He was perfect, absolutely perfect.
Kris turned his head to the side as well. Fox could swear he was sprouting wings and rising off the ground when their eyes met—and then he slammed his right shoulder into a tree.
Kris chuckled softly. "Am I that dazzling?"
Kris' thumb stroked along his.
Suddenly Fox wanted to hug him, but he didn't dare. Breathless, he looked at the older boy, who was now standing very close to him. Kris' gaze wandered from his eyes to his lips.
Would the boy kiss him again?
"You-you're sweet," Fox stammered. Shyly, he bit his lip.
Kris raised his hand and raked his fingers through his curls. Gently, his lips touched his temple. "Don't tell anyone," the boy whispered, his voice hoarser than it had been before.
Fox nodded astonished as he looked up into those light eyes, enjoying the fingers slipping through his hair. No one had ever stroked his hair like that, but the way Kris did it felt almost familiar.
Eventually, Kris lowered his hand, shoving it into his pocket. Something about his posture changed and he seemed to avoid eye contact. Immediately, Fox felt uncertain. Had he done something wrong? He considered just asking, but Kris asked a question first. "What did you want to show me?"
He sounded friendly—not bored, as Fox had feared.
"Oh yes!" Fox had already forgotten where he had been heading. "We're almost there!"
He started to walk again, paying a little more attention to where he was going. Secretly, he missed Kris' hand in his, for he found it a bit scary in the woods and Kris made him feel safer. Fortunately, it was only a short walk; soon they arrived at the clearing he had been heading for. The moon gave the icy landscape a blue glow. Fox looked up at Kris. "This is what Safira and I made," he explained. "Well, Safira made it, but she got the ideas from me. Beautiful, isn't it?" He carefully moved across the ice. "This one we made yesterday." He put his hand on a wooden board that was attached to an ice structure with a thick rope. He hoisted himself up onto the swing and moved his legs until he was gaining considerable momentum. As soon as he reached the highest point, he let go.
For a moment, Fox flew through the air; then he transformed into a bird, circled through the air and landed on Kris' shoulder. He let out an excited twitter.
When he jumped off Kris' shoulder and changed back, Kris let out a series of curses. "You scared the shit out of me, man."
The boy looked at him with a fierce expression and Fox flinched. "I didn't mean to scare you," Fox muttered. "I turned into a bird for the first time yesterday. I — I was just excited."
Kris looked past him. Fox wasn't sure whether the boy was still angry with him and a little uncertain, he wobbled on his toes.
"Do you want to go back?" asked Fox quietly. "Maybe it was stupid and you don't like seeing all this."
Kris sat down on the swing. Before Fox knew what was happening, Kris' arm slipped around his waist and pulled him onto his lap. "There's no need for that insecurity, Foxie. I think it's a fantastic evening and you can show me all your works of art in a moment."
It was damn hard not to kiss the Lion. There were times Fox looked at him in a way that made his heart beat twice as fast. He wanted it too.
Kris chuckled. "I haven't come across any normal person here."
"I'm in love with you," Fox said softly. With honest, sincere eyes he looked up at him. "Very much in love."
But are you sure you want this? Do you want something serious?
He could already feel how Fox's heart would break if it didn't work out for them.
"I know," Kris replied instead of giving in to his desires. "But we don't know each other that well. Let's become friends first, hmm? We can go into the woods more often?" He lifted the corner of his mouth. "To see if I'm really as nice as you think?"
It had never been his intention to stay this late in the forest, but the sun was already rising when they left the fence behind. Fortunately, they had no classes today. Fox was as energetic as ever and even tripped over his feet now and then. They had strolled through the forest for a while, he had made an imitation of an Egyptian sphinx while Fox told him a story taken from Egyptian mythology and then they had climbed a huge tree where after they'd leaned against each other to watch a swarm of fireflies. This had really given the evening a bit of magic. When he'd found the roses earlier today, he'd never expected it to lead to such a fun evening, and he was bummed when it was over and he was standing in front of the Lions' campus.
"Well, if you insist..." he said with a crooked smile. "And because you ask it so sweetly."
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