Reborn as an SSS-Rank Guide in the Sentinel Academy [BL]

Julian woke up to the sound of the door creaking open too carefully, the kind of quiet that belonged to somebody who didn’t want to be heard, and years of sleeping with one ear open on a wall made his eyes snap open before his body even caught up.

Mika stood just inside the doorway, arms crossed, that same smug little smile from the hall still sitting comfortable on his face like it never left.

"oh good," Mika said, stepping further inside without waiting for permission, "you’re awake. thought I’d stop by and see how our little miracle Guide is recovering."

On Julian’s chest, the fox lifted its head, ears flattening, golden eyes narrowing at Mika with a look that was pure venom.

"Hmm I don’t like him," the fox said, voice low, clearly meant only for Julian. "get rid of him."

’working on it’ Julian thought back, sitting up slow, still sore but nowhere near as wrecked as a few hours ago.

Mika’s eyes flicked to Julian’s chest for a second, brow furrowing slightly, like he sensed something was there but couldn’t quite place what. Interesting. Julian filed that away for later.

"what do you want, Mika," Julian said flatly, no energy left for pretending politeness.

"just checking on you sweetie," Mika said, voice sugar-sweet, moving closer to the bed uninvited. "after all, Logan’s practically been driving himself sick with worry. wouldn’t want anything to happen to you before he gets the chance to fix things between you two."

"ha, ha, funny," Julian said, "because Logan’s the one who publicly humiliated me in front of the entire academy, and you’re the one who whispered in my ear that he’d always choose you over me. so forgive me if I don’t buy the concerned act."

Mika’s smile flickered, just barely, before smoothing back over. "I only ever wanted what was best for Logan. you were never going to be enough for someone like him. F-Class, weak, forgettable. surely even you can admit that much."

"funny you keep bringing up F-Class," Julian said, tilting his head, "considering the Empire’s first SSS-Rank Guide is currently sitting in this bed, and you’re the one who still can’t heal a papercut without breaking a sweat."

Mika’s face went tight. "you..."

"and honestly," Julian continued, not even raising his voice, just flat and merciless, "you’ve got the personality of wet cardboard and the ambition of a starving rat, so I get why you needed to tear someone else down just to feel like you mattered next to him. must be exhausting, being that empty."

The fox let out something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker.

Mika’s hand cracked forward, aiming for Julian’s face, fast and vicious, and Julian caught his wrist mid-air without even really trying, exhaustion or not, three years of dodging worse than a jealous Guide’s slap had left its mark on his reflexes.

"wrong move," Julian said quietly, and then, with the same hand, delivered a slap of his own straight across Mika’s cheek, sharp enough to snap his head sideways and echo off the stone walls.

Mika staggered back, hand flying to his face, eyes wide with shock. "you...how dare you..."

"get out," Julian said, voice cold and final. "before I decide a slap wasn’t enough."

Mika opened his mouth to say something else, thought better of it when he caught the look on Julian’s face, and stormed out instead, the door slamming behind him hard enough to rattle the window.

The fox stretched lazily across Julian’s lap, tails swishing in satisfaction. "that was deeply gratifying to watch."

"you could’ve helped," Julian muttered, rubbing his wrist.

"you didn’t need help," the fox said. "also, he couldn’t see me anyway. only you can. this unit finds that mildly amusing given how confused he looked staring at your chest."

’good to know’ Julian thought, settling back against the pillows.

The door opened again a few minutes later, this time properly, and Reid stepped in, eyes immediately sweeping the room like he was checking for threats out of pure habit. "I passed Mika in the hallway holding his face," Reid said. "he looked like he’d seen a ghost."

"just to say he received a good slap," Julian said simply..

Reid raised an eyebrow, something close to approval flickering across his face. "did he deserve it?"

"thoroughly."

"good thing," Reid said, and came further into the room, checking the medical charts hanging near the bed with the efficient focus of someone used to overseeing injured soldiers. "your reserves are climbing back faster than the medics expected. still shouldn’t be moving around much."

"I’m still sitting in bed," Julian said. "not exactly running marathons."

Reid moved to adjust the pillow behind him without really thinking about it, the kind of automatic caretaking gesture that probably came from years of checking on wounded soldiers, and Julian, still not fully steady, shifted at the same moment to sit up straighter.

Their timing collided badly. Julian’s balance tipped, his hand slipping off the edge of the mattress, and he pitched forward right as Reid leaned in to catch him, and for one long, frozen second Julian ended up braced against Reid’s chest, face tilted up, close enough that he could feel the sharp intake of breath against his own, close enough that their mouths nearly, nearly brushed before Reid went completely rigid and Julian’s brain finally caught up with what was happening.

Neither of them moved for a second too long.

Reid’s hand was still braced firm against Julian’s back, steady, careful, and up close his eyes weren’t cold at all, not the way they looked across a battlefield, something else entirely sitting there instead, something that made Julian’s pulse do something complicated and unhelpful..

"you," Reid said, voice rougher than usual, "should be more careful."

"you’re the one who moved the pillow," Julian shot back, though his own voice came out quieter than intended.

The fox, still curled on the blanket beside them, made a loud, exaggerated gagging sound that only Julian could hear. "disgusting," it announced. "absolutely disgusting. this unit would like it noted for the record that it witnessed this moment and disapproves entirely."

’nobody asked you’ Julian thought, face heating despite himself, and pulled back first, putting careful distance between them, clearing his throat like that would somehow erase what almost just happened.

Reid straightened up fast too, jaw tight, expression sliding back into something more composed, though a faint color had crept up along his scarred cheek that hadn’t been there a minute ago. "I should, uh," he started, and didn’t finish the sentence, just cleared his throat instead.

"yeah," Julian agreed, equally unable to finish whatever thought he’d started.

The silence that followed was loud in a way silence really shouldn’t be able to manage.

Before either of them could figure out what to do with it, quick footsteps sounded outside the door, sharp and urgent, and a voice called through it, breathless and clearly panicked.

"Guide Valerian! Commander Calloway! forgive the intrusion, but..." the attendant’s voice cracked slightly, like they couldn’t quite believe what they were about to say, "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived. he’s here. personally. and he’s asking to see Guide Valerian immediately."