A/N: Hi, you awesome Knights! Another round for this story just for you! I hope you're still with me. We're closer to the end, by the way… just a little bit more and we're done! So here is it. Round 10… FIGHT!

Disclaimer and Warning: See prologue…

Additional Warning: there's a bit of a lime scene in this chapter, but it hasn't crossed into M-rated territory... I think, if that's not your thing, just... read it in fast-pace and ignore what happens there ^^;


A Gift from A Far Away World—a Seven Knights Fan Fiction

© lunaryu~

Round 10: Connection


Home, Living Room—

Kris was… stumped.

Well, that would be an understatement of the year. Bewildered was more like it, along with shocked and astonished, or the combination and permutation for those synonyms, with the level of surreal quality added to them.

He was that surprised.

"I… I can't be happy if you're with Kris, because I… I love Kris… more than a friend…"

Rudy just confessed, albeit it was more to answer Dellons' demand instead of to Kris directly, but Kris was there with them. He was sitting duck beside Rudy, probably still gaping after Rudy's heartfelt love confession.

Rudy's expression when he said those words was difficult, like he was helpless and felt guilty, as if he had disappointed a lot of people, like he was hurting, with brows furrowed and lower lip bitten, part of his palm covering the left side of his face, body crouched with supporting elbow on his thigh

"Rudy…" Kris couldn't help calling his name, raising his hand slightly to touch Rudy somewhere, anywhere, just to make sure that he wasn't actually dreaming or hallucinating.

Rudy flinched when Kris' hand made contact with his shoulder, and like a shock of electricity, Rudy seemed to remember that Kris was there as well, thus snapped his head upward to look at him, his face suddenly drained of color.

"Oh." Rudy seemed about to bolt, so Kris gripped his shoulder harder to stop him from running away. There was no way he would let him run this time. Not again.

"Don't." Kris looked at Rudy in the eye and Rudy's body instantly tensed in fight or flight response. "I am not angry, Rudy, so don't run away from me."

Kris was slightly embarrassed of how pleading he sounded. He didn't know what kind of expression he was making, but seeing it seemed to stifle Rudy's instinct to run. Besides, Kris never loosened his grip on his shoulder, so gradually, Rudy's frigid body began to lax, unwinding.

"Kris, I…" Rudy still looked very apprehensive when he started, seeming about to explain himself, but Kris raised his other hand, two fingers placed at Rudy's lips to stop him from saying further. Kris didn't feel like hearing any explanation since he himself was still reeling from the event.

Kris had thought once that his feeling for Rudy was one-sided at best. He only waited for Rudy to notice and then expected that Rudy would let Kris down easy, like the gentleman he was. Kris had never thought that his feeling could be returned.

This posed another problem for Kris.

Oh, Kris was happy. He was mightily thrilled at the idea of being together with Rudy in a romantic relationship, the prospect of dating him with all the benefits as lovers, the pleasure of body and the satisfaction and contentment of mind and feelings; Kris was all for that.

It was just… the matter of consent.

Kris was Kris, yes, but he wasn't this world Kris. This Rudy was not Kris' Rudy. The one this Rudy loved wasn't actually him, it was the other Kris, and the one Kris had fallen in love with, technically, wasn't this Rudy either.

What should I do?—Kris thought frantically, trying his hardest to solve this problem in his head without alerting anyone in the room with him.

Kris couldn't dodge this problem. He had to answer Rudy's feeling. He couldn't postpone his answer because Dellons was there and he knew how Kris felt about Rudy. If Kris shied away here, Dellons would definitely notice that there was something wrong with Kris.

Kris surreptitiously glanced at Dellons that sat watching him and Rudy with gleaming baby blue eyes, his expression neutral, bordering expressionless. Kris didn't know what Dellons was thinking by forcing Rudy to admit how he felt toward Kris. What did he gain from this?

"Dellons," Kris called and Rudy jumped, like he just recalled that Dellons was still there with them, but Kris focused his eyes on the blond and kept Rudy in place with both his grip on Rudy's shoulder and fingers on his mouth. "Can you please give us a moment? I need to talk to Rudy alone."

Anyway, Kris could start by getting Dellons eyes off of them while he did damage control. At least this way he could dodge the inevitable of getting interrogated if he ended up telling Rudy the truth. Kris owed the brunet that much if they wanted to do something about their feelings.

Dellons huffed. "Alright, I'll give up for today." He stood up and turned away. "Don't expect me to be this nice another time, Princess." He said rather loudly as he saluted while walking away, leaving both Kris and Rudy alone.

What? For 'today'? What is he exactly planning to do next time?—Kris couldn't help feeling that Dellons would be insufferable after this.

"Um, Kris?"

Rudy's muffled voice snapped Kris back from his train of thought to blink and looked back at Rudy whose lips were still on the pads of his index and middle fingers. Kris' felt a tingling sensation from his fingers that instantly heated his face slightly at the feel of those soft lips on his skin. It was like, Rudy was kissing the pads of his fingers, and Kris couldn't help flushing in embarrassment as he pulled both his hands back.

"Sorry." Kris looked down at his own lap, resting his hands on it, still feeling his overly warm cheeks, his fluttering heart and his tingling fingers.

"No, I- I should be saying that," Rudy stuttered, his cheeks flushing as well. "I am sorry for suddenly dropping something like this on you. I… I should have been more gracious in telling you how I feel…"

Kris felt the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly at that. "Gracious? You mean tactful, right?" He couldn't help teasing him slightly, because hearing Rudy mentioning gracious and himself in one sentence was funny for some reason.

Rudy seemed to agree with him as he chuckled slightly. "Yes, that's what I mean exactly."

They were silent after that. It wasn't awkward, but Kris still needed time to think about how to proceed from this point. Despite all the problems that could emerge from accepting and returning Rudy's feeling, Kris absolutely didn't want to let him down. He felt the same about Rudy, but how would he explain that the one Rudy had fallen for wasn't exactly him? Would it be a lie if he didn't warn Rudy about who Kris really was? Would it betray his consent if Kris kept Rudy in the dark about the swap between him and the other Kris?

Kris' body right now was the other Kris', he had all the other Kris' memories, their history together since they were children, but it didn't change the fact that this body mind was a being from another reality, with another set of memories and history in another universe, with another Rudy that this Rudy wasn't aware of. Could this Rudy accept that? Would Kris betray his own feeling for his Rudy if he started a relationship with this world Rudy? Because for Kris, it didn't really matter whether it was this Rudy or his Rudy, they were Rudy all the same.

Decision made, Kris reached Rudy's hand in both of his own and closed his eyes. "Rudy, I need you to know how happy I am with your feelings." He paused slightly and it was a mistake because Rudy seemed to draw the wrong conclusion.

"But?" Rudy sounded resigned, sad and rueful.

Kris looked upward at Rudy and saw how bleak he looked and Kris didn't want to see that expression on him. "You know that I love you too, right? Because I do. I am in love with you." He said fiercely, gripping Rudy's hand tightly and Rudy's eyes widened in shock at that.

"W-what? But I thought…!"

"You are so dense it's frustratingly infuriating," Kris huffed, fondly exasperated, but he didn't let go of his hand. "How long do you think I've waited for you to notice?"

"Uh…" Rudy looked positively flustered, confused.

"Years, Rudy. Years." Kris pulled Rudy's hand and put his palm on his heart. "Can you feel that?" Kris' heart beat hard and fast under Rudy's twitching palm. "Would you believe me that my heartbeat calls your name each time?"

Rudy's cheeks looked redder if it was possible. "Kris…" He couldn't seem to be able to stop himself even if he wanted to. Rudy's other hand reached for Kris and then he was pulled into Rudy's chest in one armed hug. Rudy's left hand was still pinned together with Kris' own between both their chests and Rudy nuzzled Kris' left ear, his right hand on Kris back before it moved upward on the back of his head, holding him tightly. "Kris…!"

Rudy's voice calling his name sounded desperate, and Kris closed his eyes, nuzzling him back tenderly. "Silly Rudy… Every time you call my name, hug me and kiss me, how do you think I feel all along?" He whispered softly, his voice trembling slightly.

"I love you…! I love you, Kris…!" Rudy tightened his hold on Kris' body, whispering back into his ear repeatedly between little kisses to his earlobe and the side of his head, as if he were trying to make up for how many times he had missed Kris' inner shout of love toward him, like he couldn't get enough of saying it out loud.

"I love you…"

~ # ~

They were still holding each other in the living room, but their position was laid down side by side this time on the sofa, facing each other. It was unfortunate that they had quite a big of a sofa, or else it would be uncomfortable since both of them possessed quite large of statures, with over 6 inches tall each.

Kris' head was rested on Rudy's right shoulder, his right hand held by Rudy's left on Rudy's chest, the other one looping under Rudy's back. Rudy's right hand looped bellow Kris around his waist. They were comfortable holding each other like that.

"Kris," Rudy called softly.

"Hmm?" Kris' eyes were still closed. He sounded content and sleepy, which was very adorable in Rudy's eyes.

"Does this mean we're dating now?" Rudy couldn't help asking. He had no experience in this. His feeling was still overwhelming, this bubbly happiness that he was special for Kris, that Kris reciprocated his feelings, that Kris loved him like that. He didn't know how to react properly. He wanted to always hold Kris like this, since this seemed to be more than enough to make him content, but Rudy also wanted to do something more about it. He owed Kris that much, and he wanted to make Kris happy. Yet he still didn't know how to do that without making a fool of himself.

"I'd like that, yes," Kris answered, his fingers played with Rudy's on his chest. "But… even if we aren't dating, this is enough for me."

"Really? You don't want to put a label on our relationship? Making it official? You know… go on a date and stuff?" Rudy asked, furrowing slightly. He tried to look at Kris' face, but it was hard from his position.

Kris was quiet for a moment before he stilled his fingers and grasped Rudy's gently. "Before we go any further than this, I need you to know something."

Kris sounded grave and somber and it raised Rudy's worry so suddenly. Rudy didn't know what Kris wanted to say, but he got a ping of instinct that told him it was very important and needed his undivided attention.

"What is it?" Rudy asked then, warily.

Kris moved his body position, pulled his hand back from Rudy's hand and put them beside Rudy's head as a support while draping part of his body on top of Rudy to face Rudy directly. Kris' intense ruby eyes searched Rudy's for a moment before he nodded determinedly, seeming to convince himself that he needed to say it.

"Rudy… are you aware of the existence of multiverse?"

"Huh?"

~ # ~

When Kris started to talk science, he perfectly knew that it always ended hurting Rudy's head slightly. Kris never minced his jargon and most of the time, Rudy only got half of them. But this time, this time Kris toned them down, changing all the scientific ones into layman terms and by the end of his explanation, made sure Rudy understood by making him repeat the points.

"You are Kris from another universe," Rudy said, his expression blank. "You swapped bodies with this universe Kris and haven't found a way to swap back to your original body."

"That's the gist of it." Kris nodded, feeling anxious even though he didn't show it. He hoped that Rudy wouldn't freak out.

"You're not… my Kris?" Rudy asked, his voice trembling and extremely soft in volume, and Kris was afraid of this. Kris didn't want Rudy to consider him a stranger that took over his Kris' body.

"Yes, but not exactly right either. This body… this body is your Kris'," Kris was urgently trying to calm his panicky at Rudy's leaning-toward-negative response. "Kris… I mean 'I' love you, the same way this world Kris does." It didn't seem to lessen the dubious look on Rudy's expression. "I am sure of that because he is me. I am Kris, even though we're from different universes. I have his memories. I know him. I know how much he loves you and I feel the same."

Kris closed his eyes, feeling slightly helpless. He knew he sounded crazy, but he didn't know how to explain better to convince Rudy that he and this world Kris were the same, at least feeling wise.

"Is there a Rudy in your universe?" the brunet asked, still quietly.

Kris smiled slightly at that. "There is."

"Then… the one you really love must be that Rudy," Rudy mumbled, glancing the other way.

"I do love him, the same way I love you, because you are Rudy," Kris opened his eyes once again, looking at Rudy's face with full conviction. "You are Rudy." He repeated and Rudy looked back into Kris' eyes somberly, intensely and there was a sliver of recognition in his eyes, like a switch, and he gasped lightly.

"The armor…" Rudy enlarged his eyes. "Oh. That feeling of recognition… You… I do know you, I… that Dejavu," he exhaled a shaky breath and searched Kris' probably astonished face. "Yes," Rudy did seem to recognize him when a gentle, fond smile bloomed on his face.

Then, Rudy lifted his head up slightly into Kris's face. "Kris…"

Kris didn't have time to anticipate what was happening as Rudy lowered his eyelids before kissing his lips lightly.

Kris gasped in surprise at the feel of Rudy's soft lips on his, of Rudy's hands —his left one sneaked and looped around his body onto his back, while his right one went to the back of his head, fingers tangling between strands of his hair—, putting pressure on them, as if he was making sure that Kris wouldn't pull back from his kiss and embrace.

"Nn…" Kris couldn't help closing his eyes and moaning into their kiss. All the fluttering feeling in his chest and stomach, Rudy's body heat, his touch and the feel of Rudy's slick tongue as the tip caressed Kris' lower lip made Kris' body shudder pleasantly.

Rudy kept kissing Kris, licking the corner of his mouth and lips until Kris gave him access into his oral cavity. A low groan escaped from the back of his throat as Rudy's tongue slipped inside his mouth, shyly at first, but then became bolder, more exploring, as soon as another pleasant moan was heard in between kisses.

"Nnh… w-wait, Rudy," Kris tried to pull back despite how good it was kissing the brunet, but every time he was able to release the kiss, Rudy's lips chased after his in a second.

"No," kiss "No more waiting," another kiss.

Kris had a hard time concentrating. They were still in the middle of conversation. He didn't understand why Rudy suddenly barraged him with kisses, deep kisses even. It was like a switch had been turned on and Rudy was—

Kris's thought was cut off and he moaned again when he felt Rudy's hand stroking his back, slowly up and down, and then to his sensitive side before it glided up once again from the top, traveling and feeling the column of his spine gently, intimately, moving to his lower back, down to cup one of his butt cheeks.

"Ah! Wait, Rudy!" Kris made his best effort to pull back and cried out, before they could go further than that.

Rudy blinked owlishly as Kris got up and pulled away from him, to the other end of the sofa, trying to wipe some of their mixed saliva that escaped the corner of his mouth. He felt the way his body become feverish, bothered, excited, and was sure that his face was as red as a tomato then. It felt too hot and too fast, and as eager as he was to continue their tryst, they still needed to talk first.

Rudy was silent for a beat before- "What just happened?"

Kris narrowed his gaze at the puzzled tone. "Your hands are too fast. That's what happened." He…they needed to calm down a bit. His body reaction to Rudy's touches was too distracting.

"I…" Rudy slowly got up to sit and then stared at Kris' probably rather disheveled appearance and instantly blushed like all his capillaries opened up at the same time. "Oh, Oh my God! Kris, I- I'm so sorry! I- I- I don't know what I was-… that wasn't…! Aaaaah!"

Then Rudy buried his crimson face in both of his palms again, even his ears turned red and Kris almost saw steam coming out of them.

Kris bit his lower lip lightly, squirming uncomfortably at the little problem that had risen up from their little play earlier. "At least we should move to somewhere more private if we want to continue."

Kris meant their conversation, but from the way Rudy screamed in embarrassment into his own hands after a second of pause told Kris that Rudy caught up with the innuendo.

~ # ~

They moved to Rudy's room to 'continue' the conversation.

Well, Rudy assumed what Kris wanted was the conversation even though he didn't seem to oppose continuing their… physical conversation as well. Rudy was still blushing profusely as he remembered Kris' look after he kissed and touched him. How tousled his clothes and hair were… how pink his cheeks were, how red and bitten his lips… those kissable plump lips…

Rudy shook his head hard, trying to banish the impure thought. He needed to get a grip of himself no matter how hot and Kris looked at the moment. Well, at least his expression wasn't as vulgar as before. Kris had calmed a bit then. Rudy had to suck a deep breath before releasing it slowly. Breathing maneuver should compose his heart and body slightly.

They were sat side by side on Rudy's bed. Both were reluctant to be the first to dispel the silence, but they were here for conversation, so…

It kind of surprised Rudy when Kris was the one to start it. "So… earlier, you talked about 'armor' and 'recognition' before you kissed me. What was that?"

Rudy glanced at Kris and the platinum blonde's eyes were on him with hint of curiosity in his expression. Rudy moved his glance down, thinking. Honestly? He didn't know how to answer that. It was… rather silly, actually.

"Kris… do you know why I'm such a dork for adventure and fantasy books?" Rudy asked, trying to start the story from the very beginning.

Kris gave him a puzzled look. "Because it's your preference?" He guessed.

Rudy smiled. "Well, yeah, that too, but… it's not actually that simple." He lifted his face and turned to Kris once again. It was the time to tell Kris this, even though he had been too embarrassed to do it before, all this time. "It started when I was still in elementary school, Kris, precisely the day after our first meeting."

Kris gave Rudy his undivided attention as Rudy retold his story with faraway look in his face.

"Since the day I met you, I have had… these dreams. They are about a world so unlike here, it can't possibly ours, and yet… we live there. You and I… and some of our friends, Rachel, Eileen, Spike, Jave, Dellons… all the children at the orphanage, even the Four Lords. Can you believe it? Even before I met them in this reality when I was awake, I'd been seeing them in my dreams. The people living in my dreams world are not strictly humans like Kings, Queens, Knights, Princes, and Princesses; there are elves, any kind of monsters, dragons, a goddess who's the spitting image of Mother Elena." Rudy chuckled, feeling funny that he made his surrogate mother a goddess in his dream.

"There are magic of all kinds, even zombies and reapers. It's a world full of wonder, so fascinating and alluring which I won't mind never waking up from." Rudy paused slightly to take a breath. "I dream about us living in that world… our ages are older though. We are both knights and wear armors. We have wings sometimes. We guard our kingdom together." He grinned, feeling happy recalling the bits and pieces of the dream that he remembered.

So that's why I felt I'd seen Kris with armor when we were at the costume party. It's from these dreams.

It wasn't always wholesome, though. Rudy didn't always remember if he had the dream each night. "But, even though it's a world of adventure and fantasy that I love, the dreams aren't always a happy one. At times, I woke up sweating like I had had nightmares. I don't always remember the dreams when something bad happened in them, but the feeling of dread and helplessness remained with me throughout my waking hours." Rudy blinked and turned to face Kris to ask, "Do you remember, when I had off days?"

Kris nodded, seeming to recall those days.

"Those were days when I had those not so pleasant dreams about that world," Rudy explained, averting his gaze from Kris again. "Those dreams became very intense when we were in high school. I dreamt almost every night. The detail was always fuzzy when I was awake, though… but I remembered one that scared me the most. It was… the day I lost you to the darkness."

Rudy heard Kris' gasp lightly. "It was so awful… so painful that I was sick the next morning when I was awake. It felt so real that I wanted to cry. It's crazy, I know. It was just a dream, but it didn't feel like one. It felt like my heart had been ripped apart. I kept feeling sick until I saw you when you visited me after school. I kept you in my room until I fell asleep again, right?" Rudy smiled sheepishly and apologetically at Kris, remembering how needy he was at that time and how Kris relented to stay albeit grumbling about Rudy being ridiculous.

Kris' expression was odd, though. His eyes were wide and there was a tinge of wonder in them, like he made a connection about something weird that happened in the past with Rudy's explanation now.

"Rudy… that world… is not just a dream," Kris said slowly, wondrously. "You dreamt about that world, the world where I came from."

Rudy gave Kris a slow, poignant smile. "Yes, I thought so." He reached his hand to Kris' cheek. "You are Kris, the one from my dream world…" He touched Kris' cheek again gently and Kris leaned on his touch willingly. "Do you think… my Kris is also aware of your existence?"

Rudy hoped so. He hoped so hard that his Kris also dreamt about that world as this Kris, that even though they swapped souls, they were still the same.

"I think so. If not… he wouldn't be in that world now," Kris answered, nuzzling Rudy's palm and kissed it softly. Rudy felt the warmth of Kris' lips and blushed again.

No wonder Kris was very popular. He looked very enticing like this. He wanted to kiss his lips again. "May I?" Rudy brought Kris face closer to his and insinuated with his eyes that he very much wanted that kiss.

Kris' cheeks reddened again, but he only looked down for a moment, eyes on Rudy's lips before they were on Rudy's eyes once again, and nodded shyly. Rudy smiled and closed their distance once again in a tender kiss.

Kris' lips were so warm, soft and yielding, so lovely to nibble, and those little whimpering noises he made caused Rudy's body to heat in a delicious way, a gentle glow that was like a candle.

But when Rudy deepened the kiss, when his tongue yearned to taste inside Kris' mouth once again, the candle caught fire in his heart, lighting it like a raging fervor that urged his body to follow his overflowing feeling, his hands to join in an act of passion. His right hand that was on his cheek mapped down, touching and feeling Kris' neck, fingers gliding to feel his mandible and the pulse of his carotid artery, down to Kris' collarbone, and caught on the first button of his shirt. Rudy's left hand closed in on Kris' hip, clenching firmly but not hard enough to bruise, before it loosened and started to move upward, fingers slowly sneaking inside the hem of Kris' shirt, touching his bare skin.

Kris groaned as he seemed to feel his ardent touch, both of his hands were on Rudy's collar, holding tightly like his life depended on it. Rudy's kiss didn't slow down despite the burning feeling in his chest which was probably because of the lack of oxygen, because he wanted more, more of that addictive relish inside Kris' mouth. He tasted sweet, with a tang of cinnamon and vanilla, mixed with a unique flavor that Rudy couldn't identify but dubbed it as Kris' natural flavor. It was intoxicating. He felt dizzy and he couldn't help but push Kris down on the bed.

Kris gasped, cutting their connection briefly as he took the much needed oxygen into his lungs, his breath labored and fast, and Rudy grabbed both Kris' hands, one hand in one of his own and pinned them down beside Kris' head.

"Kris," Rudy didn't realize how hoarse he sounded, how labored his own breath as he stared at Kris' dazed expression. His own expression had to be similar with how aroused he was feeling, how scrambled his thought was. He couldn't help himself as he leaned down to kiss Kris' jaw and his neck. "Kris," he mumbled his name as he kissed Kris' exposed sternum and opened his mouth slightly to give him a little bite that he soothed with a gentle lick with his tongue.

Kris groaned Rudy's name lowly and gasped again as Rudy repeated his biting ministration at his skin I another area softly, his body shivered and shuddered while Rudy could feel it with his sensitive lips and tongue. He let go of one of Kris' hand in favor of unbuttoning his shirt more, until his entire torso and abdomen were exposed, then he mapped Kris' body with his fingers and palm.

"I want you…" Rudy whispered, helplessly adorning, before he kissed Kris' lips again to drown out Kris' gasp as Rudy's forefinger caught one of Kris' nipples.

"Nnh…" Kris's free hand went to tangle in Rudy's dark hair, messing and tugging some strands lightly before it settled on gripping, holding Rudy in place to continue kissing deeply, dancing with their tongues, limbs and body connecting in a hot mess of desire.

"I need you…"

Rudy didn't know who said that. It might have been him, but with the way Kris never letting go of him, it could easily be Kris.

Please be mine…


~ A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~


Kris felt his body shiver slightly as a soft chilly breeze, probably from the air con, caressed his exposed chest. He opened his eyes slowly and exhaled softly, before noticing that he couldn't really move because something rather heavy was draped over his waist.

Kris blinked at the tan arm around his waist for a moment before his face flushed as memory about his previous randy activity flooded his mind. He put the back of his hand in front of his mouth, felt his heartbeat pick up pace and face burn for a minute or two before he sighed again, noticing the ache, the satisfying kind, in parts of his body that were rarely used so strenuously.

Inconspicuously, after his heartbeat slowdown to a resemblance of normal level, Kris put his hand down from his mouth to cover Rudy's bigger one on his stomach. He felt so warm and content staying in Rudy's embrace like that. Rudy had been very gentle until the end of their intercourse, and he even did the aftercare with tender hands. Kris had a hard time believing that it was Rudy's first time with the way he did everything so perfectly.

Well, that will be a conversation for another time—Kris decided. Right now he still wanted to enjoy being warm, satiated, and content.

Kris squirmed slightly, inconspicuously, to turn his body around so he could be face to face with Rudy. Managing it without waking Rudy up, Kris stared at his…boyfriend's?—face for a long moment. The steady inhale and exhale of his breathe, his serene expression, his long eyelashes…

Rudy is quite pretty in a masculine way—Kris couldn't help thinking as he caressed Rudy's bang aside so he could look at Rudy's profile more closely. He loved Rudy's face, but more than anything, his kind and gentle personality. Although, he should do something about his oblivious nature.

But that was alright too. An oblivious Rudy was exasperating, but still adorable nonetheless. No matter what Kris would still love him, any version of him, without question. "I love you…" he whispered softly, still caressing Rudy's cheek gently.

The corner of Rudy's mouth twitched slightly and Kris held his breath as Rudy started to wake. He opened his eyes slowly and a gentle smile bloomed in his face as his amber eyes focused on Kris' red eyes. "I love you too, Kris."

Kris's face instantly heated again as he realized that Rudy was probably awake the whole time. "You're not funny," he scowled, took a smaller pillow and smacked Rudy's face with it in retaliation.

Rudy yelped at the sudden attack, but then his surprise quickly dissolved into amused laughter, probably because he witnessed how Kris blushed so hard after that.

"You are adorable, Kris!" Rudy was still laughing as Kris, while grunting "Shut up!" to his face, whacked him again in the chest, repeatedly, until he could control his embarrassment, but Rudy took the pillow away quickly before he caught Kris' wrist and pulled his body back into his embrace.

"Come now, don't be mad. You're cute and I adore you," Rudy kissed Kris' hair and held him tighter, so much that Kris had a hard time to breathe, let alone move. Kris could free himself if he wanted to, but Rudy's bare skin on his felt nice and he wanted to be there forever, so he feigned his annoyance and huffed.

They were quiet like that for a while before Rudy's stomach growled loudly. Kris blinked and looked upward at Rudy's slowly reddening face. "Sorry," the brunet said, looking quite embarrassed.

"Well, it's dinner time. Should we go out and eat dinner with the others?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, imagine how surprised the others are going to be if we tell them about us," Rudy grinned, looking happy somehow.

Kris rolled his eyes. "You'll be surprised of how surprised they won't be," he muttered as he untangled himself from Rudy's arms and the searched for his clothes which somehow had ended up under the bed.

"What?" Rudy, already find his clothes and put them on, asked, apparently hearing Kris' voice but couldn't make out his words.

"Nothing. Let's go," Kris, finished with redressing himself, offered his hand to Rudy that Rudy seemed too happy to grab.


~ A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~


When both Rudy and Kris arrived at the dinner table in the kitchen, Dellons watched as they, especially Rudy, stammered their apology for being late for dinner. The others didn't seem to notice at first, but then he saw as Jave blinked and widened his eyes when his gaze landed on Rudy's specific body part.

Dellons also saw it instantly when he followed Jave's line of sight. He smirked in amusement because Rudy didn't seem to notice as one by one, their friends began to see it too, starting from Spike who raised one of his eyebrows, and then Rachel who immediately stifled her reaction by covering her mouth slightly and Eileen who didn't bother to hide her surprise by gaping at Rudy. Kris seemed to notice it as well immediately and went a little pink, but didn't say anything to that.

"It's nice for you love-birds to finally join our sacred dinner," Dellons said, smiling at both Rudy and Kris, who instantly went red at his greeting.

Rudy glanced at Dellons, face still flushing, probably embarrassed, but his expression looked kind of wary and guilty too for heaven sake. Dellons huffed. "What?" He asked then, because being at the receiving end of Rudy's sad puppy look got on his nerves as badly as getting a seductive look from Kris.

"Um… I'm sorry, about your wound," Rudy bit his lower lip, and looked upward at Dellons from under his long lashes with pleading look.

Seriously, this guy!—Dellons sighed while Jave, as perceptive as he always was, immediately understood what had happened.

"Rudy gave you that?" the purple haired kid widened his eyes even more, looking shocked as he stared at Dellons' busted lower lip incredulously.

"What did you do this time?" Spike's tone was flat, but his eyes were accusing.

"W-wait, guys," Rudy raised his hands, probably trying to calm their friends down as they started to barrage Dellons' with question and accusation.

"Oh, Dellons, you such a—" Eileen also started to say and frown, while Rachel was scowling along with her.

"Rudy misunderstood something," Kris finally intervened before anyone started shouting. Everyone went quiet immediately and looked at Kris with question in their eyes, almost disbelieving that he actually stood up for Dellons instead of for Rudy. "He thought Dellons attacked me, so Rudy's fist reacted first before he could comprehend what actually happened."

"Dellons did what?!" Now Jave stood up, anger in his face and voice. The others narrowed their eyes at Dellons instantly, promising violence if he really did that to Kris. Dellons shivered slightly receiving such evil glare from his friends.

It's always such a pain being the bad guy—Dellons lamented inwardly.

"It was a misunderstanding!" Rudy yelped immediately, once again trying to calm them down. "It… really was just a misunderstanding, because Dellons would never do that to Kris… He wouldn't!" He sounded and looked so earnest, as he tried to convince their friends that Dellons couldn't help chuckling at how adorable it was.

It was a mistake to laugh though, because everyone immediately glared at Dellons again. "What's so funny, Dellons?" Eileen was the one asking, frowning harder while cracking her knuckles.

"No, well," Dellons sniggered again. "The one misunderstanding anything was actually me," he said finally. "I was under the impression that Princess was seducing me, you know, so I did attack him, but that happened only because he was receptive of my advance as of late," he continued.

"In your dream," Spike's monotone voice retorted.

"Well, he wasn't such a bad company lately, especially when Rudy was avoiding me," Kris shrugged and the others gasped in shock, looking completely askance at him.

"Kris!" Rudy gave him a wounded puppy look, looking even guiltier now.

"And if Dellons didn't do what he did earlier, you wouldn't even realize how you feel toward me, would you?" Kris turned to face Rudy now, giving him a flirty smile.

There was a moment of pregnant silence as the others tried to digest what just happened in front of them before—

"Oh my God! Finally!" Jave beamed and cheered, finally realizing the situation.

"It's such a long and hard journey for you to finally get here!" Eileen looked as enthusiastic as Jave as she grabbed Rachel and hugged her in her unconstrained happiness.

"Congratulation, Kris, Rudy," Rachel smiled, actually wiping tears from one of her cheeks.

Spike gave the couple a small smile as his way of giving his blessing, and just like that everyone had forgotten about their anger on Dellons. It never failed to amaze Dellons sometimes of how amazing this group of people was. It seriously never bore him to be in the middle of their circle.

Rudy seemed bewildered and his blush never faded as he smiled sheepishly at his friends' easy, happy acceptance of his and Kris' relationship. He even had the gall to look surprised when they congratulated him and Kris.

"Did-did everyone actually know about this already?" Rudy seemed confused, which was a cute look on his face.

"Of course we knew. How many years have we been friends, seriously? You were so dense it almost drove us crazy repeatedly. When we watched you guys, it was so painfully obvious that we never understood how you never noticed," Jave huffed, still smiling widely. "But finally! I guess Dellons got the credit for getting you guys together. You did good, Dellons!" Now the kid turned at Dellons and beamed at him with sparkling golden eyes.

"With this we finally can put away the weird three-way relationship you three have been dancing around each other for, for good," Rachel sighed, sounding relieved. Eileen nodded repeatedly while making agreeing sound.

"Now, just a minute, here, ladies," Dellons smirked, a vein popped up on his temple. "Who said about putting away our relationship for good? I have no intention of giving up on winning my Princess' heart," he said, shifting his gaze to Rudy, challenging, and Rudy looked startled as he saw Dellons' eyes.

Well, now Rudy knew that Dellons was serious.

"Dellons?" Rudy looked at him with confused, questioning eyes.

"I am happy that you got together," Dellons said, softening his smile and expression slightly before changing his look into provoking once again. "But I have no intention of giving up, ever," he said before standing up and starting to leave.

"W-wait, Dellons!" Rudy was about follow him, but Dellons saw in the corner of his eyes that Kris held him back before whispering something in Rudy's ear. Then he caught Kris' ruby colored gaze on him and he smirked again as he got out.

#

Dellons left the room, almost dramatically, and the kitchen stayed in shocked silence before Jave screeched while fuming.

"I can't believe him! How could he say that?!"

"Well, that's Dellons for you. He never does anything in an easy way," Spike rolled his eyes, easily accepting that their troublesome friend would always be troublesome.

"What do we do with him?" Rachel sighed, almost glumly as Eileen muttered something about stupid man and their stupid feelings.

"Will Dellons be okay?" Rudy looked disheartened and Kris had no idea how to perceive Dellons' gaze at him earlier.

Dellons seemed to be making a point, that he didn't think that Rudy and Kris being together would deter his feelings toward Kris, but… there was something else that Kris caught from his gaze. It almost felt like that… it was also a challenge for Kris, but a challenge at what exactly?

"Maybe I will speak to him tomorrow," Kris decided.

"Do you need me there? I think I should be there. This is also my problem as much as yours after all. Dellons is my best friend, and I want to understand him," Rudy said, sounding concerned, but determined as well.

"I am not going to prevent you if you want to be there. It's probably going to be an excruciating conversation, though." Kris shrugged.

"All the more reason I ought to be there then," Rudy nodded and the others looked at them approvingly.

"But, putting Dellons' stupid provocation aside, I am really glad that you two got together," Eileen said, smiling again happily. "Now we can tease you both as much as we want and both of you will get it," she laughed after that.

Rudy blushed again and Kris let out a long suffering sigh. "I regret telling you guys already," he lamented quietly and now even Rachel couldn't help giggling at that while Jave burst out laughing together with Eileen.

Spike, as always, only shook his head slightly dealing with his friends' antics.


~ A Seven Knights Fan Fiction ~


The next day, Kris found Dellons smoking at the veranda just after everyone else was done with breakfast.

Dellons skipped breakfast, though, and despite Rudy calling and knocking on his door, Dellons had ignored him. Now, after breakfast and everyone was busy with their own thing, Kris went up to talk to Dellons.

Rudy should have been here, but… he said he had something to do this morning, an important tutoring session that he can't miss. I should wait for him, but… I think I need to talk to Dellons alone first before getting Rudy involved.

Kris stared at Dellons back for a moment before he spoke.

"It's not like you at all," Kris said tentatively and Dellons, seemingly not surprised at all that he got company, gave him a smirk after he glanced back at him.

"What aren't you satisfied with now, Princess? Haven't you gotten the Prince's heart?" His tone was teasing and mocking, and his smirk was rather annoying, but the gleam in his eyes told another story.

"Rudy said you were serious about me." Kris stated after he got closer to Dellons, never breaking his gaze.

"Well, it wasn't a lie," Dellons shrugged, blowing out the smoke out of his breath before he put it off with his thumb and index finger, letting the cigarette butt drop before squishing it with his heel. He turned back and gave Kris a teasing smirk.

"Yet you don't seem about to give up despite our current status." Kris looked at him straightly in the eyes and Dellons' baby blue eyed shone with gravity. "If you were serious… then shouldn't you be happy for me? Us? Rudy is you best friend, and if you really love me, then you have to let go."

Dellons chuckled at that. "Haven't I told you? You're my one and only Princess," Dellons said, reaching out his hand to touch Kris' cheek. "There's literally nothing in this world that can make me give up on you," he caressed it, his eyes staring at Kris' softly and gently, and Kris couldn't help holding his breath as he almost felt moved by Dellons' words.

"But I haven't told about a tiny little fact that always follows how I feel about you," Dellons continued and Kris blinked, rather bewildered because Dellons smile was strange.

"What is it?" Kris was curious. Despite not returning Dellons' feeling, he wanted to know how his friend was thinking.

"You might have been my Princess, Kris, but Rudy… he's my Prince." Dellons said while leaning into Kris' face and then kissed the corner of his mouth.

Kris' head went blank at the words and Dellons' bold action.

Well, he was more shocked at Dellons' words though.

Rudy is… his Prince?

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

End of Round 10

Tbc…


A/N: Aaaand, it gets even more complicated, despite finally Rudy and Kris getting together. *laughs* No worries, like I typed at the top, this story is almost done. It will finally make sense in next chapter. So… what do you think? Comment please! I want to know how you guys think of this development!

Teaser:

This… shouldn't have happened at all.

Dellons stared at the data in his hands and then to the failed experiment that was wailing and rampaging in pain and rage.

The vassal is not compatible with shard of destruction?

He shifted his leg and crossed it the other way around as he sighed in his throne. "Bai Jiao," he called for the Emperor Advisor that assisted him in manipulating Pascal into trying to awaken his power.

"Yes, Lord Dellons?" Bai Jiao looked upward at him with question in his eyes.

"Pascal can manipulate space, can't he?" he asked.

"Only part of his power, but only to summon beast from another dimension," Bai Jiao explained.

"Hmm… that will be enough. I only need the data about that dimension he opens to summon his beast." Dellons said, a smirk slowly blooming in his face.

"Only the data, Milord?" Bai Jiao raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. The rest of the information will be gathered by my counterpart in that distant-distant world…"