The crystal filtered the sunlight into a soft purple glow, giving Kris' hair a purple sheen. Fox had been awake for some time. Very carefully, he'd turned around. Kris' hand had rested on his hip, though he didn't dare to believe it until he had rolled over and seen the boy.

His boyfriend.

It was so unreal.

By now, he had been staring at him for some time; at his dark hair that hung partly in front of his face and moved gently by his breathing, his slightly open mouth, and the early sunlight that was reflecting on his face.

He looked beautiful, peaceful—and sweet.

He got all warm again as he thought back to the previous night. Kris said he really liked him. That he wanted to move things on with him. The butterflies in his stomach had never been so hyperactive.

Suddenly, he became nervous when Kris' eyes opened. What if he changed his mind? If he thought it was all a big mistake? What if he realized that Fox wasn't very good at kissing at all? Nervously, he bit his lip. Waiting expectantly, he stared at the boy.

"Morning," Kris said in a raspy voice.

A very sexy raspy voice.

Fox wanted to hide under the blanket when that thought occurred to him, afraid that Kris could somehow hear it.

"Hi," he squeaked, blushing heavily.

Kris' eyes rested in his. They were deep purple.

Slowly, the corner of his mouth crept up into a teasing grin. "Why are you blushing like that, Foxie? Did you have naughty dreams?"

Fox quickly shook his head. "N-no. Absolutely n-not."

"Hmm." Kris' hand moved from his hip to his lower back and pulled him closer to him, so close that their bodies pressed close. Fox was sweltering; convinced that steam was almost coming out of his ears. A pleasant shiver slid down his spine as he felt Kris' breathing brush his ear. "When you do get them, I'd love to hear about them."

Fox got even warmer. "N-naughty dreams?"

Kris chuckled. His fingers found a way into his curls. Again, his breath stroked along his ear until his lips found Fox's neck, leaving small kisses. "Yeah. The dreams where I kiss every inch of your beautiful body and where you touch me wherever you want."

Fox was startled when the blood rushed to his waist and didn't know where to look when something came to life there.

Kris' grin widened. Could he feel it? Panic swept through him. Before Fox realized what was happening, he began to shrink and his skin became rosier. Oh no!

A grunt came from his mouth. Like every time this happened, shame took over and he wanted to run away. Before he'd turned around and was about to sprint toward the exit of the wigwam, Kris scooped him off the ground and put him down on his chest.

"You stay here," he laughed, tickling him behind his ears. "Come back here, Foxie."

His fingers caressed his back and Fox grunted softly. He lowered himself onto his stomach and the tension eased, allowing him to change back. Fortunately, at least this time he had taken his clothes with him during the transformation.

Kris put an arm around him and stroked his face with his other hand. Fox blushed when he realized he was still on top of his boyfriend. Kris kissed him tenderly and then looked at him.

"With me, you have nothing to be ashamed of, Foxie. Not of the things you feel, nor of the things you long for." He held his gaze. "Or of the very things you don't want. Agreed?"

Fox nodded, slightly breathless, lost in the purple of his eyes. He believed he could look at them for hours.

Hours.

"What time is it?" It was Monday morning—today they had classes!

"Too early to think about that."

When he wanted to protest, Kris caught his lips and soon all his objections ebbed away.

It was his growling stomach that brought up the subject again.

"Okay okay, we're going back." Kris left another sizzling kiss on his neck and sat up straight. "I should have brought breakfast."

Fox reached for his iNet. His eyes grew big when he saw that it had already been 10:30.

"We're way too late!"

Kris shrugged. "Having detention together can be romantic?"

Fox never skipped classes on purpose. He often was late or was sent out of class for talking too much, but such things were always accidental.

"Fire is going to get mad," he muttered.

"Well, fuck Fire." Kris snorted, "Hypocritical prick."

Fox looked at the boy confused. "How so?"

"He's really not as much of a saint as he wants everyone to believe." Kris began to put on his shoes. "And you can skip a class once in a while. You just have to be a little creative with your excuses. Say you accidentally flew into a tree or something. They'll believe it."

. . . 

"Have you ever taken good advantage of your gift?" Kris asked as they arrived at the school building. A mischievous grin was written on his face. The sight of it made something tingle in Fox's stomach.

"What do you mean?"

"You can sneak into the kitchen, right? By turning yourself into a spider or a mouse?"

"And steal something?" he asked wide-eyed.

Grinning, Kris kissed the tip of his nose. "So? They stole our memories, stealing some food now and then is the last thing they should expect in return."

He... had a point. "Won't they find out?"

Kris shrugged. "Nish can become invisible. He never got caught while stealing something for us. You can practically become invisible, too."

Fox bit his lip nervously. The idea scared him, but he didn't want Kris to know. "I'm still practicing with taking things with me. But if I can put it in your bag, I think I'll manage."

Kris took off his bag and handed it to him. Fox's fingers twitched with nervousness.

"Relax," Kris said, wrapping an arm around his waist. "It's no big deal. I'll walk you to the kitchen door, then all you have to do is slip under it."

Fox gave a nod. I can do this. 

Together they walked through the deserted school building. The clock they passed showed that the bell would ring in fifteen minutes. Only then would the hallway become crowded again. In front of the kitchen door, they stopped.

Fox took a deep breath and turned into a spider before walking under the door. His nine eyes soon told him no one was there. Immediately, he transformed back to his human shape and went down the cupboards and refrigerator. Eventually, he gathered two cheese sandwiches and two bottles of Fristi, which he quickly stuffed into the bag. In front of the door, he transformed back into a spider and stood next to Kris again a moment later.

Proudly, he unzipped the bag and showed Kris the contents.

"Those are going to be the best cheese sandwiches ever." Kris nudged his elbow playfully. "Come on, let's eat outside."

Fox nestled delightfully against his boyfriend on the grassy slope as they ate the sandwiches. Secretly, it did give him a thrill—skipping classes and stealing breakfast together—and he grinned elatedly at Kris.

He did wonder, though, how things would go from here. When would they see each other again? Could he tell others?

"Tomorrow is Tuuli's birthday," he said. "Do you um... you want to come along? If she—if she agrees?"

He was sure she would because Tuuli was always nice to everyone.

"Sure. Let's see if you Lions know how to throw a party."

Fox smiled from ear to ear. Then they could show everyone that they were together!

The bell announced the last lesson before lunch. Fox had chemistry—and Kris P.E., he told him, which meant they both had to go in a different direction.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow?" Fox asked a bit uncertainly.

Kris nodded. "Yeah—I promised to do something with Nish this afternoon." A worried look crossed his face, but there wasn't really time to ask about it. "So I'll see you tomorrow. Though I might come over for a night kiss."

"I'd like that," Fox said softly, stretching his neck to give his boyfriend a kiss. 

Kris smiled. "Oh and don't forget—you crashed into a tree this morning."

They kissed again, then Fox walked to his classroom. The others were already seated and Fox sat down in the only empty seat.

Fire turned around on the chair in front of him. "Where did you hang out this morning?"

I flew into a tree.

He couldn't get the words past his lips. Not to Fire. His smoldering eyes seemed to devour every lie.

"I stayed with my boyfriend," he said in a whisper. "And—we kind of forgot about the time."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Since last night." Heat crept to his cheeks. "Kris. He—he's a Buffalo."

Fire narrowed his eyes. Fox grew a little nervous at the restless flickering of his eyes.

Before Fire could say anything, however, Gates announced the start of class.

Fox was relieved—he had the unpleasant feeling that Fire wouldn't have said anything nice.