[Dual Sentinels] Hiding a Stray Cat in the Snowy Mountains

[Black-hearted, fastidious controller X white-hearted, pitiful kitty]

Gui Yuansu is an ordinary person living on a backward planet. He's gentle and kind to others, and recently, through a twist of fate, he gained a Sentinel roommate.

His roommate is handsome, with the most beautiful eyes Gui Yuansu has ever seen. His fashion sense is far ahead of its time, though, and he seems to have an internet addiction.

When the Sentinel roommate accidentally brushed his arm, Gui Yuansu instinctively clutched it, looking deeply uncomfortable.

A normal person would have thought he was overreacting, but his roommate immediately called for medical help.

Gui Yuansu stopped him. "...It's a psychological issue. Sorry."

His roommate stared blankly. "I thought I'd crushed your bones."

Gui Yuansu leaned back in surprise. He's certainly confident.

Later, Gui Yuansu: "Tsk, that hurts."

His roommate gazed at him with concern and an innocent look. "I don't think I touched you... Does it hurt a lot?"

"No. My psychological issue has updated. Now it wants to touch you."

*

The war was won, and Sander, a Sentinel weapon, had nowhere to go. Lost and confused, he received his final order: return to civilian life.

Sander had been created for war, and surviving until the war ended was already an accident. He had no idea what civilian life meant, let alone how to return to it.

He studied the most popular male human template on the Star Network to learn how to act normal, and awkwardly dressed himself up. But he had no interest in this, or in this kind of life.

It wasn't until Sander recognized the way Gui Yuansu looked at him, as if he were prey, that he began to develop an appetite for food under the close watch of his Sentinel roommate.

He needed orders to get by.

*

After the war, the Federation's youngest commander vanished despite his achievements. No one knew that Gui Yuansu had hidden himself away on a planet in a remote star system.

He seemed gentle, but in truth he hated socializing. Even so, habit demanded that he keep track of everything happening around him.

Including his unexpected Sentinel roommate, Sander Gardner.

When Sander began looking at the "weak" Gui Yuansu with those clear, beautiful eyes, his voice cool and his words fervent: "I'm better at killing than protecting, but under my guard, you won't suffer the slightest injury. You are the one person I must protect."

In that instant, the boundaries Gui Yuansu had built around himself were swept aside. His desire for his roommate completely overpowered the pain he felt when touched by another person.

He wanted to touch him.

It didn't matter that he was a Sentinel. Gui Yuansu could do better than any Guide. He would blanket Sander's lonely, pitiful mental landscape with his snow.

[Spirit animal setting: Kenai Peninsula wolf X Scottish wildcat]

Reader's guide and warnings:

* 1v1 Sentinel/Sentinel pairing, postwar life and psychological recovery. No grand narrative, just a sweet story.

* The author is not a psychology professional; expect extensive creative liberties.

(Blurb written in January 2025. The premise is unchanged, though the title and blurb may be revised.)

Theme: Let down your guard and make lots of friends