I Am Tired Of Being A Hero-Chapter 263: Eternally

"Ravi." Arlen wrapped one arm around Ravi’s waist and leaned on his shoulder.

"Shouldn’t you pay me for all these pictures? You used me as a muse without my contest."

"Oh! What kind of payment do you want?"

"Your life. Can you pay with the rest of your eternal life?" For a second, neither of them spoke, the room was so quiet that they could hear the sound of both of them breathing.

Does he know what he is asking for?

Sentinels can live for as long as immortals if they do not die and yet none had lived more than a thousand years choosing to self-destruct. He had been so exhausted after a mere five hundred years; his greatest desire was not to self-destruct and continue the Sentinel cycle but to completely destroy his soul.

Then he met Arlen.

The rest of his eternal life. That is thousands and thousands of years. A road so endless that Ravi could barely fathom.

And Arlen was a mortal. All mortal beings must undergo reincarnation. After drinking Meng Po soup and crossing the river, Arlen would forget him and be reborn. He would be reborn into a completely different person into a completely different world.

He would no longer be the Arlen he knew.

But that was not the thing that surprised Ravi the most, it was the belief that there was no part of him that wanted to say no or would ever say no.

Ravi had been in love before, but this, this feeling was different. This love was final.

Your life. Can you pay with the rest of your eternal life?"

The heaviness of the question settled on Arlen and he wanted to be stubborn and selfish for some more time but as he looked down at Ravi, he could not bear the thought of him suffering and waiting for him.

There was a complicated and painful lump in Arlen’s chest that slowly came up to his throat. He could not bear it.

Let them just enjoy this lifetime that they had together. He should not be too greedy.

"Forget it! I shouldn’t have asked that..." Arlen leaned away from his shoulder but his hand was still wrapped around his waist. Those blue eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes were fixed on him.

"Min Sol." The uncontrollable surge of tender love in his heart seemed to swell forth as if it was about to burst and Ravi’s fingers trembled. He wanted to paint Arlen, this expression in his eyes, this look on his face, "Anything else?"

"Eh?" It was rare for Arlen to have such a confused look on his face and it was so cute that Ravi’s gaze moved to his lips.

"Aside from my eternal life, do you want anything else? I am love drunk; you have a chance to ask for anything."

Arlen’s eyes widened slightly as the words registered in his ears, "You...do you know what you are saying?"

Ravi found it funny, he was the one that asked and now, he did not even have the guts to own up to his request. He chuckled, "But just so you know, you can reincarnate as a Serket in your next life. There is no telling whether you would be human."

Arlen bit his lips in thought, "But are they handsome? You can’t discriminate against me if I am not handsome."

Ravi chuckled again. Arlen would forget him in his next life and Ravi knew that the chance of rekindling their love would be less than 1%. But as long as he could see him, watch him, it would be okay for him. The possibility of them was far better than the reality of someone else, and until then, in this life, he wanted to indulge in their love for each other.

In the past, Ravi had given up too much for someone who did not value him only to end up with a story that friends would tell each other as a warning. Now, he had met a lover who truly loved him, cherished him, and believed he was enough, all the more was it worth it for him to invest a million times more affection than he had ever given, to carefully secure and maintain this relationship?

This love was so precious to him.

"I won’t discriminate against you even if you are a Serket. Arlen, you can never doubt it, you can never doubt how much I love you and how much you mean to me. For you, I would give anything willingly." Even his life.

Arlen’s eyes went red around the rims in a flash. He tightened his arms around Ravi in a tight hug.

"Ravi." Arlen gently called his name in a low and husky voice, it sounded like a pledge but Ravi did not know what it was that Arlen was pledging to.

Ravi West

No matter the amount of Meng Po Soup or how many rivers Arlen had to cross in the Netherworld, Arlen swore to himself that he would never forget Ravi. He would sear this name across his soul, no matter how many times he reincarnated, he would never forget this name.

In any world, any reality, Arlen would find Ravi and choose him.

Arlen took in the scent of the body and closed his eyes. To hold Ravi so closely until there was no space between them was a type of feeling that left no place for anyone else to intrude. He felt so content.

And hungry.

He loosened his hold on Ravi as his long fingers cupped his jaw, his fingertips brushing just behind Ravi’s ears.

Ravi heard a muffled sound coming from deep in his chest. It felt as if his heart was attempting to leap out of his hand and straight into Arlen’s.

Thump.

Thump.

His heartbeat echoed repeatedly in the studio, subtle yet intense.

Arlen’s palm pressed against his jaw and Ravi tilted his chin higher, his breath shuddering as Arlen’s fingertips tickled along his neck, behind his ears, and against his scalp.

How could so light a touch, so gentle that he could barely feel it, send so much shiver down his spine?

Arlen cupped the back of his head in his warm palm and Ravi leaned into the precious comfort.

Their lips barely brushed.

"Ravi, that big painting..."

His slow touches made Ravi feel a little dizzy and he blinked, "What about it?"

"Can we make love on it?"