Kimi approached his bedroom, heaving greatly as he clutched his chest, his mouth opened wide enough to let cool air into his throat. Ravenna—who was the one who had guided him to his bedroom—clasped her hands behind her back, gazing at him with a concerned smile.
“Why... does this... freaking mansion have no... lift?” he questioned in a gruff voice, placing his hand on the double doors.
“I have no knowledge of that Young Master Mikaelis. Maybe I could point it out to Lord Caedis.”
“Like you did for the maps?” He pointed at one of the many maps that lined the hallway and Ravenna dipped her head. “Huh. You were freaking serious when you’d said that.”
“As the matron of this mansion it is my duty to make sure that everyone lives in satisfaction.” She held her hand before herself and asked, “shall I get you anything for your fatigue? Tea? Water? A hot bath? A masseur?” As Kimi peered over his shoulder, a confused look on his face, she chuckled formally at his face.
“That’s freaking too much. Wanna give me a panic attack?”
“Of no such Young Master.”
“Hmm.” He dropped his eyes on the relief carvings on the door and mumbled, “you can get me a jug of hot water and a teacup and spoon.”
“Right away Young Master. A few minutes and no less and it’ll be ready. Take care.”
Kimi hummed lightly in reply and pushed the doors open, the sound of Ravenna’s soft footsteps behind him. He kicked the door shut behind him. Kimi was welcomed by a chilly room, the windows shut and his bed made. He searched for his bag but it was nowhere to be found. He pulled off his sandals and placed them beside the flip flops that were by the door. After wearing the flip flops, he shuffled to the walk-in closet.
Walking into it was like walking into a place that was far beyond a person. The glaring white walls were highlighted by the white bulb, but was dimmed by the brown furniture. Kimi moved straight to the hangers, his shoulders drooping at the sight of his neatly hung clothes getting swallowed by the vastly spaced furniture. He gazed at the shoe shelves and shuddered at the sight of his few pairs of his shoes getting dominated by the gigantic shelves and free, empty spaces.
“I really do not fit in,” he mumbled scratching his neck. “Now... where the frig did they keep my tea and bath salt?”
Kimi let his eyes search the whole place. He stepped closer to the drawers and pulled them open one by one. When he opened the last one, he saw the bottles of the ground tea. They had been neatly arranged one by one in a paper box before they were put into the drawers. He picked out one and pushed the drawer shut.
Kimi held the container in his hand and walked out of the closet. He went straight to the bathroom, still searching for his bath salt. And when he walked in, he instantly spotted the bath salt that was placed beside the sink.
Looking at the immaculate bathtub together with his bath salt made Kimi itch for a soak in warm water. He huffed and strode to the bathtub. Kimi placed the plug in the drain and quickly turned on the tap. After that, he placed his hand under the running water to check if it was the right temperature.
Satisfied with the warm-hot water that was fastly filling the bathtub, Kimi stood and walked to the sink. He replaced the tea with the bath salt and moved to the cabinets so that he could retrieve a bottle of liquid soap. Only the sound of running water cloaked the bathroom as Kimi went through the ritual of putting soap and bath salt in his bathing water. When he was done, he gave the lather that was forming in the water a small smile and rushed back to the cabinet to return the items to it.
Due to the his extreme yearn for a bath, Kimi forgot to shut the door and instantly rushed to pull off his cloths. He then switched off the tap. Kimi rubbed his palms together like he was about to make lightning, a small smirk on his face.
Holding the edge of the bathtub, Kimi gently entered the bathtub. He exhaled gratefully at the feel of the soothing water against his skin. When he finally sat in the bathtub, the water came up to his chin as he slid further into it. A small groan escaped his parted lips as he shut his eyes and let himself relax in the water.
“This... is... freaking... life,” he said, feeling the bubbles lightly caress his cheeks and ear.
Kimi stayed still in the water for a while, simply letting the water calm him down. But as soon as a knock sounded from the bedroom, he sluggishly peeled his eyes open.
“Who’s it now?” he grumbled lightly, sitting up in the bathtub. He held its edge as the person knocked again. “Who’s it?” he called to the door.
“Kimi? Your hot water,” Ravenna answered.
“Oh. Um...” He leaned his head back so that he wouldn’t be visible to her when she entered. “Come in.”
Kimi heard the door slide open. It was followed by the sound of quiet footsteps as Ravenna walked to the small table in the middle of the room and dropped the tray on it.
“Do you need anything else?” she said, moving to the door.
“No,” he answered and she walked out.
Kimi heaved a sigh and slid back down the bathtub. He waited, listening for Ravenna to shut the door; but no such sound came. What he heard was the sound of Aurum’s voice. And this made him freeze.
“Ravenna is Kimi in?” said Aurum.
“Yes Lord Caedis.”
“Thank you.”
Kimi listened carefully as Aurum walked into the bedroom and closed the door. The sound of his shoes made Kimi yelp.
“Kimi where are you?”
Kimi bit his lip, breathing heavily through his nostrils as he heard Aurum walk to the door. Licking his bottom lip, his eyes wide and shining, Kimi stared at the door, his heart running about in his chest. Aurum walked to the door, held it but didn’t open it any further. He simply stayed behind it, his body not visible to Kimi.
“Kimi? Are you having a bath?” Aurum asked, his ringed fingers sliding down the frame of the door with a rough sound.
Kimi rolled his eyes. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
Aurum snorted lightly, a small smile creeping onto his face. “I can’t see you and bathing isn’t the only thing you do in a bathroom.”
Kimi held his breath, his face becoming warm. He stopped moving about in the water and puffed his cheeks. “I hate you,” he uttered, his voice small but loud enough for Aurum to hear.
Aurum chuckled lightly. “That’s a lie and I’m quite sure that you’re just saying that because I’m the fire to your metallic ice.”
Kimi quirked a brow, shifting his gaze to the soapy water. “Fire? I thought I’m the one who always gets angry.”
“Well... I burn in many ways.”
“Sure.” Kimi rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips twitching into a smirk. “Poetic.”
“And it’s all for you Amica mea,” Aurum said in an endearing tone.
Kimi’s face blazed at the nickname. “Stop flirting I’m trying to have a birth.”
“Do you need my help?” Aurum asked, slightly pulling the door back. Part of his body became visible.
Kimi’s legs quickly shut up and he hugged it to his chest. His face began to burn in embarrassment. “Stop saying such nonsense!”
Aurum laughed heartily. “Why are you talking like I hadn’t bathed you while you had lived in Egypt all those years ago?” He snorted a little and added, “it’s not like I’ve not seen your—”
“Aurum!” Kimi whined sharply, his face as hot as boiling magma.
Aurum laughed some more, eventually dropping his hand. “I’m sorry, that was a bad joke.”
“Of freaking course.”
Aurum passed his ringed fingers through his long hair, pulling his hair back. He stared at the door for a while and then he exhaled like he was tired.
If only life were like this, happy and uncaring, then maybe we would never be afraid of anything, Aurum thought, narrowing his eyes.
“Kimi?”
“What?” Kimi asked in a firm tone, glaring at the water.
“I had come to invite to a dinner date... with me... tonight... in the garden... alone... just the two of us,” Aurum said, the words coming out of his mouth one by one, like he was unsure and afraid.
Kimi jerked in shock and the water spilled out of the bathtub, softly splashing onto the tiles. “D-d-date?!”
“You can call it whatever you want,” Aurum rushed to say.
Kimi placed a hand against his loudly drumming heart. He breathed heavily, his mouth wide open. When he finally steadied his breathing, he snapped his head to the side in order to glower at the door and he growled lowly.
“You could have just said dinner and not date you... you... you penguin choirmaster!” Kimi snapped. His chest heaved strongly as he stared at the door. As Aurum started chuckling, his body stopped moving. He blinked with a confused expression. “What is freaking funny?”
“No... it’s just... it’s just...” Aurum continued laughing, unable to talk while laughing. When his laugh died down, he wiped off the tears around his eyes. “I had really missed you Kimi. All those years without you was like—”
“If you say anything cliche I will burn you,” Kimi said, tightly gripping the edges of the bathtub.
Aurum smacked his lips shut and raised his hands in defence like Kimi could see him. A few seconds later, he asked, “are you accepting my invite?”
Kimi exhaled gruffly through his nostrils. “You know I can’t decline your offer so the food better be freaking edible or I’m having your dead meat.”
Aurum clapped his hands, his face turning bright. “Great! I promise you Kimi that you won’t regret accepting my offer.”
Kimi rolled his eyes, listening to the sound of Aurum as he moved out of the bedroom with jittery footsteps. He mistakenly banged the door shut loudly, opened it again, apologized and softly shut it.
Kimi rolled his eyes and slowly dropped his legs. He moved smoothly down the bathtub, immersing himself in the water. Kimi let out a soothing breath, closing his eyes. He stayed like that for a while until what that had just happened dawned on him. He threw his eyes open, sat up and screamed on top of his lungs like he was being electrocuted.
*
It was obvious that everyone in the whole mansion had heard Kimi’s scream. Silver was more concerned and had rushed to his bedroom. He was shocked to find Kimi tossing cloths around, looking like a madman. After Kimi had explained the whole situation to him, Silver simply laughed and pushed Kimi onto the bed.
“No need to worry.” Silver placed a hand on his chest, beaming happily. “I’ll help.”
“Help?” Kimi ruffled his wet hair and his fingers got trapped in the numerous knots in it. “Shit! I have nothing to wear! I look like a hedgehog and I smell like the worst bath salt in the entire freaking universe!” he growled in disgruntlement, harshly tugging his fingers out of its constraints.
Silver lifted a brow, folding his arms over his chest. “Are you saying this because of Aurum?”
Kimi paused his freaking out and glared at Silver. “The freak do you mean?”
Silver sighed and walked closer to Kimi. He placed his hands on his cousin’s shoulders and smiled down at him. “Kimi when you like someone don’t expect yourself to change for that person. Be you. I’m pretty sure Aurum wouldn’t mind if you just wear your usual hoodie to the dinner.”
Kimi narrowed his eyes and dropped his head. “I need my tea.”
He pulled Silver’s hands off his shoulders and rushed to bathroom. He collected the tea container he had left there and quickly returned to the room to prepare his tea. Kimi didn’t wait for the tea to cool and downed it within a few seconds. The result of his rash behaviour was a burning sting that flushed itself down his throat. He dropped the cup on the tray and clutched his neck, his eyes bulging like he was being strangled.
Silver moved his head from side to side. “If you don’t control yourself you’ll get yourself injured.” He heaved a sigh and walked to Kimi’s closet.
During the time before dinner, Silver helped Kimi get dressed. In the end, Kimi ended up in his usual hoodie and pants that were not as baggy and loose as usual.
When they were dome, Silver leaned back, clapping his hands as he admired his work. “You’re ready,” he said, smiling happily as his eyes ran down Kimi’s form.
Kimi scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I look like myself on a freaking bad day.”
Silver huffed and narrowed his eyes. “Stop being such a sour face and brighten up.”
Kimi flipped him off and faced the door. He clenched and unclenched his hands, keeping his eyes fixated on the door. The grandfather clock ticked in a slow rhythm in the background as Silver moved about, returning the items he had used to prepare Kimi back in their rightful place. A series of knocks sounded and Silver perked up; Kimi started sweating bullets.
“He’s ready,” Silver chirped in excitement.
“I’m not,” Kimi grunted breathily under his voice, his eyes gradually growing wide as the doors were pushed open. But it was Orpheus who was standing there and not Aurum. Kimi’s whole demeanour changed and he snapped his jaw tightly. “You. What are you doing here?”
Orpheus kept his look on the floor. “Uncle Aurum sent me to get you,” he said in his aloof tone, his eyes flickering to Kimi’s feet.
Silver hummed, his smile turning worried. He turned to Kimi and held his hands together. “Kimmy?”
Kimi flared his nostrils. “What?”
“Go,” Silver said, nudging his head at Orpheus.
Kimi clenched his jaw tightly. “Whatever,” he said, walking to his sandals that were by the door. He gave Orpheus the harshest glare his body could create and squatted to pick up the sandals. Kimi wore it and Orpheus made way for him to walk out.
“Enjoy yourself,” Silver said, looking on as Orpheus shut the double doors.
The walk through the corridor was painstakingly quiet, Orpheus occasionally murmuring for him to either go right, left or straight. Orpheus walked behind Kimi, a good distance between them. As soon as they stepped out into the backyard, Kimi’s breath hitched at the sight of the beautifully lighted pavilion that was in the garden. There, stood before it like an angel was Aurum in a black hoodie and skinny jeans, a bouquet of lavenders in his hand. Kimi stared at him with a baffled expression, enthralled by the way the light reflected behind Aurum like a halo.
Orpheus looked between Kimi and Aurum who were lost in each other’s beauty. Orpheus’ lips curled into a small smile. “He really likes you,” he whispered in a happy tone, snapping Kimi out of his daze.
Kimi’s brows knitted. “Like that freaking concerns you,” he scoffed, walking down the short staircase.
Orpheus watched Kimi as he stepped down the stairs. “Kimi I’m sorry for killing your father,” he said softly, loud enough for Kimi to hear and stop in his tracks.
Kimi scraped his fingernails against the rocky banister, a frown taking its place on his face. “I’m not accepting it,” he whispered, looking at Aurum who was walking to them—his eyebrows furrowed in worry. “But time will tell when I’m healed and ready to accept reality.”
Orpheus nodded and walked back into the house.
“Hey,” Aurum said when he got closer to Kimi. He held the flowers up to Kimi. “For you.”
Kimi let his eyes drop onto the flowers. His eyes drooped in sadness as images of his father’s face flashed in his mind.
“Kimi? Is anything the problem?” Aurum asked in concern.
Kimi shook his head. “It’s just... My father had always brought flowers with him whenever he returned from work.” He exhaled sharply. “Mother always loved the lavenders.”
Aurum stared at the flowers. His hand slackened in sadness and it gently went down. “Oh, I’m sorry I—”
Kimi swiftly plucked the flowers out of his hands before he could drop the flowers. “I never said I’m not taking it.”
Aurum looked up at his face that glowed under the moonlight. Aurum smiled lovingly and held out his hand for Kimi to take. When Kimi rested his gaze on the hand, Aurum gasped in realization. He almost took back his hand but Kimi rushed to grab it. Aurum looked at him in shock and Kimi causally shrugged a shoulder.
“It’s high time I lived in the present and not the past,” he said, walking down the remaining steps.
Aurum’s loving smile returned and he nodded, pride in his eyes. He’s truly growing up.
The night was young and long and the moonlight was a soft blanket over them as Aurum took Kimi to the pavilion. He watched as Kimi’s eyes brightened at the mere sight of the fondly decorated pavilion.
“Here,” Aurum said as he unhanded Kimi and dragged out a seat for Kimi.
“Don’t be too cliche freaking please,” Kimi said, sitting in the chair.
“I’ll try,” Aurum said as he walked to his own chair. He sat down and folded his arms over the table.
Kimi felt bashful as Aurum silently stared at him with his intense silver eyes. He dropped his gaze, resting it on the flowers he had dropped on the table.
“Amica mea?” Aurum asked in a husky tone.
Kimi flinched and raised his head. “Stop call—” He gulped down his words at the sight of Aurum’s glowing eyes, his face contorting in scare. He gripped the edge of the table and leaned back. “Aurum? Your eyes... They’re... freaking glowing.”
“Shit. Sorry,” Aurum whispered as he scrunched his eyes shut. He inhaled a slow breath before he opened his eyes again. They were back to their normal colour. “Sorry. My... senses and body are in a jumbled mess right now.”
Kimi loosened his grip on the table and his shoulders slouched. “I thought you were freaking turning rabid,” he whispered, laughing stiffly.
Aurum sighed as he scratched the back of his head. “Well blame that on my body. Our instincts have a hard time discerning between different lusty feelings.”
“Lusty feelings?” Kimi asked in confusion.
“Well...” Aurum cleared his throat, dropping his hands to clasp them on the table, his cheeks mildly pink. “Our lust for blood is greatly confused for our lust for other things.”
“Other things like?”
“Food, water...” His blushed harder and said, “sex.”
Kimi’s expression turned moon-eyed and he blushed tremendously. “Freak! You were looking at me. Do you want to have sex with me?” he hissed in a low tone.
“Oh my goodness no!” Aurum exclaimed loudly, his face blazing. “No! It’s just... I was so enthralled by your lips.” He swallowed thickly, dropping his eyes to Kimi’s lips. “I... have a hunch that we might kiss by the end of today,” he said in a breathy voice, his chest swirling with the need to taste Kimi’s lips. His eyes were flickering between a lustrous silver and a normal silver colour.
Kimi snorted uncomfortably, staring at the flowers. “Your hunch might be right,” he said in a light tone, using his fingers to play with the flowers.
Aurum nodded, looking up as Ravenna and a few other helpers arrived. “I hope so.”
Kimi’s head snapped up, his eye wide. He watched Aurum as he looked at the helpers, his heart racing. He touched his lips and felt its dry texture. He rested his gaze on Aurum’s slim lips and gulped.
I hope I don’t suck it off his face, he thought, licking his bottom lip.
*
Aurum and Kimi ate in silence, eyeballing each other like hungry rabbits ready to hump each other. The tension surrounding them was suffocating. Even the helpers had to be swift whenever they cane around to drop or take something. Aurum kept a firm, unwavering gaze on Kimi, while Kimi frowned lightly at him, his gaze anywhere apart from Aurum’s lips.
“Why are you frowning?” Aurum asked, taking a sip from his wineglass.
Kimi shrugged. “Anger is better than fear in awkward moments.”
“Mmm,” Aurum said, dropping his fork beside his plate. He cleaned his mouth with a napkin and placed his elbows on the table. “How has your time here been?” he asked, interlocking his fingers.
Kimi paused midchew. “I can’t really say much because I just got here.”
Aurum chortled breathily. “Fair enough,” he said, his eyes watching Kimi’s throat as he swallowed. His tongue flicked out of his mouth and swiped at his lips in thirst. If I kiss him there, he thought with a gulp. Will he moan and hold me tightly?
Kimi dropped his gaze on the area between Aurum’s neck and shoulder, the fork in his hand playing with his teeth and tongue. If I suck there, he thought, his teeth tightly clasping down on the fork. Will he moan my name in gratitude?
The two of them watched each other with hungry gazes, the sound of crickets swirling around them. They only started out of their trance when the fork in Kimi’s hand slipped out of his hand and clattered against the plate.
Aurum shook his head like he was disappointed. He’s a child and I should take things slowly. He dropped his hands on his laps and rubbed them against his thighs. Baby steps. Start small... like... like a conversation. A real one.
Aurum loudly cleared his throat. “So... Kimi I heard that you had visited Dae-yang Mikaelmas and her brother at the hospital.”
Kimi pushed the plate to the side and picked up a napkin. “Yeah. She was doing alright. She’s a strong girl. She’ll be healed in a snap of her fingers.”
“You sound confident,” Aurum singsonged in a teasing tone.
“Bite me,” Kimi said with a roll of his eyes. He wiped off his mouth and remembered the confusion he had about Illiad and Qharis being in the same year. “Aurum are Qharis and Illiad twins like Orpheus and Homer?”
“No. Why are you asking?”
“Qharis and Illiad are both seniors.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I just thought that they were the same age or twins.”
Aurum exhaled a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “No. Illiad was actually adopted by Haruna back when she and he were still humans in Nigeria. She was single back then. So when she married and gave birth to Qharis she and Meraki decided to let them start school the same time.”
Kimi nodded but then frowned in confusion. “If the cadaverism is not genetically transferred then how come Illiad is a cadaver and so is Qharis and the rest?”
Aurum lifted a brow. “Why the sudden interest?”
“I’m living with cadavers and I’m a Hunter. I need to know how all this”—he gestured around himself—“works.”
Aurum sat forward and rested his hands on the table. He began cracking his knuckles, keeping his eyes on the silver cutlery beside him. “You want to know the whole truth?”
“Yes. From the freaking beginning so that I could know where I’m heading.”
Aurum heaved a sigh. “Where do I start.” He folded his arms over table and inched forward. “Three centuries have passed since the beginning of both the cadavers and Hunters,” he started, the flickering flame of the lighted candle at the centre of the table reflected in his eyes. “Some sort of disease had been ravaging a particular area at that time. It was killing people and it had no cure. Back then I was a musician who explored the world and I happened to have been present during those times.”
“Wow,” Kimi breathed. “You’re that old?”
Aurum nodded and continued. “The people around the area were searching for a way to find a cure. From herbs to witchery, nothing worked. Nothing...” His eyes flicked into a lustrous silver. “Until the maker of all cadavers found some form of mixture. The mixture made those who had ingested it become stronger beyond normal. But it had given us more. She had been the first to take it and for that we call her ‘Goddess.’ Then there were eight others who were the first to take it after her. They are the Pristines, Anxo, Elvira, me, Tobe, Jiaozi, Meraki, Yūgen and her mother.”
“Mother? She had a mother?”
“Yes. A mother who we never saw and she only talked about. She wanted to protect the privacy of her family and we had hardly seen her during time time. Now... I have even forgotten what she truly looked like.” He narrowed his eyes and the tongue of fire on the candle swayed to the side. “But there had been dire consequences of her antidote.”
Kimi leaned back with a sigh. “Cadaverism. You all turned into what one would call—”
“Vampires.” Aurum unfolded his arms and sighed deeply. “Those who had drank it started showcasing weird attitude. They thirsted for blood, had abnormal speed and their senses were heightened. And...”
Kimi leaned forward. “And?”
Aurum raised his gaze to look into Kimi’s eyes. “And she decided to create our watchdogs, Hunters.”
Kimi’s breathing stuttered. “The persons who had created cadavers and Hunters are the same?”
“Correct. She made another mixture and fed it to the few others. The mixture coloured their eyes silver and they had some form of tether to a cadaver. But the advantage they had was that their Hunter genes could be passed down to their children through birth, unlike the cadavers who have to bite to make. And that itself is dangerous.”
“Does the bite kill?” Kimi asked, keeping a hard gaze on Aurum’s worried face.
“Mostly for those who are not descendants of a cadaver. It’s easier for those with cadaver parents to survive the bite and they are called Level As, true bloods. Only a few who do not have cadaver parents can luckily survive the bite and they are called Level Os.”
“But... what if one of the person’s parents is a human, will they still survive the bite?”
Aurum shrugged and said, “it depends.” Aurum shut his eyes and waved his hand about. “Enough of the scary stories. What about you?” He opened his eyes wore a smirk, inclining forward on his folded arms. “How have you been all these years? How had your remaining childhood years been like? Had you missed me?”
Kimi rolled his eyes, fighting down a smirk, his lips trembling. “It was filled with insomniac nights and bad dreams.”
Aurum gasped, his eyes turning wide. “You had nightmares?! Why didn’t you sing the song I had always sang to you?”
“I still do,” Kimi said, dropping his gaze. “Till this very day I still listen to that song.”
Aurum beamed. “Do you still remember it off hand?”
Kimi’s face warmed up and he touched his throat. “Yes.”
“Can we sing it together?”
Kimi sharply looked at him. Aurum held his gaze before he dropped it. He frowned lightly, his cheeks heating up. “Okay.”
“Great!” Aurum sat back and cleared his throat. “Okay... On three. One, two, three...”
Aurum was the first to start the song and Kimi stared at him with blazing cheeks and slightly wide eyes. He watched Aurum’s lips move with each word he sang. He was entranced by his voice and his chest fluttered at the sound of his natural, soft singing voice that had nothing or noone to back it up. When Aurum reached the hook, he raised a brow and Kimi coughed before he joined him.
Sleep little one, evening’s away,
Let night carry you home,
Let the play leave you alone,
Sleep my little darling,
Pain is running away,
Sleep my little angel,
Heaven’s a call away.
After that Aurum smirked and said, “now the chorus. We’ll take it slow and steady.” He closed his eyes and his eyelashes brushed his cheeks. “One, two, three...”
If I’m lost and broken by fear,
Will you be there for me?
I don’t really care about death,
Cause I’m death itself,
Row my boat down a killing stream,
Dream an ending dream,
What’s there to be lost?
My fear or courage?
If mice have whiskers,
Then I have thorns,
Battle my broken image,
Bring it down to build a knew one,
Hope-filled dreams is a waste of energy,
Pave a way and fly till I reach the end of my fear.
They sang in a slow melody; Aurum’s soft voice vibrated with Kimi’s slightly deep one. Kimi flinched anytime his voice cracked. The second they stopped singing, Aurum threw his eyes open and applauded loudly.
“Wonderful! You still have a great voice,” Aurum said in satisfaction.
Kimi rubbed he back of his neck in embarrassment. “It’s nothing. I just listen to the song each night and it just...” He stopped talking, trailing his last word.
Aurum shook his head. “You know... when I had produced that song everyone had thought that I had a child with a secret lover. They were immensely wrong about the lover part but I did have a child back then.”
Kimi looked up, shock written all over his face. “You do?”
“Yes. It’s Ren.”
Kimi’s face paled in bewilderment. “Ren?” he asked sharply, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Yeah. I had adopted Ren from the streets back when I had been in Egypt.”
Kimi hummed stiffly and placed his hands in his pockets. His fingers grazed a metallic surface and he brought out the item. It was the locket Aurum had given him.
“You still haven’t opened it?” Aurum asked, cocking his head to the side, causing his hair to fall over his eyes.
Kimi rubbed his thumb against the rosy surface of the locket. I need to do it now, he thought and slowly pulled the locket open.
Inside the locket was a picture of him when he was little. In the picture he was frowning lightly, his eyes squinted under the sun. He was also pouting, his thick lips poking out in a cute manner. Kimi looked at his picture like one would look at their precious child.
Aurum studied Kimi’s expression as he read the writing that had been written on the other side of the locket.
“What does this mean?” he questioned, frowning at the Latin words.
Aurum stood up from his chair and walked to Kimi. He slowly held Kimi’s hand and took the locket out of his hands. He leaned down, opening the locket.
“It means, ‘I will always love you unconditionally and we will return to ashes together,’” he said, moving to put the locket’s chain around Kimi’s neck. Being close to Kimi, he could smell lavender and bath salt on him.
Kimi stilled at his words. This close, he could feel Aurum’s breath fan his face. The alluring smell of wine and food was laced in his breath. Aurum himself smelt like lavenders and vanilla. Aurum was just like a plate of food that Kimi wanted to consume so badly that he inhaled sharply like he was getting suffocated, his chest heaving extremely.
“A-Aurum?” Kimi said, shivering as Aurum cupped his cheek in his hand. He insides trembled as Aurum’s hair slid against his ear when Aurum leaned closer.
“Yes Amica mea?” Aurum said huskily, placing his free hand on his other cheek. He inclined his head and caught Kimi’s eyes. Kimi’s pupils had dilated like his and were drowning yearningly in pent up hunger. “Kimi... can I kiss you?”
“Yes,” he said swiftly in a wispy tone, watching the way Aurum’s tongue shot out of his mouth to wet his lips.
Aurum leaned in, holding his breath. Once he was close enough, he hesitated by stopping. He frowned and rambled, “Kimi what if this is wrong and—”
Kimi didn’t want to hear him anymore and dived in. Their lips smashed together and Kimi threw his hands up, letting the tips of his fingers lightly graze Aurum’s chin. The feeling of Aurum’s stubble made him gasp and he slid his fingers up his chin. The surprised look Aurum had on his face melted away when Kimi pressed his lips further against his.
Screw rationality, Aurum thought and deepened the kiss. Their lips melded together, noisily making smacking sounds. Aurum let his cadaveric urge take control and he quickened the way he kissed.
Kimi couldn’t breath properly with the way Aurum was ravaging his lips. His back arced off the seat when Aurum bit his bottom lip. He parted his lips to say something but gasped as Aurum’s tongue dove into his mouth. He hadn’t been expecting that and so did Aurum when Kimi moaned lightly in response, twirling his tongue around his. The taste of wine swirled together in their mouth and Aurum groaned at the taste of the citrus wine that he had specially chosen for Kimi. They kissed for a while before Kimi started jerking in suffocation and Aurum swiftly pulled away. A string of saliva connected their parted lips as they breathed heavily, holding onto each other’s face.
When Kimi finally regained his breath, he swallowed and breathed, “wow.”
“How was it?” Aurum asked, rubbing his thumbs against Kimi’s pimpled cheeks.
Kimi swallowed again and cringed at his spit that tasted like berry as it slid down his throat. “You kiss like a king kisser.”
“I did date in the past. So...” Aurum shrugged like it was nothing.
Kimi slightly tilted his head so he could playfully glare up at him. “And times have changed. I’m pretty freaking sure that kissing then is not the same as kissing now.”
“I practice,” Aurum said, looking at Kimi’s wet, swollen lips.
“How?”
“In my mind.” He leaned in again and added, “with your lips.” Kimi shuddered as their lips touched lightly and Aurum smirked proudly. “Can I kiss you again?” he asked, biting the corner of his lip.
Kimi licked his lip and huskily whispered, “I thought you’d never freaking ask.”
Author’s Note: First date and first kiss. ;) Was it good or bad?