A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 2.11 - Winterfall

The nape of his neck, which his black hair couldn’t fully cover, and his slender back, which looked somewhat pitiable with bandages wrapped neatly around it. The moment I found him, my heart, which had been busily pumping life in anticipation, now began to pound urgently with joy.

“Noah.”

I softly gave voice to his existence and called out to him. Just calling his name was enough to overwhelm me once more. It was an emotion so powerful that it wouldn’t have been strange if I had burst into tears right then and there.

Snow, who had accompanied me here, excited to see Noah, looked up at his master, who had stopped, at a loss for words. The intelligent beast, noticing that Elia was having trouble taking a step, nudged his head under Elia’s large, dangling hand, which had begun to tremble faintly.

As soon as he felt something soft and fluffy in his hand, Elia looked down at his feet. One of the few beings in the world to whom El had given his heart was staring up at him with clear eyes.

When he smiled back as if to say, “Good boy,” the snow wolf, the very symbol of ferocity, rubbed its body against El’s hip as if seeking affection. It was a heartwarming sight that made a faint smile escape his lips.

Just then, a voice he adored was heard.

“Oh, El? When did you get here?”

On a face as white and soft as the snow wolf’s, a smile bloomed, one that painfully tugged at El’s heartstrings. Sometimes that smile looked so sensual that El found himself flustered. Elia gazed at that lovely person with all his heart.

“Noah. I’m here.”

While stroking the praiseworthy Snow’s forehead and long snout, Elia slowly approached him.

❄️🐺❄️

Noah and Johnny were focused on the flowerbed, as they had been for the past few weeks. After concentrating for a while, he turned around to see a large snow wolf and a robust man who seemed to be its human incarnation standing there.

“Oh, El? When did you get here?”

“Noah, I’m here.”

El strode over. Was it because he felt a little awkward? His cheek started to feel itchy, so he stroked it once or twice and then greeted El.

“You’re here early today, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I finished work early.”

A full-blown smile blossomed on El’s face as he kept his eyes fixed on Noah. Noah smiled brightly at Snow as well.

“Hello to you too, Snow. Did you listen to your keeper today?”

With his eyes turned up in a coy manner, Snow approached Noah and tapped the back of his hand with his tail. Thump, thump. When he was snuggling up to El, even the large snow wolf had looked like a pretty puppy, but for some reason, he was oddly mischievous only with Noah.

However, after Noah ended up bleeding and El gave him a talking-to, the biting-as-a-joke had decreased significantly. Taking that as a sign they had grown closer, he even speculated that perhaps this sly wolf was just being shy.

El reached out to Noah, who was playfully pretending to catch Snow’s flapping tail. A hand, smooth and beautiful for a keeper, yet exuding a man’s strength, gently caressed his cheek.

The gesture was so tender that Noah couldn’t help but laugh.

“That tickles.”

“You have some dirt on you.”

Even while simply brushing off the dirt, El wore a bright, smiling-eyed expression, as if he couldn’t be happier. He’s a man who smiles a lot, Noah thought. The rare dimple that sank in like a cat’s whisker and crossed his left cheek was particularly eye-catching. It was a smile so pretty and lovely that anyone who met it would melt and return a full-faced smile of their own.

El’s gaze toward Noah deepened for a moment. It felt as though that gaze alone could heat Noah’s skin. Standing just below El’s chin, Noah was seized by an unnecessary thirst and lowered his gaze to look at Snow.

After he finished caressing his cheek, Elia carefully lifted his chin to check the bandage.

“There’s dirt here too.”

“Ah.”

“Come here.”

Elia lowered his hand to take Noah’s. But Noah hid his hand behind his back.

“I’ll go wash up. It’s dirty because of the soil…”

However, without any hesitation, Elia found Noah’s hand hidden behind his back and took it. Clasping it tightly, Elia raised the hand to his own mouth and kissed the dirt-stained fingers.

“El…!”

Noah’s face turned bright red. He tried to pull his hand away, but Elia wouldn’t allow it. With just a wicked smile, he meticulously pressed his lips to one of Noah’s fingers after another. Every time his lips touched a finger, Noah felt a strange sensation of his lower abdomen tightening, leaving him utterly bewildered.

“D-don’t do that… I told you there’s dirt on them.”

“Is there?”

Elia lowered his head slightly toward Noah, as if asking him to check. Noah unconsciously stared intently at his lips. The full, smiling lips moved in a delectable way.

“Look closely.”

The full, luscious lips moved. Forcing himself to stop squirming, he managed to look closely at those lips. It did seem like there might be some dirt.

Noah raised his hand to touch those lips. But it stopped midway, unable to reach Elia’s lips. His own dirt-covered hand had come into view. Noah couldn’t bring himself to touch Elia with his dirty hand.

“Why did you stop?”

“Because my hand is dirtier.”

“Then wipe it off with something else.”

“Something else?”

Noah’s pale hand was enveloped in the man’s. The man had always revealed the thirst he possessed, and today, he had no intention of holding back any longer.

Pulling his hand, Elia bit down on Noah’s lips.

“Hut.”

Noah’s startled gasp was heard. Seizing the opportunity, Elia pressed their lips together more tightly and intertwined his fingers firmly with Noah’s. With his other hand, he supported the back of Noah’s head. He did it because he thought Noah, whose head was tilted all the way back, might be uncomfortable, as Elia was much taller.

Contrary to the gentle gesture, the inside of their mouths soon became fierce.

At first, he had only intended to caress the lips that had brushed against his and be done with it. But the moment he took Noah’s soft lips into his mouth, an insatiable beast ran wild near El’s heart.

El, who began to squeeze and suck on the lips, parted Noah’s and gradually invaded.

“Uuungh…”

Their tongues met, intertwining and rubbing against each other. At that, a moan resembling a sigh escaped Noah. That heated voice not only reawakened the heartbeat El had long forgotten, but it also fanned the flames of a strong, fierce desire.

Smooch, slurp, a rough, wet sound spread from between their lips. “Heeik!” Johnny’s utterly shocked voice was heard, but El ignored it. Noah didn’t even have the presence of mind to hear it, clinging to El’s lips.

Finally, out of breath, Noah gently pushed against El’s chest. Only then did El, as if disappointed, lick the entire inside of his mouth with his tongue, and after making several little kissing sounds—smack, smack—on his lips, he pulled away. Noah couldn’t lift his head, so he stared at El’s broad chest and tried to catch his breath.

“Hoo, haah, El…?”

“…Just one more time.”

He had barely managed to squeeze out his voice, but El, as if he had been waiting for the moment, claimed Noah’s lips again. For a while, Noah had to endure those lips, losing all sense of his surroundings.

His legs gave way and he began to stagger. Only then did El release Noah’s lips. Feeling as though he would collapse onto the ground, Noah ended up burying himself in El’s embrace. El’s strong arms wrapped around his body, trapping him.

His face was so hot it felt like it would explode. The chilly winter air helped to cool the heat. At the feet of the two people, lost in a deep and long kiss, Snow could be seen lying down with an indifferent expression.

“El…”

“What is it?”

“What… what was the meaning of this?”

“Hm? I was wiping off the dirt.”

The once-blunt man was, at times, like this, mischievous. His tingling lips were smeared not with dirt, but with something else. It was embarrassing to be reminded anew that even that had been cleanly licked away by El, leaving behind only a moist stickiness.

“El…”

“Yes. Noah.”

“I feel like my heart is going to explode.”

“Me too.”

A low bass voice echoed like a whisper to Noah in his arms. Elia, who had been staring endlessly into his embrace, looked down at the nape of Noah’s neck and murmured suggestively.

“I’ll re-bandage this for you.”

Elia’s hand, still clasping Noah’s, pulled him along. There had been a time before when El had grabbed his wrist like this, and on that day, a red handprint had been left on Noah’s wrist. Noah was much more delicate than other men. After realizing how easily he could be hurt in his hands, El tried his best not to injure Noah. That’s why this time, too, he held his hand instead of gripping his wrist.

To Elia’s kindness, which seemed blunt but felt warm, Noah too had, at some point, given his heart.

This time was no exception. Noah couldn’t lift his deeply flushed face, but he let himself be led by his hand into the gardener’s hut.