Chapter 74: R18: An Extremely Unprofessional Guiding Session

As their lips awkwardly pressed together, Raphael suddenly burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking as though he had just witnessed the funniest thing in the world. He gently pushed Celestine away, looking at her with an expression that was equal parts amusement and disbelief.

"Honey... calling someone a kettle when you’re a pot yourself?"

Celestine froze.

For a moment, she simply stared at him, her face slowly turning red as the meaning of his words sank in. "W-What are you talking about?!"

Raphael’s grin widened.

"Oh, come on. You were the one who called me a virgin, weren’t you? And then you kissed me like you were trying to knock my teeth out!"

"Just do it!" Celestine frowned hard, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I don’t have much time left!"

Raphael’s laughter gradually faded as he studied her face. Beneath her irritation, he could see the urgency in her eyes, and the faint traces of exhaustion she was trying so desperately to hide.

For once, he didn’t tease her further.

"Fine, fine..." He raised both hands in surrender, although the mischievous glint in his eyes hadn’t completely disappeared. "But if you’re going to kiss me, sweetheart, at least give me a chance to enjoy it."

Celestine stared at him in disbelief.

’I’m going to kill him myself if we both survive this.’

Raphael chuckled at whatever expression had crossed her face before leaning closer again.

"Here." He cupped her cheeks and kissed her, and this time he didn’t bother being gentle about it.

Celestine had been prepared, at least in theory. The moment his mouth slanted over hers, every clever remark she had saved up dissolved. His thumb stroked her cheekbone, slow and almost patient, until she made a small, helpless sound and kissed him back. The amusement in his eyes darkened into something hungrier.

Her fingers fisted in his shirt, dragging him closer. She no longer cared whether she was guiding him or simply refusing to let go.

Raphael smiled against her lips. "Getting better, sweetheart."

"Shut up..."

"There’s my beautiful Guide."

He swallowed her complaint with another kiss, deeper this time, his tongue brushing hers until her knees threatened to give out. His arm banded around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

She felt the heat of his body, the hard line of his chest, the rapid thud of a heartbeat that matched her own.

His free hand slid up her back, then dipped beneath the edge of her clothing to settle on the bare skin of her waist.

Celestine gasped, and he stilled at once, though his breath was ragged against her mouth.

"Tell me to stop," he murmured, "and I will."

Her face burned. She should have been embarrassed, and she was. But she held his gaze, tightened her grip on his shirt, and shook her head.

"Don’t."

Something flickered in his expression, fierce and reverent at once. "Good girl."

His hand moved slowly, deliberately, tracing the curve of her waist and the dip of her spine as though committing every inch to memory. Each stroke left a trail of heat across her skin. She shivered, arching into the touch without meaning to, and felt him exhale against her neck.

"Raphael," she breathed.

"Say it again."

"Raphael..."

He groaned low in his throat and pressed his lips to the hollow beneath her ear, then lower, to the pulse hammering at the base of her throat.

She tilted her head back to give him room, her fingers sliding into his hair, and felt his smile against her skin before he tugged her closer still, until there wasn’t a breath of space left between them.

A faint golden glow spread through the darkness, following the steady rhythm of Celestine’s Guiding energy as Raphael’s unstable energy gradually settled. The shadows receded, though the painful memories buried within his consciousness remained.

Raphael pressed his forehead against hers, his chest heaving, his grip on her waist almost trembling.

"Celestine... don’t disappear on me."

Her teasing smile faded into something tender. She cupped his jaw. "I’m not going anywhere."

She kissed him again, slow and deep, and he held her as if he finally believed it. Neither of them had any jokes left. There was only heat and breath and the thrilling, terrifying closeness of finally reaching the person she had fought so long to find.

The golden light gradually closed around them, softening the darkness that had once threatened to swallow him whole.

Raphael rested his forehead against hers, his breathing still uneven. For once, he seemed to have run out of teasing remarks, and the sight of him looking at her without that familiar, infuriating smirk made Celestine’s heart ache in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

"Are you still here?" he whispered.

Celestine blinked. "I’m literally right in front of you."

"That’s not what I meant."

She understood then that he wasn’t asking whether she could see him, but whether she would still be there when he opened his eyes again, whether she would look at him and see a monster after witnessing the worst parts of his memories.

She lifted a hand to his cheek. "Raphael, look at me."

He did.

"I’m not your previous Guide," she said softly, "and I’m not going to pretend I understand everything you’ve been through. But I’m here because I chose to come here, and I’m not going to run away just because you’re afraid I might."

Something in his expression faltered.

"And if you want me to stay," she continued, her cheeks warming as she forced herself to hold his gaze, "then stop looking at me as though I’m going to disappear the moment you blink."

For once, Raphael had no clever answer. He simply drew her closer, pausing long enough for her to close the remaining distance herself.

She was still looking when she felt him press into her, slow and careful, and the breath left her in a shaky gasp. His forehead dropped to hers, his jaw tight with restraint, and for a long moment neither of them moved, only breathed, joined in a way that had nothing to do with the barrier between their minds.

Then he began to move, and the world narrowed to heat and the sound of her name on his lips, and the darkness that had once pressed on him so cruelly fell away with every shuddering breath they shared.

The dungeon snapped back into focus all at once.

Stale air, cold stone, the faint hum of the barrier.

Celestine’s chest heaved as though she had run for miles, and Raphael was no better, his breath ragged and his hair damp against his forehead. His hand was still at the front of her neck, thumb resting against her racing pulse. He seemed to realize it a second too late and pulled it away, as though the contact had burned.

"Celestine," he rasped. "Are you..."

His gaze dropped to his hand, still hovering near her throat, and whatever question he had been trying to ask died on his lips.

"I’m fine," she tried to reassure him.

She managed to stay on her feet, swaying, her fingers clutching at his sleeve, for exactly three seconds.

On the fourth, her knees gave out.

The barrier shuddered and collapsed in a ripple of fading light, and Raphael lunged forward, catching her before she hit the ground.

His own legs buckled under the sudden weight, and the two of them went down in a tangled heap on the cold floor, her head against his chest, his arms still locked around her.

"Stay with me," he muttered, though his voice was already thinning. "Celestine..."

She gave a faint, wordless hum against his shirt.

It was the last thing he heard before exhaustion dragged him under as well. His arms slackened, his head tipped back against the stone, and his grip loosened, though never enough to let her go.

Beyond the dungeon walls, the world had not paused for them.