Chapter 186: Pause

Words : 1215 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

Chapter 186: Pause But really, it wasn’t an arrest by the Imperial Guards that Ollie should be concerned about, but the blaring reminder of the impending curfew. "!!!" Admittedly, they forgot. Between cleaning up corruption, fighting a guardian tortoise, and finding a solution to the scarcity of everything, who would still remember their reality as students? Well, the Warden. The Warden definitely would. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the students who panicked over the alarms but the adultier adults who had formed shadows from their days as Academy students. Duke Leander was not going to let that biased warden pick at his precious son just because he wasn’t back by the end of their leave permit. Hell no. And so, Luca, the financially burdened chipmunk, was just too surprised to find himself in a tearful (onesided) goodbye with his father right before being chucked outside the space. Chucked outside and hauled away, in fact. Because the Duke gave stern orders to get his son back into the dorms before curfew hit. Luca wanted to ask why but didn’t get the opportunity as Xavier hightailed as ordered. But even if he did, his father would definitely not speak about the dreaded days of crossing the wall for love. What if his precious son learns from him? However, this thought was futile as the part-ostrich Duke always seemed to forget that there was no need to cross over walls when one was about two steps away. Or one step for people with legs as long as one mountain giant’s. But unexpectedly, it wasn’t the supposed wolfish Prince who took the bridging steps, but one small animal who had a skewed concept of danger. This obviously spooked the giant wolf, who almost bounced off his own bed when the little chipmunk crossed over. "Luca?" "What’s wrong?" Asked Xavier hesitantly. While they were married and could do heaven knows what, Luca hadn’t gone this close to him since that day in the cabin. So, forgive him for short-circuiting. Now, the mountain giant almost missed Luca’s frantic explanations if not for the little chipmunk shaking him back to reality. "Xavier? Xavier!" Called Luca, who was surprised at Xavier’s unreadable expression. "Yeah...?" "Sorry, I spaced out." Replied the Prince, who ended up pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh, it’s alright, sorry for coming over. I was just going to say that I’m going back into the Dungeon—" Said the frazzled Luca, who had his thumb pointing back. "You’re what?!" "Going back in." "There’s just so many things to do, and I’ve barely looked at that blueprint. Not to mention searching for sources for the parts. Did you see that Ferroflux and Aetherium Alloy? It seems like we’d have to—" "Luca, look at me." Commanded Xavier, who held on to the little chipmunk’s cheeks in an attempt to stop him from popping off. The little money grubber wasn’t just speaking a thousand words per hour, but his eyes were also darting as fast. Luca stopped. Blinking. And blinking some more at Xavier, who now held his face. But even with all that, the little chipmunk hadn’t fully registered his roommate, who was half-sitting up in bed, shirt loose at the collar, and his hair in the messiest condition he’d seen since they met. For if he had, he’d know just how worn out the Prince looked, more so, how exhausted they both looked. "Luca." "Hm?" responded the small animal, who looked extremely jumpy at this point. The little chipmunk was spiraling. And Xavier had to take a deep breath before pushing himself up fully. "Luca—" "I don’t plan on taking so long; I just wanted to tell you in case you wanted to come along, " countered Luca, who immediately went on the defensive. "It’s okay if you don’t want to come though, I... I can go by my—" But Luca was surprised because Xavier moved. Fast. One second, Luca was mid-speech, and the next, his entire world tilted as Xavier yanked him down onto the bed, only to wrap him with those strong arms. "Whaa?!" squawked the little chipmunk who tried flailing uselessly. "Luca." Xavier’s arms tightened around him just enough to force stillness. "When was the last time you slept?" He was like a fish. Luca opened his mouth. Closed it. And opened it again, only to end up squinting at the ceiling. "..." Xavier gave him a look. "When?" "I—I don’t seem to remember...?" Answered Luca, who tried to recall an honest answer to the question. But even if he racked his brain, the answer wouldn’t be of help. Because Luca hadn’t slept for days, considering how days passed by while in the space and even outside, Luca hadn’t slept since the night before they left for Kestrel. This was the downside of having a rejuvenating space. It gives the illusion of unlimited juice and makes one forgo proper rest in favor of using supplements. And his little chipmunk was going to be a junkie if he’s not stopped. "You told us that no one can die because we’re poor now, right?" Xavier tilted his face, his chin resting on Luca’s head. His voice was softer now, devoid of the anger one should have after being rudely awakened. Instead, Xavier could only speak to Luca as if he were something fragile but frustratingly stubborn. "Then why are you the first one to violate that ordinance?" Luca hesitated. His brain was still buzzing, tangled in too many problems that needed solving. But Xavier’s words caught his attention. "Isn’t that a bit unfair, Luca?" Asked the Prince, who tightened his grip on the small animal that had finally stilled in place. The little chipmunk was confused as he tried to get back into thinking, but he kept getting distracted by Xavier’s refreshing temperature and the steady rise and fall of his breathing. It was admittedly an unfair move to use against Luca, who was practically overheating. "We know." "We all know about the number of problems we have. But you can’t fix everything right now. And you sure as hell can’t fix it while running on fumes." He said as he placed a cool hand on Luca’s heated face. The guild leader sighed, tension slowly bleeding out of his frame. "But there’s so much left to do..." "And you’ll do it better after sleeping." "Everything would be much better after sleeping." "But Xavier...What if it’s not?" Murmured the small animal, who was still trying to fight off the obvious sleepiness. "Then we’ll just have to find a way. But if you want to have people in their best condition to think and work, you must set a good example." "How?" Luca asked, his eyes feeling really heavy. "Just like this. Get some sleep. And tomorrow, I promise we’ll look at everything you wanted to check." "Mn..." And it was lights out for the little chipmunk whose frantic energy finally gave way to exhaustion. It was a small victory. And one Prince couldn’t help but smile at the knocked-out dragon. Xavier stayed up until he was certain, only closing his eyes once Luca’s breathing evened out. It was the first night of keeping each other close, with one serving as a strong anchor to keep on bringing the fluttering wife back into reality.

Chapter 186: Pause

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