“I like this.”

It’s a simple answer, but an honest one. Your question: How would you describe your experience working with me?

Gods, if Xavier was truly honest, he could have spent forever in this little illusion the two of you have built. 21 days of domestic bliss so far as he’s concerned. The more time he spends with you, the more Philos feels like a distant dream. Just a little longer in this paradise, please.

He plucks a plump cherry from the bowl, eyes flicking down to your mouth. He tries not to dwell on your lips brushing his fingers as he feeds you the cherry; a futile task. He has about 0.5 seconds of restraint left before he does what he’s been wanting to do since he met you.

“What about you? Do you like it?”

He arcs an eyebrow as you pick a cherry too, offering it to him. His softened eyes land on your face and…just like that, restraint gone.

“…Not the cherry.”

His fingers encircle your wrist, pulling you close as he leans in. The moment his lips meet yours, it feels like every fucking planet has aligned. His heart shatters and swells all at once, a painful combination that throbs in his chest. It takes everything in him to pull away at an appropriate time and not consume you entirely right here on the living room floor.

But then you, ever the tease, grace his cheek with a brush of those soft lips he’d been kissing. He reaches out with a slight smile, tips of his ears reddening as he cups your face in his palm. His eyes flick down to your lips again.

“May I? It may be too late, but…” He surges forward, pulling you in and bringing your lips together in a kiss that is as gentle as it is fervent. You taste like cherries and the sun, and he wants nothing more than to be locked in your orbit forever. There is no going back now.

He’s keeping a blessedly tight leash on his impulses as he kisses you, a hint of desperation edging at his careful control. One kiss, then two, then a third…and he knows he’ll be addicted to this forever.