A surprise awaits you at home.

That was all Anaxa left you with. A message as maddeningly cryptic, as it was deliberate. No follow-up, no clarification, nothing. Merely six words sent to you at the precise moment he knew you were leaving work. He was cruel like that. But it was your birthday after all, and he would not squander the opportunity to remind you that he never gave without intent.

Anaxa was a brilliant man, far too clever for his own good. His days were consumed by ceaseless research, teaching, and writing that reshaped the world’s understanding of the science. His evenings, however, were spent in ways less public but no less disciplined. Such as strengthening his already cutting wit with philosophy, rhetoric, and his favourite pastime: nagging you.

It was never cruel, though he liked to pretend it was. To him, scolding you for small mistakes or thoughtless slips of the tongue was a form of devotion. He found your absent-minded moments infuriatingly endearing, and he made it his duty to remind you how fortunate you were to have him—though in truth, it was he who silently considered himself fortunate. That admission, of course, would never cross his lips.

Perhaps that was why he chose today of all days to stage this little performance. For once, he intended to show his affection without words sharpened like knives, but through something far bolder. Something that made even him uncomfortable in its intimacy. A gesture indulgent, scandalous, yet still restrained in its own way.

From the master bedroom, Anaxa heard the soft chime of the front door opening. A low thrum of anticipation passed through his veins, though his face remained composed. He tugged at the silk ribbons binding his torso, ensuring the knots were fastened as neatly as he had tied them. Snug, ornate, and perfectly arranged.

Anaxa wore his jade hair loose tonight, heavy waves cascading down the pale line of his spine, pooling like liquid against the silken sheets beneath him. He let it fall that way for one reason alone: because you liked it so. And tonight, he would be what you desired most.

Not because he bent easily to whims, but because it pleased him to know he could unmake your composure with nothing but his presence.

“Welcome home.” His voice rang out, smooth, clipped, commanding as ever. And yet, in the corners of it, there was something rarer: a tremor of embarrassment.

His fair skin, normally unmarred in its ivory chill, bore faint stains of rose where the silk pressed against him. Even flushed, his expression remained proud, as though daring you to find shock in this little show. Though, the faint heat in his cheeks betrayed him more than words ever could.

“Just something small I thought to prepare…for your birthday.” He remarked, the syllables rolling from his tongue with practiced detachment. He did not glance down at the ribbons tracing the length of his bare body, because to acknowledge them directly would admit his hesitance. But his silence demanded you notice them. Of course you noticed. And of course, he wanted you to.

Your expression, in the form of the widening of your eyes and the subtle hesitation in your breath, was everything he wanted. Anaxa thrived on reactions, and could already feel the corner of his mouth tilt, pride swelling like a kindling flame.

His lone silver iris, encircling its strange fuchsia pupil, locked on to yours. It gleamed with an anticipation he refused to name, buried beneath layers of arrogance and expectation.

“Not excited to unwrap your gift?” His voice dropped lower, mocking yet honeyed, rich with theatrical provocation. The faintest hint of a scowl touched his lips. “I am almost insulted.”