"You suck at this game lately," Kris chuckled, fanatically pushing the buttons of the controllers.

Nish felt the heat rise to his cheeks because his friend had noticed it. He found it difficult to focus on the game since they'd kissed. And more. The bed they were on was small, but not that small that it was necessary for their legs and shoulders to touch—while that was exactly what happened the whole time. 

He couldn't remember if that had been different before their kiss. 

Nowadays, he was very aware of every move Kris made, and of every word he said, and smelling his aftershave was often enough to stare stupidly at the screen. 

Kris however wasn't distracted at all. 

Did it mean he didn't reciprocate his feelings? Or did he simply not care? What would his friend do when he kissed him again? It was a thought that crossed his mind day after day, but he was too chicken to actually do it. 

Should he ask him on a date? But what would they do that they weren't already doing as friends? It was damn complicated to be in love with your best friend. 

Realizing he hadn't answered Kris' comment, he looked to the side, showing him the most confident grin he could bring himself to. "Don't act so surprised. You distract me on purpose with that new aftershave of yours."

Kris lifted the corner of his mouth, although his glance returned to the screen quickly. "Feel free to use it."

That hadn't exactly been his intention. Sometimes Nish believed he knew how to flirt a little, but around Kris he never knew if he picked up on it—nor did he know how to interpret Kris' own flirting. Things had been that way since the day they met, but the past weeks he'd been more aware of it. Nish' wait-and-see attitude had changed into something else. He wanted clarity, he wanted to know how Kris felt about him and at the same time he didn't; afraid that something might change between them. 

But they were perfect for each other, right? 

They had always fun. That kiss had felt great—for both of them. And...

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Kris' bedroom door opened. 

"You're such a dick." Someone grabbed a book from the desk and threw it at him. 

Nish ducked just in time so that the thing flew against Kris' jaw.

Nish sat up straight, looking in confusion at Safira. She had quite a temper, but storming into bedrooms and throwing books was new. 

"What did I do this time?" Kris asked, obviously annoyed. He paused the game and lowered the controller. 

"Like you don't know! I told you not to play games with him so you thought it would be a great idea to kiss him?"

Kris rolled his eyes. "He almost begged me."

Nish' shoulders tensed. Did—did Kris kiss someone? 

So soon after their kiss? 

It felt like he'd swallowed a stone, which landed violently on his stomach. It took a few moments before he realized who Kris had kissed. "Did you kiss Fox?" he asked in disbelief. 

Why??

Kris ignored him and glared at Safira. "What do you want?"

"I want you to stop behaving like a selfish asshole!"

"It was one fucking kiss!"

"Not to him! He's already planning your wedding!"

Kris fell silent. 

Nish huffed. "What a moron."

Kris cast him a dark glance, making Nish shut his mouth immediately.

"Mind your own damn business," he said to Safira.

"No. Contrary to you, I do care about my friend's feelings. Fox is super vulnerable and he's head over heels with you! Kissing him, giving him hope and then ignoring him is wrong, man."

Nish dropped his glance. It sounded like Safira knew about his feelings for Kris and the things they'd done two weeks ago. Did Kris also know about his feelings, but did he simply not care? 

"What do you mean, ignoring him?" Kris asked. 

"What, you mean you're gonna date him?" Safira taunted. 

"I don't know."

"Well, figure it out before you pull a stunt like that again! If you're in the mood to suck someone's face you can use your boyfriend next to you—but I swear I'll break your skull if you kiss Fox again without giving him a serious chance."

She turned around and slammed the door behind her. 

"Nosey bitch," Kris grumbled. 

Nish said nothing, but his fingers looked pale around the controller and he didn't dare to look at Kris.

"What?" Kris asked annoyed. "You're gonna give me shit too for kissing that kid? It's not like I was forcing him!"

Nish felt his eyes sting. But what about me? He swallowed the lump in his throat. Like hell he was going to show Kris how he felt about this.

"Do whatever you want," he answered. Even though he was afraid his eyes would betray his emotions, he looked at his friend. "I have no idea why you'd kiss that idiot, but okay."

Kris shrugged. "There's just something about him."

"Yeah, he's an annoying brat."

Kris caught his glance. "Are you jealous?"

"Of you?"

"Of him?"

Are you fucking serious?  After kissing someone else, you're asking me this? 

"No," he answered brusquely, although he was about to smash the controller at the tv screen. "I just think he's a pathetic kid and I don't want him to hang out with us."

He expected Kris to laugh about that comment; telling him it had only been one kiss—a meaningless kiss and that he sure as hell didn't want another. 

Kris however said nothing and stared at the screen. 

Nish watched him for a moment, then he shook his head in disbelief. "Fucking hell. You really like him."

Kris sighed. "I don't know, okay? And it's fucking annoying that I can't even think about it without people throwing books at my head."

Nish pursed his lips. The same question bubbled up. 

But what about us? 

He didn't say it out loud. The fact that that question didn't cross Kris' mind—and the fact that he'd wanted to kiss someone else in the first place, said enough. 

☆☆☆

Kris put his tray on the table and sat down on the bench, next to Rhyn. As usual, Nish took the seat next to him. Salad with fried potatoes and a big chunk of meat. Better than his friend's menu—some kind of stew. Except for the raspberry pudding, there was also a white package that looked like a small gift bag. Curiously, he peeked in it. The bag contained a striped box. He pulled the thing out of it and took off the lid. Surprised, he looked at the eight heart-shaped chocolates. 

"What the fuck is that?" Rhyn asked, her eyebrows raised.

Kris grinned. "Giving Yara"—the cook—"a little bit of love now and then pays off. The older they are, the more generous."

"Stop ruining my appetite."

"Don't blame me for your vivid imagination." He took a chocolate out of the box and bit it in two. Delicious. 

Where was it coming from? Not from Yara, that much he knew. He looked around; eventually, his eyes landed upon the Lion he'd kissed a week ago. 

Two brown eyes stared at him expectantly and the boy's cheeks flushed when their eyes met. Yet, he showed him a nervous smile. 

Kris turned his head away, not knowing how to respond. No one else needed to know that the gift was from him, although Nish was already looking at the Lions table. His friend had drawn the same conclusion. 

"What is he? A girl?" his friend muttered, frowning dismissively. "Sending chocolates..."

"Quit whining." He held out a piece. "It's better than anything on your plate." He pressed it against Nish' lips until he sank his teeth in it. 

Across from him, he could feel Safira's burning stare. Questioning, he raised his eyebrows.

"Classy," she said, rolling her eyes. "Feeding someone else heart-shaped chocolates. I bet your secret admirer loves to see this."

"There isn't much secrecy about it. I wouldn't mind to feed them to him, tho, but I guess I'd  bring an angry mother dragon on my own head."

He closed the box and started his dinner. Chocolates, he thought, shaking his head. What a nerve. He secretly liked the boy's initiative. The past days he'd often thought back to that kiss—but also to Safira's words. 

That Fox was head over heels with him. 

He wanted to respect the boy's feelings and prove that he wasn't the asshole Safira claimed he was. Therefore, he gave himself some room to figure out if he could develop serious feelings for the Lion. He wasn't exactly his type, but he kinda liked it—it was surprising and fun—and the small smile around his lips already gave away that he liked Fox's move. 

He was curious how persistent the boy would turn out to be.

☆☆☆

With a grim face, Zebediah looked at the table of the Buffalo's, which was situated next to the table of his own House. He kept his leg stretched. The stone splinters that were drilled into the flesh of his calf two years ago, seemed to move, to crawl, to spin around—like they always did when they were close to their magic source. 

During every breakfast, every lunch and every dinner.

Zebediah tried to ignore the pain like he always did. Yet, the hatred burnt in his chest, sending hot waves to the rest of his body so that his fingers cramped around the knife. More than anything, he wanted to get up and jam the knife in his eye. Or better—order him to jam it in his own eye.

But it was too risky—the guy might stab him with a piece of stone or pierce his eyes with two crystal shards. He had the guts for it—he'd already shown them. Even the doctors couldn't get the splinters out of his leg, they were too close to the femoral artery. 

His curiosity to the boy's gift had delivered him chronic pain. 

But his vengeance would come. All he needed was a weakness. One the boy hadn't shown yet, except for his invisible friend. But was it enough? He wanted to wait, make a good plan, make sure the blow would be devastating. 

And today, a new opportunity presented itself. Somebody sent that guy a present. He had a secret admirer. And judging from the grin on Kris' face, he found that less stupid than Zebediah had anticipated.

This was interesting, something he would observe. 

For oh, how great would it be if Kris would take someone in his heart. 

Only for Zebediah to rip it out. 

☆☆☆