The Submissive Assassin (BxB)

Chapter 167 - "You know that I"ll always be in love with you, right Lucy?"

Lucius' lips quivered even more, gripping onto Raphael's face and without any hesitation, pulling him into an endearing long and warm kiss, the familiarity of Raphael's lips making his entire body feel as though it had finally reached his home. There was something about Raphael's plump and soft lips, his delicate movements, so tender and loving that it made Lucius want to melt into his flesh. He didn't want to pull away, not even for air, that it was Raphael who reached for his jaw and weakly pushed him apart but keeping their faces close enough.

It was no surprise that Lucius was breathing heavily, which made Raphael chuckle, "Take a breath, I'm not going anywhere, my love."

"I'm sorry," Lucius whimpered, which made Raphael raise an eyebrow. "I should have been able to save you; I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to get to a hospital in time. I should have never left that base that night; if I hadn't, you'd still be here with me."

"Lucy," Raphael tilted his head to the side, peered in his burgundy gaze and tenderly pulled strands of Lucius' hair behind his ear. At the same time, his thumb brushed along the side of Lucius' cheek. "My death had nothing to do with you; you shouldn't blame yourself for it. It was my time to leave, regardless of whether you wanted it to happen or not. It all happened for a reason," Raphael comforted. "You're so much more open now than you used to be. I can't believe that you and Dante are actually friends now, let alone, you and Nate."

That was the first time Lucius' face stopped quivering from sadness. Instead, when Raphael wiggled his eyebrows knowingly, the embarrassment overtook Lucius' body, causing his cheeks to warm into a deep pink as he stammered, "Y-You...you saw that?"

"You mean your little crush on him?" Lucius gulped. "Yes, I did see it." The teasing tone of Raphael made Lucius lower his face, wanting to hide under a rock, but it only made Raphael chuckle even louder. "It was really cute, babe! So adorable! And it was admirable how you didn't let those feelings ruin your friendship with him; that would've really hurt Dante."

Lucius wanted to change the conversation since it felt as though his heart was going to jump out of his throat from how flustered he was. "Uh...d-did you...did you see anything else?"

Raphael's lips twisted into another teasing smirk. "Jake?" This topic wasn't better than the last one and when Lucius instinctively tried to pull away, Raphael reached for his wrist and kept him close. "Come on! He's handsome too, we have some of the same features; blond hair, blue eyes."

"He's annoying."

"You like his attention though." Raphael examined the hurt starting to coil across Lucius' face again. "Why are you holding back? Is it because of me?" When Lucius' eyes shifted away, Raphael tightened his hold. "You know, it's not considered cheating on me if you fall for someone else, Lucy."

"You said it was, moments ago."

"I was kidding," he laughed. "The rules aren't the same when your partner has passed."

"Then if it's not cheating," Lucius mumbled, furrowing his brows, "what is it then?"

Raphael shrugged his shoulders, losing himself into his own thoughts for a moment as he planted a finger underneath his chin. "It's moving on, trying to continue living and wanting to find happiness again."

Lucius understood that, he really did. But part of him didn't want to fully let himself feel happiness again with someone else. Only because, "...I don't want to forget...how much I love you..."

"Falling in love with someone else won't diminish what we have, and it won't make you forget about me," Raphael ensured, pulling him into a hug. "It just means that you found someone else that can make you smile the way I did. Besides," Raphael poked him on his cheek, "even if you do forget, we'll meet again when you come back here for good, and I can remind you all about our love."