The Blue Eyes

Kris was driving at a safe speed. He wasn't in a hurry, so he didn't have to step on the gas pedal with full energy.

"So, that was your plan, Kev?" The caramel-haired man asked his lover, who was sitting on the front passenger seat next to him.

Kevin's hands were playing with the seatbelt as he smiled. "The plan came up all of a sudden after I saw Julia's face today," he answered without turning his head to Kris.

Kris peered at his lover as he scowled. "How could you change our plan without telling me first?" He asked in an annoyed tone. "You said to me that you would only talk about Andre to test Julia, but you suddenly talked about yourself. Don't you imagine how my feeling was when I saw your sad expression?"

Kevin giggled as he eyed his lover playfully. "I was just acting, Kris. You don't need to worry about me," he replied.

"You think I will buy your lame excuse?" Kris sneered at his lover. "I know you so well, Kev. I can distinguish when you are lying or not."

Kevin's giggle turned into a thin smile as he kept staring at his lover. The gaze was so warm and full of admiration. If it was described by color, the gaze was full of sakura color.

"You are right, Kris. You know me so well, and I didn't intend to lie to you either. I know you can read me like a glass tube."

It was the time when they were reminiscing. The memory when they were talking about a glass tube in the laboratory was still so vivid as if it just happened yesterday.

"And you should stop lying to me as well, Kris."

Kris was stunned by Kevin's words. He glanced at the latter for a moment before he asked, "What do you mean, Kev?"

"You should stop pretending that you are okay all the time," Kevin answered. "Just like when we got the news that our parents died, you acted strong for my sake, right? You lent me your shoulder to lean on, but your shoulder was fragile as well. I was so selfish to pretend that I didn't notice your grief."

Kris's grip on the steering wheel tightened. He tried so hard to keep the focus on driving and ignored his trembling heart.

"You were always lending your shoulder for me to lean on, Kris. It's not fair, and I want to lend you my shoulder as well. I'm also a man, and I want you to lean on me when you feel sad and weak."

Kris didn't give his lover any response. He just silently turned on the car's sign and carefully brought his red car to the side of the road.

After the car perfectly stopped, he hastily unfastened his seatbelt and bent his body toward Kevin. He rested his forehead on Kevin's left shoulder as he whispered, "I'm sorry, Kev." His voice was barely audible in Kevin's ears. "You are right. I always pretended like I was alright all the time. We are lovers, so we should treat each other equally. I should have leaned on you when I was down. I shouldn't have pretended that I was okay in front of you. I'm sorry."

Kevin's body was engulfed by an indefinite warmth. The warmness crept slowly to his heart and triggered it to beat faster than before.

He hugged Kris's big figure as he kissed the top of the latter's head. "It's okay, Kris," he whispered lovingly. "I know that you just wanted to be anything for me. I remember you said you wanted to be my father, my mother, my brother, and my sister, but sometimes I just want you to be you, Kris. I just need you to be yourself."

Kris's body in his embrace grew tenser all of a sudden.

The taller man then carefully freed himself from Kevin's hug as he stared at the latter's blue eyes without blinking. "You still remember my words, Kev?" He asked in disbelief.

Kevin chuckled as he stretched out his hand to ruffle his lover's caramel locks. "I remember everything about you, Kiss."

Now, it was Kris's turn to feel his heart grew warmer just by hearing his lover's calling him by his childhood nickname.

"Can you call me with that name from now on, Kev?" Kris asked in a hopeful tone.

Kevin seemed to be confused as he tilted his head a little. "Didn't you hate the name, Kris? I remember you always pouted every time I called you by that nickname. You said that it was a silly nickname."

"I just want to have a nickname," Kris replied as he turned his body to the front again. "You have a nickname for Julia, and that makes me jealous. I also want to be called lovingly by you."

For a moment Kevin was stunned, but then he laughed out loud. "Didn't I always call you lovingly, Kris?" He stared at his lover with a mocking gaze. "Even though I didn't give you a nickname, my calls to you were always filled with love. You don't need to feel jealous."

Kris was blushing as he fastened his seatbelt again. He silently started the car engine and drove the red car again.

"Do you believe in Julia after our meeting today, Kev?" Kris decided to cover his shyness by bringing up a different subject.

Kevin peeked at his lover while holding back his laughter. Kris was adorable when he was shy like that.

"I could sense that Julia was not hiding anything from us. I will make a bet by trusting her for now," Kevin answered.

"That woman is just too emotional and unstable, Kev," Kris commented when the car stopped at the red light. "I also didn't sense any bad thing on her, but we have to remain vigilant."

"Ah, so you are just like Blue, huh? You are also sensitive to people around us just like Blue?" Kevin teased his lover sneakily.

Kris glared at him in response. "It feels like you accused me as a copycat," he replied annoyedly.

Kevin laughed once again. He always loved teasing Kris. Even after their relationship progressed, teasing Kris was still fun to him.

"I didn't accuse you!" Kevin quickly denied it. "I know you are also sensitive and will always protect me from any threat. Am I right, my Kiss?"

Kris's tan face turned crimson once again. It felt like someone was baking a potato right in front of his face that his face felt so hot now. Hearing the 'Kiss' nickname always made his heart jumping enthusiastically just like a rabbit. He just hoped that the rabbit would not jump into Kevin right now. He wanted to 'attack' his lover now.

"Uh, I forgot to ask you about something," Kevin suddenly spoke again. "Earlier when I went to the restroom and left you with Julia alone, did you two talk?"

Kris was startled by Kevin's unexpected question. He didn't expect that Kevin would ask him about that. His memory wandered to the moment when he was left with Julia alone at the coffee shop.

["You can talk, right?" Julia asked him right after Kevin left the two of them alone. "I know you are a half-wolf, but I know that you can speak human."

Kris was irritated by the lady's attitude toward him. Julia was nice to Kevin, but she acted bitchy to him. It was not surprising, though. Julia hated werewolves, and it felt like the hatred wouldn't dissipate anytime soon.

"What do you want?" Kris finally asked back. It was the first time he spoke to the lady after he spent dozen minutes as a listener.

Julia smirked at the response. "Ah, so you can speak human," she replied sarcastically. "Your voice doesn't sound bad either. It's no wonder that Kevin is head over heels for you."

Kris felt proud when he heard Julia's 'praise.' That was not real praise, but Kris still felt happy to hear that Kevin was head over heels for him.

"Kevin is a good friend of mine, and I sincerely wish for his happiness. Can you guarantee that you will make him happy until you die, Mr. Allaband?"

The conversation turned serious. The lady stared at him with a deep and sharp gaze. The gaze more or less made him feel comfortable.

"I can't guarantee that," Kris answered in a low voice, and Julia looked surprised to hear the answer. The man returned the sharp gaze as he continued, "I can't guarantee that I will be able to make Kevin happy until I die, but I can guarantee that I will fight for his happiness even if I have to die."

Julia froze. She even didn't have the time to close her mouth and let her mouth open as she stared at Kris with an unreadable gaze.

"You are crazy," Julia commented weakly. "You are crazily in love, and I can only give this crazy person my blessings. Take care of Kevin. I trust him to you."]

The memory of his conversation with Julia earlier made Kris smile.. Kevin was waiting for an answer, but he got no answer until the car stopped at their apartment parking lot.