Life with Elias had become… a learning experience.
For both of them.
It turned out Elias, despite his formidable appearance and ancient knowledge, was utterly clueless about most modern conveniences. The sheer bewilderment on his face when Milo had tried to explain the concept of a microwave had been a comedic masterpiece.
"Okay, so here's the deal," Milo said, holding up his phone. He was sitting on the couch, Elias perched cautiously beside him, watching with intense, dark green eyes. "This is a phone. It's not just for talking. You can use it to… to search for anything. Like, if you wanted to know what kind of mythological creature you are, you could just type it in and get all the answers."
Elias's wolf-like ears flickered with interest. "It holds all knowledge?" he rumbled, his deep voice filled with a surprising reverence.
"Yeah, pretty much. It's awesome. I can prove it," Milo said with a flourish, pulling up the Google app. "What do you want to search? Anything. Just spit it out."
Elias thought for a moment, his gaze fixed on the screen. "The... sound that small, furry, hairless creatures with large ears make when they are frightened."
Milo stared at him. "A mouse? Dude, a mouse? And what, their terrified squeak?" He shook his head in fond exasperation, but he dutifully typed it in, pulling up a video of a mouse squeaking. Elias leaned in, utterly captivated, a look of profound study on his face.
"Fascinating," Elias murmured, his horns glinting in the light. "I had always assumed it was simply a high-pitched cry of distress, but there is a distinct... modulation."
"See? Nerd." Milo grinned, and Elias's ears flattened slightly with a tell-tale blush, a reaction Milo now found deeply endearing.
They moved on to other things. Milo taught Elias how to play a simple mobile game, which Elias mastered with unnerving speed, his long fingers tapping the screen with a precision Milo couldn't match. Then, Milo tried to show him how to take a selfie.
"Okay, so this is for… for memories. You gotta smile," Milo explained, holding the phone up. He gave his cheesiest grin, and Elias simply stared at the camera with his usual blank intensity. "No, no, that's not it. Look at me. Watch." Milo put his arm around Elias's shoulders, pulling him in close. The contact was like an electric shock. Elias's body went rigid, and his wolf-ears flattened completely against his head. A dark, furious red spread across his pale cheeks, a blush so deep it was almost painful to look at.
Milo laughed, a genuine, warm sound. "Dude, relax! It's just a photo. You look like you're about to kill me."
"I am not... accustomed to such proximity," Elias stated, his voice a low, embarrassed grumble. His eyes were wide, fixed on Milo's face, a mixture of panic and something else Milo couldn't place.
Milo just grinned, finding Elias's fluster ridiculously cute. He snapped the photo anyway—a blurry shot of him grinning like an idiot and Elias looking like a flustered deer in headlights. He showed Elias the photo.
"See? It's perfect. A perfect memory of the day I made you uncomfortable."
Elias snatched the phone, staring at the photo with a mix of fascination and horror. Milo saw his gaze linger on the way Milo's arm was around his shoulder, a flicker of something in his eyes.
Suddenly, the apartment doorbell rang, a loud, jarring sound that cut through their quiet moment. Milo jumped, the phone still in Elias's hand. "Oh, shit. Probably my neighbor complaining about my music again. Don't move."
Milo hurried to the door and peered through the peephole. It was a delivery guy, a large, burly man carrying a huge box. Milo unlatched the door and pulled it open just enough to talk.
"Hey, what's up? I didn't order anything—"
The delivery guy, a huge, scowling man with a neck tattoo, didn't seem to care. He simply shoved the massive box through the doorway. "Just sign here, man. Got a thousand more to go. Just a delivery."
He pushed the box in with a grunt, and it shifted unexpectedly, catching the corner of the door and scraping against the wood. Milo stumbled back, trying to keep the box from falling, but the heavy cardboard tilted, and for a terrifying second, it looked like it was going to crush his foot.
Before Milo could even yelp, a hand, impossibly fast and strong, shot out from behind him. It wasn't just a hand—it was Elias's hand, his fingers a blur as he intercepted the box with a speed that defied human capability. He caught the corner of the box, not with a grunt of effort, but with a simple, silent flexing of his fingers. The cardboard, which had been seconds from crushing Milo's foot, now hung suspended in the air.
Milo stared, dumbfounded. He was mere inches from Elias, whose body was a tense coil behind him, his dark grass-green eyes blazing with a cold fury that had been completely absent until now. Elias's lips, usually in a neutral line, were pulled back slightly in a silent, menacing snarl that was all teeth. His wolf-ears were no longer flat with embarrassment, but rigid and pulled forward, and his horns seemed to pulse with a faint, obsidian light. The air around him suddenly felt charged and electric. The delivery guy, who had been completely oblivious to the creature behind Milo, suddenly froze.
His eyes widened, and he took a shaky step back.
Elias's gaze, a furious, protective glare, was fixed on the delivery guy's neck tattoo. The sudden, primal fury emanating from him was palpable, a stark, terrifying reminder of the power he possessed.
Milo felt a shiver, not of fear, but of something else entirely. He had a brief, jarring thought: He was going to hurt that guy, for me.
Then, just as quickly, the fire in Elias's eyes died down. The terrifying snarl vanished, replaced by a deep, weary sigh. He lowered the box gently to the floor, releasing it with a subtle grace. The delivery guy, looking as if he'd just seen a ghost, quickly scrawled his name on the delivery pad and practically sprinted away.
Milo slowly turned around to face Elias.
The half-dragon was breathing slowly, deeply, his composure regained. But the furious blush was back on his face, a different kind of flush this time—one of shame and mortification at his own loss of control. He looked away, embarrassed by the raw, protective instinct he had just displayed.
Milo didn't say anything.
He just looked from the massive box to Elias's face, which was now deeply, beautifully scarlet. Elias, oblivious to the fact that Milo was now completely smitten, simply muttered in a low voice, "Frivolous human technology," and walked back to the armchair, picking up his fantasy novel as if nothing had happened. Milo, however, knew better. Elias's affection for him wasn't just a secret crush. It was a fierce, protective, and very, very real thing. And it was all happening right here, in this huge apartment, in one big city.