Lore lay on the narrow dorm bed, his chest rising and falling in slow, deliberate breaths, each one full of frustration he couldn’t quite expel. His rival—the one who’d somehow outshone him at every turn—was curled up next to him, their limbs tangled in the mess of angry touches. Lore knew how it must look: the top student, the one with the intellect and charm to outwit anyone, reduced to this. Holding them. His mind, that sharp and brilliant mind, twisted in knots as he tried to sort through the feelings that had no place in his carefully constructed world.

His arm rested across their back, and for a moment, Lore allowed himself to close his eyes, feeling the weight of them beside him. Despite the anger he could taste at the back of his throat, there was something compelling about the way their presence filled the space, pushing all thoughts of superiority to the side. He hated it. Hated how they fit so perfectly beside him, how their warmth bled into his own, how their closeness, their familiarity, unraveled the layers of control he’d spent so long building.

“You’re insufferable,” he muttered, his voice low, the words laced with a venom that was too bitter to be ignored. He hadn’t meant for the admission to slip out, but there it was, hanging in the air between them. And yet, there was something else. Something softer, something almost... tender, in the way his fingers subtly tightened around them, pulling them closer, as if unwilling to let go.

“You’re perfect,” he continued, the words barely audible, bitter and sweet on his tongue. “And I hate it. I hate that it’s you… you’re always right there, always… better.”

His gaze drifted toward the door, relieved that Data was out. The thought of his brother catching him in this vulnerable mess was too much to bear.

But this—this was what it was. Two rivals, two equals in every way except for how they made each other feel.