Their journey lasted for five days. They didn’t stop, and even took turns with each other. This way they could relax with each other less already, and this made Jibran lose his excitement, but he knew he had to pull himself out of this thought-process. In the past… not even a month, but in years he got very lazy, he couldn’t act like this in the Institute from now on. With all of his might he tried to make himself enthusiastic for work, so when it was his turn for some rest, he looked through all of his notes that he made at the sea, and checked his samples every day. They brought seawater for the living creatures as an extra, also, Seraing caught a lot of smaller fishes and „waterbugs” per se, which they could feed the living ones with.

   Despite this, he became impatient by the end of their road, and his ass got numb from sitting as well – this time it was him, like Seraing before they reached the sea. When they were able to see the top of the mountains where the Institue was standing, Jibran didn’t want to stop anymore. He could even see the reflecting sunray’s spark on the faraway building. Of course, they couldn’t go up with the car, a plane would be waiting for them, and they would bring up the samples with that as well – it was still a long time until they actually arrived. But it made him a bit excited about what Mr Pauli would say about the specimens, and he couldn’t wait to sleep in his bed!

   They turned onto a familiar road. It was a wide line, paved already first, then turned into a concrete road. It led straight up the mountains, but the armored cars had a separate place at the foot of the mountain, where they could park, then they either volunteered to climb on foot, or people came down for them with a plane.

   Seraing assumably had already made a note for the pilot that they needed a taxi, but he couldn’t see the plane in the sky. They surely have to call them after they already parked.

   However, Seraing suddenly went off the path. They were about a kilometre from the parking lot. The fork in the road he took wasn’t a paved road, though it was quite wide, and it was visible, that vehicles often came this way, they already weeded out the ground under the wheels. But the signs seemed to be fresh too. Soon they entered the trees, and it became slightly darker. The shadows were pleasing, it wasn’t too thick to not see clearly from it; the sun had shone through the canopies.

 „What’s in this direction?” Jibran asked uncertainly, not really remembering, if he ever walked there, or if he heard that the Institute has a building at the foot of the mountain, or anything like that.

 „Just checking in,” Seraing replied, not quite answering the question. „Not going to take much time. At least, if you decide that way.”

   Jibran suspiciously glanced over at him. In the dim light, he couldn’t see clearly every detail of the man’s profile, but Seraing just wore his usual smile.

 „We will submit the samples here?” He didn’t even try to hide it anymore that he was suspicious.

 „Hmmm… no, I don’t think so. Or, who knows. Perhaps, some of them stays here. This is on you as well.”

 „What is on me?” He asked now a bit louder, and crossed his arms. „What are you planning over there? Kidnapping me?”

   Seraing laughed out loud, but he didn’t change the direction of his gaze or the car’s speed – they were on a straight road, but Jibran couldn’t see the end of it, thanks to the tree’s shadows.

 „Not a bad idea. I’m kidnapping you forever, and we will be travelling the world together from now on. We’d come back just to submit the samples for Mr Jones, then we go away.” His voice was very cherishing. „Good idea. This way all of your attention will be mine, and only mine.”

  Jibran’s mouth twitched. Seraing… this cheeky boy… he always said, he couldn’t make people do things, while he knew very well how can he manipulate Jibran to make him do things. He knew, how to make his heart soft with these statements, and Jibran knew as well, that he did it on purpose, yet he couldn’t avoid it. He let out a dramatic sigh.

 „Why are you so mysterious?” This was his turn to manipulate, he made his voice depressed and hurt. „Is it so good to bully me? Are you not trusting me? Can’t you say in advance, where do we go?”

But his manipulation was unsuccessful.

 „My love, do you remember what I told you a few days ago? Have you been thinking of my riddle?

Jibran actually got upset.

 „No.” He said stubbornly. „That jibberish made absolutely no sense. Just tell me, what’s up, and get over it, you can laugh, I’m such a failure for not understanding.

Seraing cast a forgiving look at him, which didn’t help his mood at all.

  Then they suddenly stopped. Well, not that suddenly, because Seraing clearly knew that he had to turn away to stop.

Jibran looked out of the windscreen, then frowned. The car jolted for the last time before it stopped, then suddenly everything became earpiercingly quiet.

   The forest was interrupted by a clear patch, where there was grass in the past perhaps, but now the ground seemed muddy. Not because of a lot of rain, but like at the beginning of this path, countless caterpillar trails were visible cut into the ground, crushing the greenery.

   In front of them, a building was standing, and Jibran only noticed now that they were right at the foot of the mountain. The cliff was right behind the house, it seemed like it was even craved into it. What was a bit weird for Jibran was that the building looked rather like a residential building, than an office or station, yet he was almost sure now that this could be some kind of pedestrian staircase or pathway. Perhaps there was an elevator to the Institute… though, he never heard of such a thing. But certainly, it was bothersome to bring every guest up with a plane.

Seraing got out of the car, so Jibran followed him as well.

   He only felt now, how humid and warm the air was, compared to what they felt over the sea. He still didn’t feel that warm, especially since the sun was not shining here anymore – maybe it was like that in the morning, but now it already began to hide behind the mountains. The forest around the house made a lot of shadows.

   There was no one beside them, which was again suspicious for Jibran. Seraing went over to him, took his hand, then started pulling him towards the house.

 „I would like you to think about my riddle again,” Seraing stated suddenly. Jibran almost forgot the topic, so he now sighed.

 „Seraing, I have zero clue what you want to say to me. Tell me, what you’ve waited for from me. And by the way, where are we? What is going on? I don’t understand a thing.”

   His beloved just laughed, which didn’t help at all. Jibran gave up. He became a bit apathetic as well. He would’ve liked to know, really. Actually, he was thinking about it a lot. But he felt like he was unable to crack it, so he was distraught. As a scientist, he should have been able to solve Seraing’s words, yet he only showed awkwardness.

   In the meantime the young man led him to the house, then he stopped at the metal scanner. It was a long time ago since Jibran saw such a safety system. They have those at the Northern Base. Of course, he kept his ID card, despite this, but since he came to the Institute, he never used it once.

   While Seraing took out his card, he was looking at the house. There were metal shutters on the windows, it looked strong enough to resist monster-attacks, and certainly, this was the outer part of the building, which was sacrificable in a case of assault. Although seeing the surroundings, Jibran saw some big containers with construction debris, and rudimentary poles sticking out from the ground further away – as if all of this was still under construction. This explained why this thing wasn’t familiar to Jibran. Definitely, this was some kind of new plan, which was introduced by the Institute, for easier traffic.

    The door opened when Seraing swiped his card down. Then they entered, and found themselves a not-too-big lobby. As Jibran suspected – the outside of the building was a sort of decoration, and inside, the wall opposite the entrance was clearly the stone.

   He was right about the elevator as well, though he saw a staircase leading downwards next to it. As he followed Seraing, who was still holding his hands, he curiously peeked downstairs. It was dark. Perhaps it was also yet under construction. Basement? Basements were useful. Or maybe some kind of control room.

 „This is not a bad idea.” He commented on that, to break the silence. The door of the elevator opened, but it was almost soundless. Seraing pulled him there. It was wide enough to carry more people. „Did you know that Pauli wanted to build such an elevator-section? But no one mentioned it to me… why no one is mentioning to me about anything? Am I such a bad friend or student?

   Seraing’s face was unfathomable. The door closed, but in the metal box, there were bright neon lights were shining. The young man looked at him, and scanned his face as if he was contemplating something. Jibran narrowed his eyes.

 „You are not a bad student, nor friend, nor lover.” The other said in a soft voice. „But you’re a bit slow sometimes.”

 „What?” He got upset, clearly signing his displeasure.

 „I did know they would build it. I’ve asked it.”

   Jibran was in high spirit to fight back, he was prepared with many things, but hearing the last sentence, he froze, and his brain went empty.

 „You’ve asked it.” He repeated. The elevator brought them up so smoothly, that he almost didn’t feel the brief vibration under his feet, and the silence was heavy too. Their voice sounded sharp, as they were talking from so close. „What do you mean you’ve asked it?”

Seraing gave a kiss on his lips – what kind of answer was that?!

   A tiny jolt indicated that they arrived. Much sooner as Jibran expected, but perhaps they went up fast.

The door opened, then Seraing now pushed him forward, out of the elevator.

   They stepped into a hall-like place. The ground was tiled, the walls were mostly coated, however, the wall beside the windows opposite the elevator was still the cliff, in which they carved this room. There were pillars too, and the sealing was covered with concrete as well, this way it wasn’t likely to collapse. The windows let inside a lot of light, not just because they were tall and wide, but because they were facing towards a place, at which the sun could reach them all day – from sunrise to sunset, thanks to the hall’s slightly concave facade – and because they were hanging above the trees. They couldn’t even see the top of the canopies in the root of the windows until they went right next to them.

   Then Jibran noticed the doors at the two sides of the hall. All of them were metal doors, however, there were no security scanners next to them, and there were glasses on the metal sheets.

   He just noticed later, that the place was not lit up with neon bars, but with chandeliers, like the ones that were – once again – more typical in a residential building.

   Seraing released his hand, then walked around, looking, leaving Jibran by himself, confused, and pushed one of the doors open, as if he was looking for someone or something, but right away he came back.

 „Spacious. The rooms are big too. Don’t you want to look?”

Jibran licked his lips. Seraing smiled unchangingly, and waited for his answer.

 „Is this a residential building?” He asked at last. His voice echoed a little bit like this, that not a single piece of furniture wasn’t around, nor rug, or on the walls, nothing that would muffle the sound.

 „Yes.”

 „Why the hell did you make Pauli build a res…”

  The words were stuck in Jibran’s throat. Coldness rushed over his face, however, his heart exploded, and suddenly he felt the urge to look around again.

This time he was the one leaving Seraing behind, and stepping into the room, where the young man had done before.

   Indeed, it was another, quite empty room behind the door. But not that empty, like the hall outside.

   There was a big double bed. At one of the walls, there was also a tall window, thus the room was now swimming in the setting sun’s last, orange lights. Even with the few furniture, it emitted a warm and pleasing vibe. Apart from the bed, there was a nightstand, and one more door, and as Jibran marched into that as well, he found a smaller room – seeing the rod implanted into the walls, he guessed that it was a closet.

   He never had a closet before. He only saw them in pictures, but he also never cared for them that much. He knew, that in the old times, when there were tons of people, many kind of houses were on sale, and people had whole rooms for their clothes. At the base, there was no opportunity for that, they had to fit many people into small spaces.

   Jibran shivered slightly. He went back to the bedroom-like place, then halted, when he saw Seraing leaning to the stile with crossed arms, watching his movements curiously.

The doctor stopped in front of him, and stared at the smiling, forgiving face.

 „Do you understand my riddle now?”

   This wasn’t the one Jibran was thinking, but then he forced himself to think. However, Seraing finally took pity on him.

  „I will be only looking for it after we moved into our house.” The ex-Judge repeated his own words. „I didn’t say „if” we are moving in, or „after we found a house to move in”. The truth relies upon the tiny details, Jibran. I told you in the beginning, that you cannot let a single, seemingly meaningless piece escape. When you are deciding wether someone is a human or not, verbal expressions are very important too, not only non-verbal. I’m also not only reading your face and posture, but from the way you speak, and what you say. Although, if you accuse me now, that it was a very subtle hint, I admit. I was purposely not wording it more straightforwardly. If you don’t pay attention, you miss it, and you will think of anything, but not about what you should think. I told you, the answer is simpler than you think, but you got lost searching between my intentions that you didn’t take me literally. Of course, you’re only practising a month ago, so I really threw you into deep waters with this, forgive me. I didn’t want you to experience it as a failure, but I was curious if you would notice. In some ways, I’m happy as well, that you haven’t, this way it was a better surprise.”

   Jibran’s throat got tight. He was glad that Seraing spoke so much because he was just thinking, what would be more embarrassing: crying loudly in his neck or crouching on the floor. His hands were shaking, and he was flooded with so many emotions that he couldn’t do anything with them. Not as if it was new to him that Seraing wanted to live with him, since he proposed to him as well – actually twice – and he told him multiple times that he will stay with him, just like as they were talking about their own house too in the past month. The topic wasn’t „new”, yet, it was a surprise.

 „… and then I couldn’t be sure, that you will like it, so I was a little nervous. If you would’ve found out, what I meant with the whole thing, at least I would’ve known beforehand, how do you take the house. After all, I didn’t include you in the construction plans, and nothing… buta s you can see, the house itself is pretty empty yet. There are a lot of spacious and big rooms that we can fill the way you want. We can move the bedroom as well if you don’t like it. You can decorate it as you wish, or we can do it together. The thing is, there aren’t any houses nearby. We definitely should’ve built one. This way we are the closest to the Institute. The panorama was my own favour before you would express that everything is always just for you… I love to see the Abyss. I wanted tall windows, and wanted them to be high enough, so I could watch the scenery anytime. But the windows are made from strong glass, and it is possible to cover them with metal shutters if there is an attack. You surely saw them downstairs. And it is not accessible to anyone. I had to move a lot of people, and ask for a lot of favors for this to happen.”

   Jibran realised, that Seraing wasn’t just speaking to give him time to control his soft emotions; suddenly it occurred to him, how exciting it was for the young man, while he was preparing with such a surprise, yet he couldn’t share all of these things with him, despite he probably wished to do it. Just for this to be a surprise, and don’t ruin Jibran’s joy, he was silent about the whole process, all the way in the past month – because Jibran was very sure as well that they were conducting this whole thing before their departure. Since they couldn’t really send messages to each other after a certain distance.

  Now finally he can tell everything. Jibran realised how strongly his darling’s eyes were sparkling, his face emitted happiness, hope, and curiosity – he didn’t hide them now, so as to be harder for Jibran to figure out, he didn’t expect him to read in him.

   He stepped closer, and did what Seraing usually did with Jibran: kissed him to make him quiet. He put both of his hands onto his face, he kissed him like that; he tried to press all of his feelings into this gesture, he kissed him like that; he wanted to express his love, his moved heart, his happiness, his pleasure, his excitement, and even his tiny frustration for planning behind his back… he kissed him like that. For long, slowly, kindly and caringly, and even forgiving, because after all… for a surprise like this, it’s worth being stupid, whose back behind people planning things secretly.

   They parted after a long time, because they lost their breath. Until then Seraing’s arms were already embracing, and tightly, but gently held him, making him warm. Jibran hugged his neck, and rested his head on his shoulders after they parted.

   For a while they were only hearing each other’s panting. The surrounding scenery or the building didn’t deliver a single sound. Seraing slowly caressed his back.

 „Will we sleep here tonight already?” Jibran asked after a long time. The doctor was hoarse; from his emotions, from the kiss, and from the fact he was silent for such a long time.

 „If you want, we can… but we can’t move in just yet. The bathroom still needs to be tiled. And we have to test the heating system before it can be considered safe. Actually, I just brought you here to show you, but we still have our room in the Institute. We still have to carry the samples up as well today. We only have that food that we can bring up from the car, maybe.

 „I want to stay. Just for tonight…”

 „Alright.”

 „… Then I don’t have to hold back my screams, after all?”

He heard Seraing’s muffled laugh, and the hug became tighter around him.

 „No, not today. When we are here, no.”

 „Do we have a sex-chamber?”

 „Ehm… I couldn’t really ask that openly from Mr Jones or the constructors… and I want to create that with you. But we have a ton of space for that. You can choose where you want it.”

 „We need hooks on the ceiling.”

 „Roger that.”

 „But windows are not necessary there.”

 „I think so too.”

 „We have to cover all of it with pillows.”

 „I will see what I can do. Surely we can manage it somehow.”

 „Good. Then I don’t have any objections against the house.”

 „Just because of this?”

 „Hm. The sex-chamber is very important.” Before Seraing could answer, he added. „This is a thing that I learned about you as well. That you want one. Finally, you want something… I was happy when I heard that you want something… If there wouldn’t be anything else in our house, just that, I would still be satisfied because it contains what you wanted.”

For that he got a forehead-kiss.

 „My silly doctor.”

   Thus, before it got darker, Seraing called Mr Pauli on his communicator about their arrival, then spoke a few words that they will bath in the car with the leftover water-supply, bring up the food, and then the plane could take the samples, and someone can come to park the car in the designated garage.

   Although he did feel sad for not having a usable bathroom yet, Jibran didn’t wish to go up to the peak of the mountain. After the shower, he felt fresh and light, after the dinner, he felt warm and rested, and after the sex, he felt satisfied and happy. By the time they got here the aurora’s green ribbons had already blinked into their dark bedroom through the tall window. Jibran was lying on Seraing’s chest, and looked out at the starry sky. From this angle, they could only see the sky. He felt that Seraing was watching that as well, how the aurora was waving, while he was stroking Jibran’s naked shoulder.

 „Seraing.”

 „What is it, sunshine?”

 „The order is not good.” He said contemplating.

 „The order?” In Seraing’s drowsy voice, there was a slight confusion.

 „The ideal would have been if we got married after you proposed to me, and you only carry over our new house’s threshold. How could you miss out on such opportunity, while you love to carry me in princess-style so much?”

   Seraing laughed quietly, and pulled the string in Jibran’s neck, on which the shell was hanging, then he held up his own with his other hand. His wasn’t flat, like Jibran’s, but small and twisted and pointy, like a drill.

 „Then we have to marry quickly, so when this house will be fully liveable, I can bring into it that way. Then I will not ruin your cheesy-dreammarriage’s order, right?”

 „Hmmm… no, that way you would balance it out.” Jibran finally nodded leniently, and dumbly smiling he closed his eyes. The road was long, the excitements were tiring him out, and finally, he could lay in a real bed. He was sleepy. He started to lose contact with the outside world. „Seraing.”

 „What is it, my love?”

 „Don’t forget the cat.”

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The End

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