawned, glancing down at the daydreaming fool in his arms.
In a low grumble, hoarse from waking, Noah said, "You're awake early."
Kaden blinked, lifting the beautiful viridescent of his sharp eyes. Noah stared at him deeply, at the way a smile naturally curled on the man's lips, amused or teasing, he didn't know and didn't care.
It was the way Kaden tilted his head and said, "Good morning, Bellamy." With such casualness, as if he belonged waking in Noah's arms, as if his purpose was here and nowhere else.
Noah decided he quite liked that idea.
That Kaden was meant to wake up beside him, as naturally as it was necessary for him to eat and to breath.
"Now, as much as your display of needy affection is charming," teased Kaden, in a good mood after sleeping properly for the first time in a while. "I think the others are up. Should we go down and have breakfast?"
Noah gave him a hard look. "The one who clung to me at night was you."
Kaden's expression fell, uncertain. "You're lying."
"You know me, Chauvet. Am I a liar?"
Kaden pressed his lips together, hesitating. "No, you're not." He squinted, solemnly debating his sleeping habits. Was it really that bad? Worry seeped into his brows, pulling down his lips.
He was really worried. Had he made a fool of himself at night, only to be told now after it'd been so long? That was a little shameful... how could he lift his gaze?
Then, a low chuckle reverberated in his ear.
It was deep, magnetic and soft without the sharpness the voice usually contained, without the rigid edges that were always regular and stern. It was a sound so pleasing, Kaden thought to capture it in a box and lock away the key.
He swung his head up in surprise, and Noah's eyes had curved, gentling, the rich black deep with amusement, and a smile so faint that he wondered if he were dreaming.
Kaden stared, dumbfounded, as still as a statue.
Noah thought the fool's expression looked a little silly at that moment.
Kaden looked away, and then couldn't resist looking back, peeking a glimpse at the faint smile that still remained, etched in his vision. And it was that feeling, the same feeling when he looked at the moon startling against the black canvas of night, or when he stood in the midst of his first festival that was knitted with lights, laughter and dazzling joy.
The feeling of being overwhelmed that something so lovely could possibly exist.
He tossed the blankets off, and scampered to his feet, confusing and startling the dragon whose gaze still carried notes of sleepiness. "You're teasing me—not bad, you've improved." said Kaden hurriedly, not realizing the flush that coated his ears and neck. "You'll make me fall helplessly in love with you, dear Bellamy. Doesn't that sound horrible?"
"It doesn't." said Noah quietly, propping his body up by his elbows. His buttoned shirt was slightly open, revealing his sharp collarbone and a peek of the muscles beneath.
Kaden's entire body felt hot, and was it the heat—his mind felt dizzy too.
He laughed, a forced and awkward sound, and then escaped from the room. Noah stared after where the man had stood, his clothes rumpled and hair a mess atop his head, but the dark circles slightly faded compared to the other night.
He thought of the brilliant flush of red that couldn't escape his gaze, silently. Then, he sat up properly and took a deep breath. He wondered how far the red spread down Kaden's skin. Trailing down the slope of his neck, along the curve of his back...
Suddenly, Noah, who always felt cold, thought the heat was getting to him too.
The first thing Holly did when she saw Kaden walking down the stairs was wink, not once, but twice in a way that made Kaden wonder if she was having eye spasms.
Nicola glanced up, carrying a wooden basket of herbs and smiled. "You look like you've finally slept well, Kaden."
Kaden leaned back into a chair, closing his eyes lightly. "...yes, it was the best sleep I've had in a while."
"Sleep? Where, may I ask, my precious friend who abandoned me in the frightening night to escape into another's chambers!" called out Niklas dramatically, walking into the room.
He yawned, clearly unbothered but also highly curious to Kaden's whereabouts. He had a little guess that he'd be willing to bet his fortune on, however.
"You can't blame me." said Kaden pointedly. "Your snoring shook the walls."
"That would be an accusation I'd accept if your bed wasn't perfectly made when I woke this morning."
"Is it unrealistic to say I make my bed, unlike you?"
"Not at all. " Niklas grinned cheekily, leaning closer. He sniffed, exaggerating the action. "But I smell the scene of old leather books and paper, a distinct scent that is attached to a certain bookworm I know..."
Kaden shoved his face away. "I'm sure I smell great, but stop sniffing me like a dog. What are you?"
"Woof, woof. We can be dogs together, Kaden."
The green-eyed man responded with a scrunch of his nose in disgust while Niklas wriggled his eyebrows obscenely.
After Niklas finished his performance of a cheating husband, Kaden explained the sounds he and Noah heard at night, of the itching whispers of a woman and the wails of a distant infant.
"Really?! Of course! It wouldn't be a real trip if our purpose wasn't met! Let's explore the attics immediately!" Niklas exclaimed with enthusiasm, darting for the stairs.
Holly jumped from her seat, following closely behind with a pen and paper in her hands, an eagerness for an interesting tale. Nicola sighed with a gentle laugh, tidying the scattered plates and then nodding at Kaden.
"Let's follow them before they make a mess."
Kaden agreed. "They'll scare off the ghosts before they can be haunted."
Just as he spoke, Holly's disgruntled yelp echoed from the attic—somehow, within the span of a few minutes, she'd flown into the attic and caused havoc.
The two, Nicola and Kaden, exchanged a look and hurried up the stairs. When they burst into the room, alarmed, Holly was wringing the neck of a tattered doll, and Niklas was cheering her on from the side.
Both pairs looked at each other.
Kaden paused, regretting any worry he had in the slightest. He gave the two a steady look. "Are you winning against the demonic beast that you're fighting against?"
Holly protested, her fingers firmly secured around the doll. "Hey, you're mocking us because you don't understand. This is a cursed doll! Haven't you read enough novels?"
"That's not my particular pastime, no. And where is it cursed?"
She waved it in the air, the fabric limbs flopping in every direction.
"Just look at it!"
"Holly," interjected Nicola softly. "Haven't I taught you better than to judge things based off appearances?"
Holly deflated, slowly lowering her arms. "But—"
"Unless the doll has attacked you in some way, please place it down."
The other woman sulked childishly, but carefully handed it over to Kaden, giving it a suspicious glare. Holly wasn't stupid—but she enjoyed being dramatic, and when there was a certain drama booster with her (Niklas), it was even worse.
This time, Kaden turned to Niklas, who threw his arms in the air in surrender. "No, no, no, I do not want to be spoken to like I'm younger than you. I'm older!"
"...that very comment reeks of immaturity to begin with."
The man, sitting cross-legged on the ground, chuckled. A grin pulled the corner of his mouth as he shrugged. "Come on, Kaden. Live a little. I need to spice things up to make this first vacation of yours a special one."
Holly nodded enthusiastically. "What story tells better than a haunted house? It really gets your heart pumping! For dates, horror situations are perfect!"
"...are you implying we're on a group date, right now?"
"I mean, a pretty girl, three handsome boys and myself—I wouldn't be opposed?"
"....." Kaden suddenly didn't know how to respond to Holly's enthusiasm. He ignored Niklas, who nodded in agreement, clearly waiting for Kaden's reaction.
"What foolery have you gotten yourself into?" A low voice wondered, a touch of curiosity mixed with the sleepiness in their voice.
A brush of hair skimmed past Kaden as the dragon lowered his head slightly over the other's shoulder to peer at the abused, ragged doll. Kaden glanced back, meeting the dark gaze of the other, quietly watching him.
Kaden looked away.
"It's a doll. Though from the sound of things, it seems the haunted stories are mischief made by Niklas and Holly."
"Hey!" protested Niklas. "It's not a lie about the rumours of this house. The owner mysteriously disappeared, and though the deeds are still under his name, it's occasionally rented out for vacation—an abuse of authority, using a missing person's house, really."
Holly nodded, two peas in a pod. "He's right, we didn't lie about that. We may have just made a few extra sounds for the ominous vibe, that's all. The doll too..."
"And the crying infant, the ghost of a woman?"
"That's... no, Kaden, that wasn't us. When you told us what you heard, what you saw, I don't know how to explain it."
Kaden felt cold all over his body, a chill itching his bones as his fingers curled around the soft doll. "This doll, did you find it, or is it a prop to play your haunted tales?"
"No, we really did find that in the attic."
Noah moved, his gloved fingers brushing past Kaden's own. It'd become a habit of the dragon now, his once free and beautiful hands covered in a layer of black. Kaden stared at the lines of his knuckles, the sharp bends of his fingers.
Honestly, it was a little unrealistic to assume that Noah started wearing gloves more often for Kaden's sake, but if, by the most obscure chance, it was true...
'...I wouldn't mind if he touched me without them.'
As soon as the thought breached his mind, he chased it away in a panic as a deep flush burned the corners of his ears. Noah, who'd grabbed the doll to observe it closely, had a close up view on the tip of the fool's red ears.
Kaden's skin was pale, but after being dragged outside more often, it'd gained a healthy, light tan. Colour wouldn't reveal itself over his skin as easily as before.
However, the bloom of subtle red was obvious for the observing dragon.
Noah's hand twitched, and he resisted the urge to graze his fingers across the man's lobes, to see if he could make that red deeper, the flush spread further.
A single touch to blemish the smooth curves of the ear, like an artist painting a stroke of red across a clean canvas.
Kaden ducked his head, feeling a stare boring into his back.
"Bellamy?"
The dragon allowed the silence to drop for a single beat, before tearing his gaze away. "If the infant cries we heard are real, this may have belonged to the child. There may be more clues upstairs, if we all can promise not to exaggerate any mysteries."
Niklas raised his hand in acknowledgment, pledging his oath. "I swear, on my grand status as your comrade, not to do such things again today!"
Kaden noted the added 'today' at the end of the sentenced and tilted his head. "Not today, then tomorrow?"
"If you bribe me, Kaden, I'll be willing to be a good boy tomorrow to."
"And what do you want?"
"Your safety and health." Niklas grinned cheekily. "No? What about your love? Although I'm not entirely sure I want that."
Kaden sighed, shaking his head. "That's good. I don't have any to give to you, anyway."
"Not even a drop?"
"I have more love for the ants on the sidewalk."
"Ants are pretty lovable."
Holly cleared her throat before the topic dived into an odd adoration for ants—though she admitted herself, ants were pretty interesting, in the way they clustered together with like minds.
Alright, now she was getting off track. She mentally slapped herself and waved back to the open attic, the cover hanging ajar as a dusty and dark space waited.
"Well now that we're at equal grounds, let's go up!"